Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has a lot going for it. The Star Wars franchise, the fact that it will be the best Star Wars prequel ever made by default, that it’s coming out of Christmas, all are in its favor. But, of course, a CEO’s job is to be realistic, so Bob Iger got in front of his investors to warn them that just maybe Rogue One will have to settle for making a billion dollars.
Iger points out that Disney’s expectations for Rogue One are slightly more modest than The Force Awakens, which was pretty much seen by every human being with access to a movie theater at least once. And that’s fair, as it’s a slightly edgier movie that’s moving away from the main franchise is both big and subtle ways, like ditching the opening crawl. But, Iger also noted, interest is still high in the movie, as high, in fact, as The Force Awakens. So who knows? Weeks of box office dominance and the cash that comes with it might come along. Or it might only make a billion dollars.
Iger also offered a short glimpse into Star Wars beyond Episode VIII. There’s a movie a year through 2020 on the schedule, but plans after that are a bit up in the air, so they might be seeing how the spinoffs do before making any more decisions. But if they decide to stick with the Skywalkers in the movies, there’s always TV.
(Via Variety)
