Due to the under-performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story, Lucasfilm has been scrambling to find something to blame for the mixed audience response and disappointing box office returns. Their decision to delay more Star Wars stories, including the much-anticipated Kenobi film, has caused another divide among fans. Another hard decision made within the company may be also be hard for the fanbase to accept.
Regarding the news that broke earlier this morning, Star Wars News Net has added further information about Lucasfilms brand new mindset. The site, which is generally spot-on when it comes to Star Wars content, claims that Disney and Lucasfilm are no longer willing to hire up and coming filmmakers to direct Star Wars blockbusters.
This decision is directly due to the fact that Lucasfilm has lost directors of four projects over the past 5 years. Because of creative differences, Lucasfilm has not been able to churn out the ideas of these five “unproven” directors. Josh Trank, Colin Trevorrow, Phil Lord and Chris Miller ultimately were not able to get on the same page as Lucasfilm. In addition, director Gareth Edwards was forced tosidestep Rogue One reshoots, with director Tony Gilroy taking his place.
Considered as up and coming creatives in the eyes of the company, all of them already had created positively received blockbusters for other Studios (except Trank, whose Fantastic Four film was self-explanitory.) Kevin Feige has found a lot of success with experimental and fresh faces, resulting in the most epic and lucrative franchise of all time. Feige knows how to pick his directors, making sure they are on the same page from day one, without withholding any secrets or any apprehension. This makes one wonder, is Kathleen Kennedy, head of Lucasfilm, doing the same? Are the directors really the ones to blame?