Last Friday, word came out that Star Wars: Episode IX was being considered a course-correction for Lucasfilm after Solo: A Star Wars Story's flop at the box office.
While this sparked concern among Star Wars fans, Forbes writes that viewers shouldn't really worry that much about the franchise. Solo's poor box office performance and the backlash against Star Wars: The Last Jedi isn't going to do any damage on Lucasfilm's third and final sequel trilogy installment, Episode IX.
There's been certainly a lot of babble over the fate of the Star Wars franchise these past few months. Though The Last Jedi's cinematic run was graced with overwhelmingly positive reviews and strong numbers at the box office, a vocal group of fans has been complaining about the film's attempts at subverting fan expectations. The Last Jedi had so much backlash that toxic fans began personally attacking the cast and crew of the film on social media.
After The Last Jedi's little circus, Solo came in and underperformed at the box office despite positive reviews, sparking concern that the Star Wars franchise was experiencing some sort of fatigue.
Because of both events, some have come to believe that Episode IX might not perform as well as everyone hopes.
However, Forbes writes that the fan base shouldn't be as concerned about Episode IX's turnout because the thought of the film being a course-correcting movie in the franchise is nothing but "baseless speculation."
According to the site, Episode IX actually has a lot of power to draw in viewers because the film not only is the final chapter in the sequel trilogy, but it's also the final episode in the 41-year-old Skywalker Saga. While there might be a different outcome, it's very likely that Lucasfilm's Star Wars sequel trilogy will play out like the first two trilogies in the franchise – an overwhelming successful first entry (A New Hope, Phantom Menace), a slightly less successful sequel (Empire Strikes Back, Attack of the Clones, The Last Jedi) and then a rise in profit for the final installment ( Return of the Jedi, Revenge of the Sith).
What do you think of these predictions? Do you think Episode IX will perform as well as Return of the Jedi? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Star Wars: Episode IX premieres December 20, 2019.
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