rshetts
1896
I don’t either. The truth is that Lucas allowed the extended universe to run rampant with little to no control and that created an absolute mess of mythology. Disney thus decided to designate the EU as “legends” in order to run with a less cluttered mythology. This also has allowed them to pull form the EU as needed. So they didn’t just jettison the EU, they removed its ridiculous mess from the equation. Now whether you like or hate the latest trilogy is up to you but thinking that Disney’s keeping the ongoing cinematic universe tighter was bad business is just silly. Especially if you look at what they did with the MCU, which is quite similar. Considering that the movies they have put out in the new Star Wars trilogy have all topped $1 billion ( except for the latest one which will ) I would say the “bad business” opinion must be taken with a grain of salt.
I don’t want to start an argument, but my understanding was they paid $4 billion for the IP.
And then paid for the new movies (salaries, production costs etc) and those aren’t cheap.
I don’t know the costs, and won’t Google it because the specifics don’t matter (and I’m feeling lazy, and I’m on my phone which is annoying for use on forums) just the general point, which is I don’t think they’ve turned a profit on this yet.
Assuming 150,000,000 per movie to make, which is a number I just pulled out of thin air because I recall modern blockbusters costing something like that, then they haven’t broken even yet.
That’s my distinct impression.
Might be worth doing some Internet searching to get real figures though. :)
Ehhhhh. There is a hard line between the comics, shows, cartoons, and MCU. There’s no continuity there. Star Wars is not really the same because ALL officially licensed media, post-Disney purchase of Lucasfilm, unless specifically designated as separate, is recognized as canon. That means Jedi: Fallen Order is part of the “true” timeline, as well Battlefront II’s Iden Verso story, the movies, all the current books and comics, The Mandalorian, etc.
I think they’ve set themselves up for even more continuity issues down the road. Writers are pulling from the Legends EU stuff as well as making up new stuff and it’s all turning into a bit of mess already.
rei
1899
Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order is a good example of a really good story…but it ends up not mattering one whit because of when it occurs in the timeline.
I don’t follow. Doesn’t end up mattering to who? It will matter to the characters in the story. That’s all that’s important. It doesn’t matter that eventually the Emperor wins (and then is defeated, and then resurrects himself, then is defeated again).
rshetts
1901
According to this article, they broke even in 2018. I am not sure how they work the numbers but I can tell you that your figure of $150,000,000 per movie is probably close and that is still only around 10% of the gross take on these movies. And the movies are only a part of the profit that Disney is making off the IP. I am confident that they have already made their $4 billion back.
I forgot about the games and merchandise.
Edit: BBC article, only vaguely related, also says they’ve already got their money back.
rshetts
1903
My point was that Disney drew that hard line between the movie universe and the rest, at the time of acquisition and that hard line still exists. You are correct that post acquisition, they have opened the canon up to include various forms of media and I agree that this is likely to create continuity issue down the road. But my point was specifically about the hard line they drew between the existing movies and EU. Post issues are another matter.
I expected it to hit $1 billion (how couldn’t it?), but kind of surprising that it will finish behind TLJ.
Nesrie
1906
I think it’s kind of surprising that Disney could hit sending out 7 movies that hit 1 bil in one year.
Not that surprising. Bad movies in a franchise cause a drop in the movie after. TLJ wasn’t well received by either critics or general public reviews.
Its actually a bit of a swap. TLJ was loved by critics and disliked by some fans.
Rise of Skywalker is less liked by critics but much better received by fans.
Soma
1909
The value of canon is that they form part of an ecosystem/mythology, and each adds value to another. If you know that e.g. Jedi Academy the game isn’t really what happened with how Luke trained Jedi in the new sequels, that is alienating. OTOH if they are both canon, that adds textures to the game AND the movies. “ahh so that’s what happened in Luke’s new Jedi Academy, and how it all went to shits later!”
Continuity issue can always be resolved one way or another by whatever comes later. Hell, they can even do a Rashomon and say truth depends on perspective. There is no sense of throwing the baby out with the bath water and declare all EU stuff didn’t happen, just because there is continuity issue.
I ended up disengaging with the new sequels. I like some of the EU stuff, especially the games, a lot more than the new soulless movies. But now they say EU stuff didn’t matter. Whatever. I care less about the EU stuff as well, because for Disney it is just part of a money spinning machine anyway.
RickH
1910
Sadly true, the EU stuff went pretty far afield for the core characters and their progeny. That said, would have preferred the Mara Jade, Thrawn, and Jorus C’baoth story lines to the series of disappointments, failures, and unhappy endings that is now canon for these characters.
rshetts
1911
Actually critics loved it and it got a 91% The viewer score was much lower though, at 43%
Are there any Disney movies that are really challenging intellectually? I feel dumb for not asking this until now.
rei
1913
Paul Reuben’s Flight of the Navigator
rshetts
1914
About the only one I can think of is The Black Hole. Disney generally deals in fluff entertainment and morality tales.
