Star Wars fans are going to be up to their necks in sequels to their favorite franchise if Disney has its way, whether they like it or not.
Lucasfilm recently announced that the creators of “Game of Thrones” D. B. Weiss and David Benioff will start working on a new set of Star Wars films.
This is in addition to the trilogy that was announced last year to be developed by Rian Johnson.
The phrase “franchise fatigue” has been bounced around recently in the world of film critiques, directed mostly towards the Marvel franchise. It is simply a tiring of audience interest in a particular franchise.
Now it is being discussed in regard to Star Wars, and rightly so. With the current lineup of films, Star Wars fatigue is going to happen. In fact, it already is.
There are a total of nine Star Wars movies currently in the works, counting “Solo” which will release in a few months, the untitled episode IV, and another currently unknown anthology movie.
Ten movies have already been released theatrically, including the original, prequel, and unfinished sequel trilogies, as well as “The Clone Wars” and “Rogue One.”
Counting these, the total number of “Star Wars” movies audiences will have seen at the end of the next few years will be 19.
This unending barrage of movies has many questioning whether this will be good for the 40-year-old franchise.
Will people still want to see another Star Wars film after over a dozen? Will they line up in droves like they did with “The Force Awakens,” the highest grossing movie ever in America?
As stated before, franchise fatigue is already beginning to show itself. The latest Star Wars movie, “The Last Jedi” received lower sales when compared to “The Force Awakens” and also experienced a unusually quick drop of sales after a few weeks of shows.
This is only the start of what eventually be the downfall of this once strong franchise. If Disney wants to keep the current interest in Star Wars high, they cannot shove 19 movies down audiences throats and expect them to keep showing up for more. It is unbelievable anyone thought this was an acceptable idea.
This is a tragedy for fans and general movie goers alike. The franchise will continue to churn out movies until audiences are sick of Star Wars and the franchise will die.
Star Wars will no longer be a special, cinematic event, but will be just a sad continuation with no purpose.
The only underlining reason for this decision is money, and not a care for the integrity of individual films. Audiences should make it known to Lucasfilm that this is too much.
They should let it be known that they want quality over quantity, and the number of films over the next few years be trimmed to a more reasonable level.
If Disney wants its most prized franchise to continue for another 40 years, then they must see the signs of audience fatigue and change accordingly. They need to not see Star Wars as an excuse to print money and limit their movies.
