New Star Wars Rumors Include Canceled Movies, Dismissed Creatives, and Changes at Disney Parks
Disney may have finally had enough of seeing Star Wars fail because more reports of changes at Lucasfilm are coming in following the cancellation of The Acolyte. Yesterday, we saw merchandise disappear from the Disney Store’s website – then reappear, then disappear again, then reappear again – and hear that The High Republic will be retired after the rest of the completed or in-development books are released over the next year or two. Now comes word from Cosmic Book News – based on “conversations with insiders” at the San Diego Comic-Con – that Taika Waititi’s Star Wars film is no longer happening and that Leslye Headland, the creator and showrunner of The Acolyte, is “done at Lucasfilm.” Waititi’s movie had been in development since December 2020, although very little ever came out about it, aside from the occasional vague update from Waititi.
The Leslye Headland thing is a no-brainer, or it would be to anyone with a modicum of common sense, which I don’t much attribute to the Disney folks nowadays. Her sole Star Wars creation flushed $180 million down the drain at a time when Disney can’t afford to keep losing money. Giving her another project at Lucasfilm would’ve been insane, and when The Acolyte was denied a second season, the door was likely closed on Headland. I’m not sure for what she deserves her dismissal more: The Acolye itself, or the fact that she seemed to care so little about the show that she repeatedly told interviewers she wasn’t sure what was happening in the story or what characters’ motivations were. And while I’m not a Hollywood mogul or anything, I feel confident saying it was a bad idea to tell fans that Star Wars was always gay, but your Star Wars was the gayest Star Wars ever to wage war in the stars. It’s not exactly “You will believe a man can fly” in terms of entertainment marketing.
As for Taika Waititi, Cosmic Book News’ sources tell them the reason his Star Wars movie is kaput is Thor: Love and Thunder. And not just because it sucked, which it very much did, but because he appears to have abandoned it at some point during post-production. I’m just going to quote this part because it’s too delicious not to read:
“I was also told Waititi didn’t finish the reshoots and the final cut of the movie. I was also told that Marvel had a really difficult time putting together the final cut of Thor: Love and Thunder. The insiders filled me in Marvel kept running into issues with continuity and with the story. They would get to certain parts, but didn’t know where to go next, couldn’t sync things up right (Waititi even admitted they struggled through the edits and right up until the end).”
Now, when I say “delicious,” I don’t mean I’m happy Thor: Love and Thunder was awful; I want all the Marvel movies to be great. But I’m glad Marvel got a lesson in hiring the absolute wrong person for the job, which is what Taika Waititi always was. For some reason, everyone but me loved Thor: Ragnarok, but I could tell with that movie that Waititi did not fit Thor’s world and had no interest in the characters or the unfolding story. Loki’s conquest of Asgard was immediately ditched in a stupid comedy scene that turned the brilliant, Machiavellian God of Mischief into a blithering idiot. Thor’s search for the Infinity Gems and the evil mastermind collecting them was abandoned in a throwaway joke. The Warriors Three were killed off in silent cameos and never mentioned again by their best friend, Thor, while Lady Sif wasn’t even in the movie. “Planet Hulk” was bastardized and lazily translated to the screen, with Korg nothing more than a masturbatory Waititi self-insert. Ragnarok, the Norse God apocalypse, was a deus ex machina rather than a story in its own right. And on and on and on. It took Love and Thunder, which was admittedly even worse, to show everyone – including Marvel – that this guy had no business in their world, and his dismissive attitude finally became clear to them. This makes me wonder how long ago they dropped his Star Wars movie; I can’t remember when he last mentioned it.
The next one comes from WDW Pro, who says he heard it from a “highly respected source who has helped [him] get things right in the past in grandiose ways.” This source tells Pro that the Star Wars sequel trilogy is being “phased out” of the Disney Parks. Pro stipulates that it could take “many years” to remove them from the parks, which makes sense because there are so many rides and attractions and so much decor related to the sequels, but they’re going, little by little. It seems the failure of Galactic Starcruiser, the Star Wars hotel geared towards families that was too expensive for 99% of families to afford, was the precipitating factor, but the unpopularity of Galaxy’s Edge, particularly at Disneyland, sealed the deal. An expansion based on the sequels in France – presumably Disneyland Paris – was canceled as well. You can watch Pro’s video below, where he also talks about Bob Iger’s potential replacement as Disney’s CEO if he’s planning on leaving and what that could mean for Lucasfilm:
Can you imagine how expensive this is going to be? They’re basically going to have to rebuild Galaxy’s Edge at every park, which will certainly cost somewhere in the billions of dollars. This has got to be one of the biggest embarrassments the entertainment industry has ever suffered, self-inflicted though it is. Any Star Wars fan could have told them they should center everything on the original trilogy; they could have stuff based on the prequels and sequels and whatnot, but Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and the rest should have been the nexus. For example, watch this Park Hoppin’ video where Krista and Jay ride Rise of the Resistance at Disney World:
To be completely fair, the ride looks cool and well put together. But while I was watching the video, I couldn’t help thinking how much better it would be if it took place on the Death Star, and instead of Kylo Ren menacing the Disney World guests, it was Darth Vader, issuing his evil commands in James Earl Jones’ legendary voice. Instead of Finn standing against the wall with a blaster, ready to shoot some Stormtroopers, it could be Han Solo with Chewie at his side, imploring his friend not to tell him the odds as the Wookie makes Wookie noises, bowcaster in hand. Then, you hear Darth Vader say he feels the presence of the Force as Luke comes into view. Like, seriously, how do you put a Mon Calamari pilot in this ride and not make it Admiral Ackbar? Lunacy.
These developments – which are still rumors, but they make sense considering some of the other things we know about Disney, like the pivot Marvel is making after firing its woke producers – suggest that Disney may be giving up on its sociology experiment on the whole, admitting failure after losing astronomical amounts of money, and finally giving the customers what they want. It seemed crazy to believe they ever would even a few weeks ago, and it’s not definite yet, but the rays of hope are breaking through, even if they’re still faint. Regardless of what happens, I don’t think Star Wars can be saved outside of maybe the parks; the story has been irreparably broken and needs to be left to rest now. But an end to the desecration of its corpse would indicate other good entertainment on the way from a company that, at last, has learned its lesson. Not that I’m buying stock just yet.
Let us know what you think of these Star Wars rumors and potential changes in the comments, and check out Park Hoppin’ for news, reviews, and fun videos from Disney World, Universal Orlando, and more!
