Disney's once and future CEO, Bob Iger, spoke at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, highlighting the company's future plans. While there, he and other executives talked about Star Wars movies, citing the failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story. But their comments suggest they still miss the point about why the film failed.

Iger's comments at the conference ran the gamut of all of Disney's interests. Iger admitted the Disney Theme Park pricing was too high. He also confirmed that Disney is on an austerity footing, trying to improve content quality by reducing how much of it they make. However, while talking about Star Wars' future on the big screen, the specter of Solo came up. Iger and the rest of the executives highlighted how Lucasfilm is developing movies, and they will only debut when the story is right. However, it wasn't the story, performances or anything actually in the Solo movie that caused it to fail. Rather, it was made for an untenable budget, released during a time when it had to compete with other Disney movies and was marketed in completely the wrong way. In fact, if anyone is to blame for Star Wars' failure on the standalone front, it's Iger and his fellow executives.

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Disney Executives Shifted Blame for Solo's Failure at the Box Office

The production of Solo: A Star Wars Story was troubled specifically because the directorial style of Phil Lord and Chris Miller didn't gel with Lucasfilm. Because of strict canon rules and a desire for a cohesive franchise voice, the film was almost complete but ultimately had to be reshot. The budget ballooned to $275 million, or $120 million less than it made worldwide at the box office. Conversely, Star Wars on Disney+ hasn't delivered box office receipts but captured the zeitgeist. It's not just Grogu and The Mandalorian's shoulders carrying the franchise. Even "controversial" entries like Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett delivered iconic Star Wars moments fans loved. All that said, Solo isn't a bad movie.

When it comes to story, Solo is considered essential Star Wars viewing by many fans. But a plethora of other obstacles stood in its way. There was a reason the marketing for Star Wars: The Force Awakens made everyone cry. Yet, rather than lean into the legacy of Han Solo, Solo's marketing pushed it as a quirky comedy about a space heist. Recasting Harrison Ford's character was always risky, yet the studio played the movie like it was a guaranteed success. And rather than a Christmas release, it got shoved between Avengers: Infinity War and The Incredibles 2, giving it less than a month in theaters uncontested.

At the time of its release, many of the weirdly intense critics of Kathleen Kennedy laid the blame for the film at her feet. It's not just anonymous Twitter Blue subscribers, either. Despite being one of the most successful producers alive, even before Lucasfilm, the world's eyes looked to Kennedy when trying to find someone to blame for Disney's cautious Star Wars strategy for the movies.

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Disney Can't Lean Into Nostalgia for the Next Star Wars Movies

Maul speaking to Qira via hologram in Solo: A Star Wars story

Again, while Star Wars has been absent from theaters for four years, it's going like gangbusters on Disney+. In 2022, Lucasfilm released more hours of live-action Star Wars content on Disney+ than it did in the company's first 40 years. The sequel trilogy also tried to fit two trilogies' worth of story -- the sequel to the original trilogy and the story of the new generation -- into three movies. Yet, the more than $4 billion in box office receipts from the movies almost covers the price Disney paid for Lucasfilm in 2012. Nostalgia played a big part in that success, but it's not a trick that will work twice. The new Star Wars movies have to make audiences excited about the future of the franchise.

Directors like Lord and Miller have a defined style and voice, whereas a director like Ron Howard has immense respect for George Lucas and what he built. Both made meaningful contributions to the franchise, yet what Lucasfilm needs going forward are newer directors. Lucasfilm should take a page from Marvel Studios, working with only newer directors. Not only would they be cost-effective, but they will approach the project as temporary custodians of something precious rather than as auteurs putting their mark on a global franchise.

Disney is right to be cautious about Star Wars and ensure the story is a quality one. Yet, that is not why Solo: A Star Wars Story was the first in the franchise to lose money. Iger and the rest of the suits at the top of the House of Mouse need to make sure they learn from their mistakes during that time as well.