Disney's CEO says you should get ready for a 'slowdown' on 'Star Wars' films

Disney

"Solo: A Star Wars Story."

• Disney CEO Bob Iger has reconsidered his "Star Wars" release strategy in the wake of the disappointing box-office performance of May's "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
• Iger told The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview that "Star Wars" fans can expect "some slowdown" in the production of the series.

It appears that the disappointing box-office performance of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" has led Disney CEO Bob Iger to reconsider his release strategy for the "Star Wars" film series.

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Iger told The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview that "Star Wars" fans can expect "some slowdown" in the production of the series, which saw two films, "Solo" and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," released in the span of five months this past year.

While 2017's "The Last Jedi" grossed $1.33 billion worldwide and received critical acclaim, the "Solo" spin-off fell way short of box-office expectations in its debut over Memorial Day weekened, and ended with a $392 million worldwide gross against a reported $250 million production budget.

"Solo" notably had extended reshoots under director Ron Howard, who replaced the film's ousted directors Philip Lord and Christopher Miller last summer, and the movie's critical reception was lukewarm.

THR's Matt Belloni said in his conversation with Iger published Thursday, "Many believe Disney should pump the breaks and not put out a 'Star Wars' movie each year."

Iger responded to Belloni with the following, referencing the upcoming "Star Wars" film series from the "Game of Thrones" cocreators, and detailing the "mistake" he believes he made in the "Star Wars" release strategy, along with his subsequent approach to a "slowdown":

"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. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn't mean we're not gonna 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 gonna start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.'s. But I think we're gonna be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that."

Read the rest of the interview here.