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‘Star Wars’ Spin-Offs: How Many Spin-Off Films Are Too Many?

By Jonathan Franks
Published on: 12:24 PST, Jul 7, 2015

Star Wars fans and critics were recently informed that another spin-off film is currently in development.

The currently untitled film will essentially be a prequel for Han Solo’s story line – focusing on his much younger years.

According to Wired, the Phil Lord and Chris Miller-directed film will finally tell the story of how Han Solo got into the smuggling business in the first place, long before he eventually met up with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker in the very first Star Wars film.

In a statement published on the official Star Wars website, Phil Lord and Chris Miller confirmed the news of their involvement, while also making a promise to the franchise’s longtime fans and critics.

“We promise to take risks, to give the audience a fresh experience, and we pledge ourselves to be faithful stewards of these characters who mean so much to us. This is a dream come true for us. And not the kind of dream where you’re late for work and all your clothes are made of pudding, but the kind of dream where you get to make a film with some of the greatest characters ever, in a film franchise you’ve loved since before you can remember having dreams at all.”

Phil Lord and Chris Miller are viewed as one of the most impressive duos of young filmmakers in the movie industry today. Keep in mind that these are the same guys that turned a classic children’s storybook (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and a 1980s cop show (21 Jump Street) into blockbuster hit franchises on the big-screen.

However, there is a much bigger issue here that needs to be taken into consideration: How many Star Wars spin-off films are really necessary?

At what point is the number of the spin-off films to be considered excessive?

According to Cinema Blend, the Walt Disney Company made plans for multiple spin-offs and standalone Star Wars films when it purchased LucasFilm from George Lucas back in late 2012.

In addition to three brand new chapters of the Star Wars saga – Episode VII, VIII, and IX – these standalone and spin-off films will allow the popular Star Wars universe to expand far beyond the wildest dreams of many longtime fans and critics.

However, is there a point where that universe can get a little too big?

If there is anything that we have learned from overly complicated sci-fi movie franchises (i.e. The Matrix), “too much” of anything – regardless of how amazing it may seem – is never a good thing.

Is Disney taking their vision of the Star Wars universe too far? Just because Disney might not be faring well with original sci-fi stories on the big-screen (i.e. Tomorrowland), does not necessarily mean that they should milk other successful franchises under their massive umbrella dry.

There has to be some sort of line where the Star Wars universe (including spin-off and standalone films) comes to an abrupt halt. Otherwise, Disney could very well cross the point of no return — forcing longtime fans into a galaxy of their own where any sign of Star Wars remains “far, far away.”

[Image Credit: Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images]

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