Disney CEO Bob Iger says that Disney+ isn’t going to be making any big budget original Star Wars movies. Many were expecting the new streaming platform to get into the business of making original movies from the franchise to compete with Netflix, but Iger says that isn’t the case at all, and for obvious reasons. Disney+ will make its debut at the end of the year and it will already have The Mandalorian, which is its big budget live-action Star Wars series that is currently filming.
In a new interview, Bob Iger talked about the upcoming Disney+ streaming platform and its goals in regard to Star Wars. After Solo: A Star Wars Story underperformed at the box office, Disney and Lucasfilm reassessed their plans with the franchise and the anthology movies that they had planned. One of those projects was the Obi-Wan movie, which was rumored to have a future home on Disney+. But, Iger shot that rumor down and discussed the future of big budget Star Wars movies. He had this to say.
“We’re looking to invest significantly in television series on a per-episode business, and we’re looking to make movies that are higher budget, but nothing like that. We wouldn’t make a Star Wars movie for this platform. When everybody goes out on the weekend and you have a movie that opens up to $200 million, there’s a buzz that creates that enhances value. We like that. And eventually the movies we’re making are going to (end up on) the service.”
Star Wars fans were left with a bit of fatigue when Solo arrived in theaters practically right after The Last Jedi, which is arguably the most divisive movie in the franchise’s long history. Following the last movie with the Han Solo origin story so quickly wasn’t the best idea and many believe that Solo would have been received a lot better had it been released in the winter, instead of the summer. That being said, all of the movies will end up on the Disney+ streaming platform somewhere down the line, which is the way that Bob Iger and Disney want it.
It’s unclear if The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is working on a project for the big screen or for the Disney+ streaming platform. Johnson is said to be working on something that will take place outside of the Skywalker storyline. Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are also working on a separate trilogy. For now, The Mandalorian and the Rogue One Prequel series are the only live-action Star Wars projects being planned at the moment.
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Star Wars won’t be the only thing that Disney+ has going for it. The Lady and the Tramp and The Sword in the Stone, along with TV installments of the Monsters, Inc., High School Musical, and Marvel Cinematic Universe properties are on their way. The MCU shows are also big news with one focusing on Loki, one on Scarlet Witch and Vision, and another one with Falcon and Winter Soldier. You can check out the rest of the interview with Bob Iger over at Barron’s.