Age of the crashing Hollywood empires
Snow White, Disney woes, Star Wars fears, Indiana Jones and other pop-culture Marvels
As a rule, I am not a fan of sequels — other than movies that complete a cycle of stories that exist in some existing form of literature (think “The Lord of the Rings”).
I am also not a fan of live-action remakes of classic animated films.
In other words, I don’t get to go to the movies much these days.
Let me stress that I will pay to see “Casablanca,” “Young Frankenstein,” or “Lawrence of Arabia” on a big screen. If “Interstellar” shows up on an IMAX screen within 100 miles of me, I will be there.
Now, we all know that for folks like me there are exceptions to these rules — the kinds of exceptions that created the cash-machine “franchises” that ruled Hollywood after “Jaws.” (Come to think of it, I might pay cash to see a remastered cut of “Jaws” on a big screen, but not “Jaws II”).
As a 70something guy, I will admit that I went to a theater, with a small degree of excitement, to see “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.” I still haven’t seen “Star Wars: Episode XI — The Rise of Starwalker,” not even a chopped-up version on free television. I’m not alone. (I would also buy the first two years of “The Mandalorian” on DVD or iMovies, but I don’t think Disney allows that.)
Yes, that was a lot of “Hello Boomer” sharing in first-person voice. But it’s all linked to today’s topic and some new questions about the future of entertainment culture in America (and, thus, the world).
Here is the key online rumor, which — frankly — raises a question I have been thinking about for a year or more: “Is Disney Really Selling Star Wars? Insider Claims It’s On the Table.” The overture states:
… A financial insider claims Disney has been shopping the franchise for months — but can’t find a buyer.
The rumor follows another rumor from back in 2023 that said Disney CEO Bob Iger put restraints on Kathleen Kennedy and Star Wars, with it claimed at the time that Iger wants to sell Star Wars but keep Marvel.
The claim comes from Film Threat’s Chris Gore, who previously leaked Marvel’s firing of top producers. According to Gore, a financial insider told him Disney has been quietly shopping Star Wars for months — with no takers.
“This is from a friend who is not in the nerd space, not in the YouTube space, not a media person — this is a friend in the world of finance,” Gore stated (via That Park Place). “A trusted individual who says for seven months they have put feelers out about selling Star Wars.”
Gore added, “They have been shopping it for seven months and can’t find a buyer.”
I know, I know — “rumor,” “claimed,” “trusted,” etc.
But let’s state the obvious: Can anyone even imagine this topic being discussed 10 years ago?
“Star Wars” was the ultimate entertainment-industry machine that printed money. But that was in an age before the arrival of digital streaming business models, as well as several elections that have left America locked in a red vs. blue civil war that shapes almost every topic in public life.
The tsunami of dollars involved in this disaster started with this 2012 BBC flashback: “Disney buys Star Wars maker Lucasfilm from George Lucas.”
Disney is buying Lucasfilm, the company behind the Star Wars films, from its chairman and founder George Lucas for $4.05bn (£2.5bn).
Mr Lucas said: "It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of film-makers."
How has that turned out? Things started with weak, but popular, flicks and there have been some, repeat “some,” new products that resonated with “Star Wars” fans of all ages. But the train has gone off a cliff in the past few years.
Sell “Star Wars”? To some degree, this means selling the bitterly divided “Star Wars” audience. It also means selling the high expectations linked to the name — with the understanding that new writers and directors will be challenged to offer compelling new stories and new characters, while recognizing that it makes no sense to butcher key elements of “Star Wars” canon.
Now, with that in mind, let’s add the “Star Wars” puzzle to this stack of fallen or falling pop-culture dramas.
* The crisis in the Marvel cinematic universe.
* The fall of Indiana Jones, even with Harrison Ford in the lead role. Anyone want to talk about the future? Nope.
* Cracks in the “Star Trek” base. See “Star Wars,” or even “The X-Men.”
* Preparing for another “Doctor Who” regeneration? What really matters, again, is who is doing the writing. Is there any way to undo the generation-gap and cultural schism in the fanbase?
* Battles inside the creative team that controls James Bond. Hey, maybe Ncuti Gatwa could be the next 007? That would appeal to the “modern” ticket buyer.
Now, how many of these franchises are linked to Disney?
This brings me to the obvious headline for today: “Disney's 'Snow White' has a sleepy opening weekend after a string of controversies.” The messy details at Business Insider:
Disney's "Snow White" had a sleepy opening weekend compared to the studio's other remakes.
"Snow White," directed by Marc Webb, opened in theaters on Friday and earned $43 million at the domestic box office. It also earned $44 million overseas. The live-action film, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, is a remake of Disney's 1937 animated film. According to Variety, it cost over $250 million to make.
As you would expect, I have zero interest in this movie. However, it did lead to a discussion inside my household that I think points to larger issues in this pop-culture moment.
The question: If you wanted to reboot “Snow White” (I know, I know) and make a film that turned a profit, did justice to the Disney classic and, hey, maybe even the original story, what would you do? What are your options?
* What Disney did. Attempt a “modern audiences” reboot, then freak out and throw millions of dollars at the screen attempting to fix it.
* Do the “modern audiences” reboot on a lower budget and then OWN IT. Defend your creative team, please the mainstream entertainment press and, in the end, make a tiny bite of money or suffer a much less expensive flop. Plus, you are sure to get Academy Award nominations!
* Do something like “West Side Story,” which took Romeo and Juliet and put the framework of the story in a new cultural context in which the creative changes MADE SENSE. A Latinx “Snow White”? That might work in Spanish Harlem or some other cultural context, like postmodern Los Angeles.
* Dive even deeper into the cultural depths of the “Snow White” tale, offering something like the “Snow White and the Widow Queen” graphic novel from Jonathan Pageau and his “Symbolic World” team. Stress the story, using digital tech to create a movie or series that looks traditional and modern at the same time.
What think ye? In a niche-culture media world, I don’t think there is a “safe” option for a beleaguered company like Disney. So, what is the most creative path forward, especially for those who want to offer something beautiful and lasting?
Let me know in the comments section.
All of these businesses, Disney, Budweiser, Target, need to take a "don't ask don't tell" stance on all cultural issues. Quit trying to preach to the audience. Give us a decent product without trying to pay homage to the issue of the day. My sole entertainment these days is pre-2010 series and movies. Too much after that time has become self-righteous virtue-signaling dreck.
Who indeed would buy Star Wars? Who would be able to handle the mega-franchise? Would all Disney-produced content go to that company? Or should the Mouse House wait for the Kennedy pipeline content to pass through into the void and rebuild with less "messaging" (Iger's term).
As for Indiana Jones, that's a Lucasfilm property unlikely to work outside of the occasional video game. Ford isn't replaceable.
For MCU viability--see above--same situation as post-Kennedy Star Wars--can Fiege return MCU to exciting, interesting characters and plots or was the Iron Man-through-Endgame era a unique era of creativity similar to the Pixar golden age that was followed by declining consistency? Fanboys (like me) hope the Fantastic Four may help but the Robert Downy Jr. as Doctor Doom films sound like a Hail Mary pass. The original MCU was unhampered by too much history, had the best actors in the best characters. That momentum built to a superb epic resolution and little has been the same since, except Spider-Man. Captain America: Brave New World, by normal calculations, hasn't broken even yet despite good numbers. It's hard to capture a decade of lightening in a new bottle with so many elements working against it. (I'm not convinced of the Russo theory that kids will only stream their content on their phones--give them a reason to go to a theater (Top Gun Maverick, Barbie, Oppenheimer) and they will go.)
Disney has so damaged its brand for so many people that it's recovery is an open question--Iger's acquisition of so many properties worked until it didn't--and these are now weights around Mickey's neck. The new Snow White is a "condensed symbol" of how the original genius of Walt, recovered in the 80s, has again faded under the weight of cultural mandates, part of the our larger, unending crisis.