Disney's Bob Iger commented on why it's been so long since the last Star Wars film was released.
The last time fans sat in a theater to watch a new Star Wars film was at the end of 2019 for The Rise of Skywalker—an experience many fans wish they never had in the first place.
However, the whole franchise was saved thanks to the success of The Mandalorian on Disney+, a streaming series that led to a handful of other projects in the same format; Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett.
But where did the movies go?
A report back in October of 2022 claimed that the prolonged development time for a new film was due to "a culture of fear and indecision" among company executives. Needless to say, this wasn't the hopeful update many fans wanted to hear.
Bob Iger Comments on Star Wars' Slow Movie Progress
Disney CEO Bob Iger was present at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, where he spoke on why Lucasfilm is taking so long to start making the next film in the Star Wars franchise—with the last one, The Rise of Skywalker, having released all the way back in 2019.
Iger clarified that the goal is to make sure that when [they] make [a new Star Wars movie]," they want to pick "the right one," something that Lucasfilm is being "very careful" with:
"We’re going to make sure when we make one, it’s the right one. So we’re being very careful there."
The CEO admitted that the "disappointing" box office returns for 2018's Solo "gave [them] pause" when it came to their feature film development slate. They started to think "maybe the cadence was a little too aggressive."
Iger made it clear, however, that Disney is "still developing Star Wars films."
In the meantime, he noted that Lucasfilm's ventures on Disney+, such as The Mandalorian and Andor, have been "extremely successful."
The Latest on Star Wars' Next Film
A new update regarding Star Wars' theatrical future was actually revealed not too long ago.
Newly shared reports noted that two potential projects were canceled—or, at the very least, no longer in active development. This included the untitled movie from Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Patty Jenkin's Rogue Squadron.
There are, however, two others that seem to be alive and well.
The first belongs to Lost and The Leftovers writer Damon Lindelof and is rumored to include some characters from the more recent Sequel Trilogy. Then there's Taika Waititi's project, which remains shrouded in mystery.
Currently, Lucasfilm is expected to shed some more light on its upcoming movie plans at Star Wars Celebration this coming April. Hopefully, fans won't be disappointed.
Star Wars' current project, The Mandalorian, is currently airing its third season, with new episodes on Disney+ every Wednesday.
