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Star Warsis drive back December . Episode IXhas not only gained a newfangled theatre director in the form of J.J. Abrams , but its release date hasmoved from May to December 2019 . The Christmas window has proved indispensable to the dealership since Disney resurrect it in 2015 - it ’s remove time to come - shouldering rebootThe Force Awakensand unprecedented spinoffRogue Oneto a shared $ 3 billion worldwide - so it seemed strange that , afterThe Last Jedilater this year , the serial publication look to be retrovert to a extremely private-enterprise May expansion slot . Now , though , it ’s back as a holiday staple - no matter the competition ( as it standsEpisode IXis fix to take onWonder Woman 2 ) .
But what aboutHan Solo ?
The secondStar WarsStory has always been determine for May 2018 , which back when Lord and Miller were contract in 2015 seemed an easily achievable fair game . Not so less than a year out . The director were fired from the projectmere hebdomad before principal picture taking was set to end and replaced with Ron Howard who has been filming passably much constantly since July . That ’s a lot of hyperspace turbulence , much more serious and near firing thanEpisode IX ’s shake-up . So , by nature , many simulate that - likeThe Force AwakensandThe Last Jedibefore it - the proclaimed May date would be changed to December . However , now we ’re only eight months out ( seriously ) and the filmafterhas moved , that seems improbable .
But it ’s not too late . Lucasfilm should changeHan Solo ’s release to December 2018 at the next possible opportunity ( perhaps to announce the impendent final stage of film with a first look at Alden Ehrenreich in full costume ) . Because it could goreallybad otherwise .
Why Exactly Is Han Solo Still In May?
Let ’s get this aggravating misconception out of the way first : this has nothing to do with May 4th . That punning - based marketing chance is scantily a blip on the scale compared to organized events likeStar WarsCelebration let alone existent releases . The actual rationality May has been Lucasfilm ’s default option thus far is tradition ; it ’s the month when all of the first six films were released . In fact , the original trilogy releasing in May actuallychanged the manufacture . Now , though , it ’s extremely competitive with new film every week that make cracking through tricky .
The primary defence mechanism of keepingSolowhere it is is that 2018 ’s release schedule otherwise is already jam - jam . There are very few release week without challenger across the whole yr , and that ’s especially dead on target of December : theanimatedSpider - ManfilmandMortal Enginesare set up for the 14th , AquamanandBumblebeethe 21st andMary Poppins Returnsdue on Christmas Day . The fourteenth would be the typicalStar Warsslot and certainly has the least strong ( and thus most likely to move ) films , but that ’s a lot of likely box power combat for what is the most questionable of Disney - era Lucasfilm ’s output . Summer has similar grave slugger trouble withDeadpool 2just a week after , but it ’s in a engaged movie - going time of year with greater step - and slots in the big picture .
Back whenWonder cleaning lady 2first lock up the December 2019 date ( something we ’d play it ’ll move from now Abrams is have a bun in the oven down ) , we reflect that the chemise to May releases could be all part ofa large Disney and Lucasfilm plan . For the Mouse House , it fits well with the set weekends for Marvel , Pixar and their own productions ( including the likes ofPoppins ) . For Lucasfilm , it meant that the holiday merchandise push would happenafterthe movie had issue forth out ( it ’s likely due to the handout being so secretive to December 25th that in 2016Rogue Onesold few toys thanThe Force Awakensof a twelvemonth before ) .
But there may a unlike , more sententious reason : obstinacy . Han Solois blighted with contention . It ’s a film that buff were n’t too peachy on in the first place , and now Lord and Miller have run low has drop off one of its biggest endorsements and appears fundamentally conflicted . It ’s a spate , but one that Lucasfilm is trying hard to correct ; their outbound face has been incredibly smiley and Ron Howard is a demon with tease set picture on Twitter . As such , while go the appointment on previous film was a show of strength ( even though inEpisode IX ’s case it was a result of a ulterior production ) , here it could be taken as a mark the managing director shake - up has led to a holdup and the " business as usual " narrative they ’re push is wrong .
That ’s fair from a marque standpoint but is incredibly poorly - focussed . atomic number 59 and otherwise , forSolo , December offers so much more .
Why A Move To December Can Work
When you get down to gold die , most of the reason for persist in May do n’t obligate up . The whole argument about Disney ’s plan andStar Warsowning previous - May lose its luster withStar Wars 9now affect , andRogue Oneunderselling may just be a deficiency of marketable characters compare to the sequel trilogy . Thus it feels like stubbornness alone is keepingSolowhere it is - and that misses a mass of advantages .
There is still the rival vex , butStar Warsis large than those films . Indeed , Solowould easy muscle out Spidey and Peter Jackson ’s YA version , and one of the DCEU or Transformers films will believably shift anyway . And it ’s within Disney ’s ascendancy themselves to moveMary Poppins . Yes , it ’s a sequel to a classic so a Christmas Day release is optimal - it gives that additional layer of childhood custom - but , honestly , its succeeder is tied into bigger concerns ( namely , if it can effectively evoke the original ) . Besides , they could probably keep it where it is without much headache ; the audience overlap is n’t going to be inherently damaging and there is a good ten - twenty-four hour period buffer store between photographic film . It does n’t fit with the image of Disney as a grand overseer , but it ’s not the great ritual killing .
After all , Disney is a company that understands branding - every move they make late has been about synergizing - and so can not have missed that December has become " Star Wars calendar month " . A newfangled tripper to a galaxy far , far away is synonymous with the vacation season . On top of the many advantages to the window itself , that create a tradition and sense of commitment . Not havingHan Solothere , but instead five months afterThe Last Jedi(seriously , it ’s really close ) not only think of the standalone does n’t get the associated blessing but that when we add up round toStar war 9the Ernst Boris Chain has already been broken .
However , it all really come down to product and sensing . As we ’ve already repeated , the film is out in eight month ( so close ) yet is still to fetch up its main picture taking - turn over - reshoots . That ’s tight and while Howard is for sure an experient movie maker capable to turn in magnanimous project on restrictive schedules , Soloisn’t any old movie . It ’s aStar Warsfilm and a rather indicative one of the franchise ’s future at that ; if this fail , the Story enterprise takes a massive knock . He ca n’t deliver a pot - boiling slice of loose fan service like with theDan Brown books , so a lengthy post - production period would be good ; just to deform a movie in too soon than rush it at the last minute . The fancy of everything being well is nothing if the movie sour up a dud .
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To not move it and keep in Summer may well be motivated by wanting to maintain a uncoiled face , but when you consider everything else you may get the feeling that Lucasfilm has give up onHan Solo . It ’s a movie theyhaveto finish for so many reasons - not least the bulk of its $ 100 + million budget will have already been expend - but one they ’re have it look like they ’re doing so begrudgingly and as quickly as possible ; counterpoint its handling to what ’s happening withEpisode IX , allowed elbow room for rewrites and delay production .
Moving to December , above all , shows that it has respect and they need to do it right .
