This iteration of Lucasfilm seems to hold two unwelcome reputations. Nobody has suffered a falling out with more talent over “creative differences”. Too many filmmakers to count have been working on Star Wars movies and then chosen to walk away.
Linked to this, no other studio seems to have announced so many movies and projects that simply failed to materialize. Rogue Squadron, Taika Waititi projects, Rian Johnson trilogies… they are batting double figures for projects announced with a big fanfare that they have then had to quietly back away from.
So just what the hell is happening over there? One thing that isn’t happening, apparently, is things getting any better. Yet more disasters could be developing.
Thanks to financial reporting rules in the UK, more transparent accounting is required. As a result, it has been revealed that The Acolyte may well be Lucasfilm’s biggest failure to date.
The show’s budget hit $230.1 million (£172.7 million). This is $50 million more than had previously been reported, and comes in at nearly $30 million per episode. This would make it the 5th most expensive TV show of all time after Rings of Power, Citadel, Secret Invasion, and Stranger Things season 4.
Things could also be about to get even worse for Lucasfilm as the wheels may be coming off the much-trumpeted Rey Skywalker trilogy.
Well-regarded writer Steven Knight was supposed to be penning the script for the Rey movie to star Daisy Ridley and be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. However, according to reports, Knight is now deeply involved in the Peaky Blinders movie project, and an initiative to open a movie studio in Los Angeles.
This has led to speculation that the Rey movies are to be delayed indefinitely. Anyone who knows modern Lucasfilm understands this means quietly scrapped altogether.
Lucasfilm has seemed to have trouble working with people with any serious degree of influence in the industry, as these people have the credibility to say “no” to them. The most creatively successful Star Wars project from Lucasfilm so far is Andor, the one that the Execs at Lucasfilm have had the least to do with, as Tony Gilroy has the profile and position to push back.
After The Acolyte cratered, you could understand Disney getting nervous about what Lucasfilm might be planning for the New Jedi Order trilogy. However common sense prevailing would mean Lucasfilm leadership changing its mind.