Star Wars: Disney Exec Addresses the “Failure” of ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’

Solo: A Star Wars Story took in $392 million worldwide and scored 70 percent positive reviews according to aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, which many movie studios would consider to be a success. In the world of Star Wars, however, these numbers were lower than not only the studio’s expectations, but also what the general public had assumed the film would earn. Disney Film Chief Alan Horn weighed in on the ways the media covers a film’s reception and how it can sway the public’s opinion.

“It’s always a challenge because — and I say this with love and respect for media — the thing about these big movies is they get a lot of attention, whether positive or negative. So when they don’t work, like Solo, the media says it’s a failure,” Horn shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “I think it was a pretty good movie. It didn’t resonate as much as we’d hoped it would, but the press writes it up in a more negative way than I would.”

Horn noted that, with Disney being a massive studio responsible for numerous beloved franchises, the more people assume all of their films will be massive hits, the more critical the reception can be when those expectations aren’t met.

“These are very high-profile movies. If Aladdin, which I happen to think is a terrific film, doesn’t work somehow, that’s big news and much bigger news than if a movie somewhere else, like The Kid Who Would Be King [at Fox,] doesn’t work,” Horn noted.

Despite the film’s accomplishments, one of its writers, Jon Kasdan, previously shared on Twitter that he doesn’t anticipate Solo ever getting a sequel.

“Will there ever be a sequel ’cause it really seems like you guys were setting one up? To be honest, I think the challenge has more to do with the foreign box office than the U.S.,” Kasdan shared on Twitter. “Personally, I think there are great Star Wars movies to be made that don’t need to cost quite so much. Hopefully that will be the trend in years to come, and maybe, just maybe, that trend will allow us, one way or another, to tell more stories with Alden [Ehrenreich], Joonas [Suotamo], Emilia [Clarke], and Donald [Glover].”

He added, “With those actors and [Ron Howard], I would jump at the opportunity. Given the way Hollywood, and the culture at large, seem to run from anything labeled a disappointment, the odds seem like they’re against it happening anytime soon. But, I suppose, Han wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Stay tuned for details about upcoming Star Wars spinoff films.

What do you think about Horn’s remarks? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

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