Lucasfilm Denies Rumors its Star Wars Spin-Off Movies Have Been Put on Hold

It's hard to separate fact from fiction these days, particularly when you don't know which sources to trust. I told you guys yesterday about Lucasfilm's plan to regroup, put its Star Wars spin-off movies on hold, and make sure that all of its resources are dedicated to making Episode IX the best it can be.

Well, it turns out that may not have been the case... or at least not the image that Lucasfilm wants to project, for all you conspiracy theorists out there. ABC News—another subsidiary of Disney—is reporting that rumors of the Star Wars spin-offs' demise have been greatly exaggerated. Or something...

Lucasfilm sources on Thursday characterized as "inaccurate" a report that future "Star Wars" movies falling outside of the regular trilogy storyline (Episodes I to IX) have been put on hold in the wake of the box office under-performance of "Solo: A Star Wars Story."

Instead, Lucasfilm told ABC News there are still "multiple" Star Wars films currently in development that have not been officially announced. Those projects are moving forward separate from an already-announced "Star Wars" trilogy being overseen by "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson and another series of movies from "Game of Thrones" producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

Cue the fans still butt-hurt over The Last Jedi not being exactly as they imagined it in their heads griping about Rian Johnson overseeing more Star Wars movies. Get over yourselves. A movie isn't bad because it's not the same movie you would have made.

But I digress. Lucasfilm is weathering a pretty rough patch right now. Merchandise sales are down, box office receipts for Solo aren't great, and there are further rumors that Kathleen Kennedy may be stepping down. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out, but you can't deny that there doesn't appear to be a market whatsoever for side stories about established characters. The failure of Solo to connect with audiences kinda instantly doomed that Obi-Wan movie.

Having said that, don't be surprised when Episode IX ends if there aren't Poe Dameron or Rey-centric movies that follow. It wouldn't surprise me if they wanted to start splintering these characters, in a sort of reverse MCU style. Take them out of the main franchise and into their own adventure. There's no guarantee they'd be successful, but maybe start spending a little less money on these movies by spreading them out a bit more.

Star Wars fatigue is real and we're in the midst of it. Hopefully the 18 month wait until Episode IX works in its favor, but I think we could all use a break for a little while.