One of the great debates that’s raged since Disney took over Lucasfilm is whether the House of Mouse was milking the Star Wars cow a little too much. Historically, the franchise released films every two to three years. The absence of content allowed fans’ hearts to grow proverbially fonder. Since 2015, however, Lucasfilm has been pumping out a new Star Wars title yearly. Disney CEO Bob Iger now admits that perhaps they were a little too ambitious.
He spoke to the New York Times recently about his rise to power as Disney CEO. It all started with humble beginnings at Ithaca College in upstate New York. From there, Bob Iger rose through the Hollywood ranks to take control of the greatest entertainment empire in the world. And then George Lucas handed him the keys to another kingdom: Star Wars.
It’s no surprise that Disney jumped at the chance to produce a ton of Star Wars content. For Bob Iger, it had to be like a child being let loose in F.A.O. Schwartz. But …. A series of missteps following 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story showed that Disney’s Star Wars vision might have been a bit clouded.
Bob Iger admits Disney moved too fast with Star Wars
“I just think that we might’ve put a little bit too much in the marketplace too fast,” said Iger. He’s not wrong. One of the deciding factors in Solo: A Star Wars Story’s success (or lack thereof) was releasing it in such close proximity to The Last Jedi. Solo premiered in May, following TLJ’s December debut just five months prior. Still, Bob Iger has confidence in his staff: “I think the storytelling capabilities of the company are endless because of the talent we have at the company.”
Notwithstanding his confidence in his own people, the Disney CEO still threw some shade at competitor Netflix:
What Netflix is doing is making content to support a platform. We’re making content to tell great stories. It’s very different.”
(Image: Netflix)
Maybe Bob Iger, whether admittedly or not, is feeling a little pressure from the established streaming service. With the recent successes of shows like The Umbrella Academy and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Netflix isn’t slowing down. Is Iger right to perhaps feel a little threatened?
Tell us your thoughts about Disney’s handling of Star Wars and the competition with Netflix in the comments below!
Source: New York times
