Wonder Woman's Patty Jenkins is Directing a Rogue Squadron Movie

[fireproof78]

If you really don't think a competently managed LFL could make money (not just on theater tickets, but on video game tie-ins, X-Wing toys, home media sales, and Disney+ series spinoff opportunities) from a Star Wars: Top Gun movie, I don't know what to tell ya.

But how much would it cost to make? See, that's my point. They got burned by Solo and opted to go a different, very predictable revenue stream, especially with all the COVID uncertainty. Certainty means more right now than the assumption that a movie would automatically mean money. That's the dangerous assumption that got to Solo in the first place that Star Wars=money no matter what. It didn't.

You don't have to agree but if you don't realize how much consistent revenue means to a business and recent uncertainty would impact those decisions I don't know what to tell you.

And while The Mandalorian has doubtless made money for Disney overall, both in D+ subs and Grogu merch, we on the outside really have no idea who profitable Boba Fett and Obi-Wan were/weren't.

I think both of those series demonstrated more the attitude of Lucasfilm and returning to Lucas' ideas of innovation and creativity. Book of Boba Fett went the direction of a cinematic idea but on a TV style scale. It allows producers and directors to experiment in smaller installments rather than risking it all on one big tent pole project. In a way, they have gone back to how Lucas was treating Lucasfilm early one, with a lot of innovation that was a head of it's time. I think that the current attitude is going away from films and in to streaming series to cultivate directors, producers, and technological innovation.

 

[JD]

^ If you really don't think a competently managed LFL could make money (not just on theater tickets, but on video game tie-ins, X-Wing toys, home media sales, and Disney+ series spinoff opportunities) from a Star Wars: Top Gun movie, I don't know what to tell ya.

And while The Mandalorian has doubtless made money for Disney overall, both in D+ subs and Grogu merch, we on the outside really have no idea who profitable Boba Fett and Obi-Wan were/weren't.

I really don't know enough about exactly what's going on a Lucasfilm to make any kind of judgements.

 

[Sci]

I'm always faintly amused that it was a surprise that Solo didn't make as much money as a regular SW film. I mean, Han Solo just is Harrison Ford. Trying to do a Han Solo movie without Harrison Ford is just never gonna attract the kind of mainstream audience support you need to do regular SW numbers. There's a point where both online fandom and studio executives need to get out of their echo chambers and just pay attention to normal cultural zeigeist on this and neither did with Solo.

 

[fireproof78]

I'm always faintly amused that it was a surprise that Solo didn't make as much money as a regular SW film. I mean, Han Solo just is Harrison Ford. Trying to do a Han Solo movie without Harrison Ford is just never gonna attract the kind of mainstream audience support you need to do regular SW numbers. There's a point where both online fandom and studio executives need to get out of their echo chambers and just pay attention to normal cultural zeigeist on this and neither did with Solo.

I think it comes down to the pitch. A similar thing happened to Disney with "John Carter." There was a ton of assumptions by the production team that John Carter had huge cultural insert and people would be able to immediately go right in to it. The marketing was done with that in mind, and the head producer was certain it would do great and pitch it as such. It didn't.

I think that even more so than John Carter, Han Solo as a household name was just waiting for that solo (no pun intended) story without recognizing all the factors that made Han Solo that iconic character. You're right that they need to get out of their echo chambers because often the information is very wrong. It happens a lot in different industries. Deus Ex is probably the most famous one to my mind in the video game world.

 

[Tuskin38]

I'm always faintly amused that it was a surprise that Solo didn't make as much money as a regular SW film.

I still think it was somewhat down to it releasing so close to a bunch of other big films.

It allegedly did very well on home media/digital.

 

[Set Harth]

Deus Ex is probably the most famous one to my mind in the video game world.

What happened with Deus Ex?

 

[fireproof78]

What happened with Deus Ex?

In a nut shell, the first one was Game of the Year and considered a massive success. However, the things the fans loved where things that industry insiders didn't enjoy and felt were clunky or not intuitive. So, when it came time to Deus Ex: the Sequel, the developers listened to the industry insiders, changing popular elements from the first, resulting in a very poorly regarded game and a much different feel to the original.

 

[Sci]

I think it comes down to the pitch. A similar thing happened to Disney with "John Carter." There was a ton of assumptions by the production team that John Carter had huge cultural insert and people would be able to immediately go right in to it. The marketing was done with that in mind, and the head producer was certain it would do great and pitch it as such. It didn't.

Which is so weird to me, because as someone born in the mid-1980s, I have next to no conception of John Carter. Like, I'm aware of him in the same sense that I'm aware of, say, Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers -- as popular culture mainstays that have long since lost a mass audience and has no real presence in post-1960s pop culture.

 

[fireproof78]

Which is so weird to me, because as someone born in the mid-1980s, I have next to no conception of John Carter. Like, I'm aware of him in the same sense that I'm aware of, say, Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers -- as popular culture mainstays that have long since lost a mass audience and has no real presence in post-1960s pop culture.

It was weird to me too, but to the lead producer John Carter was huge and he thought everyone felt that way. All it takes is that feeling that "This is massive" with little to support that and you can go very far astray quickly in terms of popularity.

I was born in 84, and I knew of John Carter from action figures and maybe one book. That was it.

 

[Sci]

It was weird to me too, but to the lead producer John Carter was huge and he thought everyone felt that way. All it takes is that feeling that "This is massive" with little to support that and you can go very far astray quickly in terms of popularity.

I was born in 84, and I knew of John Carter from action figures and maybe one book. That was it.

Yeah. I mean, a story like that has the potential to generate a new audience, if it's constructed with an understanding that this is essentially an attempt to resurrect a dead story, but the filmmakers need to recognize that it's a dead story first and the marketing needs to reflect that.

 

[Ithekro]

As a kid growing up in the 80s, the only reference point I had to John Carter was the mention of him by Carl Sagan in "Cosmos" in the episode about Mars.

 

[Crazyewok]

Im getting REALLY tired of Disney announcing films and projects them shit canning them....

Its not just irritating, especially with the rogue squadron movie as I was really excited about this one, but is unprofessional and damages my trust in disney.

The fact this is happening time and time again shows there is cleary as issue at the top.

Fucking hire the right people in the first place and fucking dont announce a project until you are 100% your going through with it.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Ah, yes, my favorite: Backseat film production operator!

 

[Gaith]

Meh, I prefer the front seat corporate sycophants.

 

[fireproof78]

I love how everyone knows how to run LFL'S business better than LFL. It's amazing.

 

[Gaith]

I love how some people on an opinion discussion board like to snidely imply other people shouldn't express opinions they don't agree with, without having the integrity or guts to just say that. It's fantabulous.

 

[fireproof78]

I love how some people on an opinion discussion board like to snidely imply other people shouldn't express opinions they don't agree with, without having the integrity or guts to just say that. It's fantabulous.

By all means, please express it. Don't expect it to go unchallenged especially when neither of us have the full information about the business situation.

 

[Gaith]

By all means, please express it.

That's not the message your passive-aggressive reply to Ewok implied.

 

[fireproof78]

That's not the message your passive-aggressive reply to Ewok implied.

Assumption.

 

[Tuskin38]

Patty confirmed Rogue Squadron wasn’t cancelled, just delayed until she finished Wonder Woman 3.

https://twitter.com/pattyjenks/status/1602824242684252161?s=46&t=6zTSCDp8dsnimsgK9tM12g