Thanks to problems behind the scenes, Solo: A Star Wars Story's budget ballooned and a last-minute marketing campaign meant it essentially crashed and burned when it was released in May 2018. As a result, Disney hit the pause button on any upcoming "A Star Wars Story" spinoffs, including rumoured movies for characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.
Previously, both the main Skywalker Saga films and Rogue One had arrived in theaters in December, but the "Art of" book for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker confirms that Solo was meant to signal a move back to May release dates for the franchise.
"Solo: A Star Wars Story had been intended to be the first of many Star Wars films to return to the franchise's traditional late-May release date," it reads (via Screen Rant).
While Solo underperformed, both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame did extremely well at that time of year, and Disney seemingly decided to save May for Marvel Studios moving forward (hence why Black Widow was supposed to come out on May 1st). The Rise of Skywalker, meanwhile, ended up barely limping past the $1 billion mark last December, so when is the right time for Star Wars?
Well, Solo's failings can likely be blamed on bad press and a lacklustre, rushed marketing campaign, while The Rise of Skywalker faced scathing reviews after a very divisive middle instalment.
Moving forward, the future remains uncertain for the Star Wars franchise, and no announcements have been made regarding who will actually be at the helm of the film set for December 2022.
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