Star Wars Films Were "Too Much, Too Fast" Says Disney Boss

Disney obtained the rights to Star Wars in 2012, and since the release of The Force Awakens in 2015 we've had a new Star Wars feature film every year. Disney CEO Bob Iger now thinks that was a little too much of a good thing, and said the studio plans to slow down their pace of releases.

"I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made--I take the blame--was a little too much, too fast," Iger told The Hollywood Reporter. "You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn't mean we're not going to make films. J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX. We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven't been specific about. And we are just at the point where we're going to start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.'s. But I think we're going to be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that."

Disney has been keen on producing anthology films to supplement its tent-pole episodic releases, with "A Star Wars Story" subtitle signaling the difference. So far those have been Rogue One and Solo. Reports have been swirling about other anthology movies in the pipeline, including ones featuring popular characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett. It seemed likely that the current tempo of Star Wars releases would continue well into the future, but Solo disappointed at the box office, which appears to have caused Disney to reevaluate.

The company still seems to be forging ahead on the small screen, however. It just wrapped up the successful run of Star Wars Rebels and is planning to launch the new animated series Star Wars: Resistance next year. That's on top of a new live-action series from Iron Man director Jon Favreau, which is set to headline the company's new streaming service. And of course, the untitled Star Wars: Episode IX is still scheduled for December 2019.