Why is Disney treating Star Wars so differently from Marvel?

[Zontar]

To cut a long post short I've noticed that Disney has treated its two flagship propertied very differently since buying them both to the sound of 4 billion each.

In the case of Marvel, once its contract with Paramount came to an end they mandated 2 movies for theatrical distribution each year.

What we got was the intimidate production of a live action television series and a half dozen animated series on top of that, with the number of both increasing 10 (or 11 depending on who you ask) live action series either airing, aired or at some level of production, and several animated series and even movies.

In the same timeframe that Disney has had Marvel under its contract, it has owned Lucasfilm/Lucasart. What we've received is a movie a year and a single animated television series.

You can see the clear disparity here (I'm not counting books or comics since both are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, what with the entire comic book industry being worth less each year then a typical movie from each property) but the question is why? While I can understand wanting to keep Star Wars as the December blockbuster, you'd think it would have at least one live action series attempted and more then one animated series given the setting.

 

[Queen Michael]

First of all, you might as well count comics too. After all, I'm pretty sure Disney publishes a bit more comic books about Marvel's super heroes than about Star Wars...

And the thing is, Star Wars is regarded as one big series more than Marvel movies are. Last year, two Marvel movies were released, but people regarded them as one Captain America movie and one Guardians of the Galaxy movie. However, if Disney'd release two Star Wars movies, people would regard them as two Star Wars movies in just one year.

About the live-action TV thing... I don't know.

 

[Zontar]

About the live-action TV thing... I don't know.

That's where my gripe is. No live action series? Not even a second animated series? It's bad enough that Rebels is worst then Clone Wars in every way despite being made by the same people.

 

[Parasondox]

Good question. Honestly, maybe it's because Star Wars has a very very strong fan base. The majority of nerd/geek videos you see on YouTube as Star Wars heavy. Hell, a single bit of Star Wars news, like let's say Hans boots, that would get a full 10-15 minute review. So Disney are being very careful with that IP. Live action TV series.... actually I am surprised nothing is there for that yet. Maybe cause of budget reason. But if they want to focus on budget, why not a 1313 inspired series. You won't have to leave the planet, keep it in house... with no flipping Jedi's and Force stuff. Keep it to 8 to 10 episodes and not 23/24.

Also Baby Groot is cleeeeeeeearly there to increase toy sales. Stores everywhere will stock Baby Groot toys in the hundreds and online retailers will be busy.

 

[Queen Michael]

Good question. Honestly, maybe it's because Star Wars has a very very strong fan base. The majority of nerd/geek videos you see on YouTube as Star Wars heavy. Hell, a single bit of Star Wars news, like let's say Hans boots, that would get a full 10-15 minute review. So Disney are being very careful with that IP. Live action TV series.... actually I am surprised nothing is there for that yet. Maybe cause of budget reason. But if they want to focus on budget, why not a 1313 inspired series. You won't have to leave the planet, keep it in house... with no flipping Jedis and Force stuff. Keep it to 8 to 10 episodes and not 23/24.

Problem is, pretty much everyone who watches Star Wars wants a few Jedis. Basically, what people would expect from a Star Wars TV show would be a show where almost every episode is like a short Star Wars movie, with the special effect and high stakes that goes with it.

 

[Pyrian]

No live action series?

Too expensive, I imagine. Have you seen any of the Marvel TV series? Let's just say they spare a lot of expenses compared to the Marvel movies. It's harder to get away with that, with Star Wars.

 

[Zontar]

No live action series?

Too expensive, I imagine. Have you seen any of the Marvel TV series? Let's just say they spare a lot of expenses compared to the Marvel movies. It's harder to get away with that, with Star Wars.

TV CG has come quite some ways, one need only look at Agents of Shield. Just compare season 1 with season 4 and you can see how far the effects have come in the past 4 years. And the Netflix series, despite how they may appear, are just a peg below things like Game of Thrones in terms of budget. There are plenty of stories that could be made as a live action series set in Star Wars. I know that Disney doesn't have the balls to give us a series following the crew of a Star Destroyer, but shows like The Expanse and Battlestar showed us that the technology is there for a live action series following the crew of a ship.

Hell The Expanse works even more as an example that the technology is there because it only gets just above a million views per episode, yet it's one of the best looking shows on television. Having a series follow a rebel or republic fleet wouldn't be hard at all.

 

[Queen Michael]

No live action series?

Too expensive, I imagine. Have you seen any of the Marvel TV series? Let's just say they spare a lot of expenses compared to the Marvel movies. It's harder to get away with that, with Star Wars.

This is what I was getting at, too. A TV show usually has seasons that are at least nine hours long. So that'd be like four new Star Wars movies every single season.

 

[Zontar]

No live action series?

Too expensive, I imagine. Have you seen any of the Marvel TV series? Let's just say they spare a lot of expenses compared to the Marvel movies. It's harder to get away with that, with Star Wars.

This is what I was getting at, too. A TV show usually has seasons that are at least nine hours long. So that'd be like four new Star Wars movies every single season.

But you could still make a great show with the budget of something like The Expanse or Battlestar.

 

[Catnip1024]

More importantly, WHERE IS MY STAR WARS MUSICAL?

That was literally the only plus side of it going to Disney. I want choreographed stormtroopers bursting into song.

 

[Hawki]

More importantly, WHERE IS MY STAR WARS MUSICAL?

That was literally the only plus side of it going to Disney. I want choreographed stormtroopers bursting into song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7bmXywWus8

There you go. ;p

 

[Catnip1024]

More importantly, WHERE IS MY STAR WARS MUSICAL?

That was literally the only plus side of it going to Disney. I want choreographed stormtroopers bursting into song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7bmXywWus8

There you go. ;p

Oh my God, thank you for reminding me that this part of the internet existed.

That is exactly what I am after. Only as a feature length movie, essentially. This is the one game that would have even come close to tempting me to get a Kinect.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Honestly, I can't really tell you. I can offer theories though, so here we go:

Marvel has a massive history, good or bad, to drawn on. It has been constantly built on, and frankly, it dwarfs Star Wars. As such, Disney has plenty of stuff to make movies and shows on. Tons of characters, each one with massive fan bases. Star Wars does not have that, especially after Disney took it over. They wiped out everything that took place after Return of the Jedi--not that that matters to most people, as Return of the Jedi is where Star Wars ended for a lot of people. Thus, Disney is in blind territory right now. Unlike Marvel, that has all so many stories written and ready to be adapted, Star Wars is a blank slate for them. So they have to take time and make the stories, make the connections, make the universe. They have to build everything up, which Marvel has already done.

Next is Disney just being careful. Recall, if you will, the last time Star Wars movies came out. Their receptions wasn't...the warmest. And for a lot of people, that was the most recent memory of a Star Wars movie. Disney knew they were going in with this massive block on their shoulder, and while The Force Awakens and Rogue One were both huge success (whether someone thinks they are good or not is a different matter), Disney knows that they are still walking a fine line. Unlike Marvel movies, which they can afford to make a "bad" one and still ride it out (think Iron Man 2), they are still new with Star Wars, and if they mess it up, George Lucas is suddenly going to become "the better option" in a lot of people's eyes. Disney hasn't earned the good will for Star Wars yet, and they know it.

As for TV shows, I think Disney does not want to burn out fans yet. This ties back into the first theory, but Disney doesn't want fans to feel like they need to watch five different programs in order to understand what the next movie will be about. As such, we only have Rebels (which, while I admit has its problems, is has hit its stride and is only getting better now). There's also the problem that I think Disney doesn't know HOW to make a Star Wars TV show that's NOT about Jedi--or rather, they don't think people will watch a show without Jedi. Because, as sad as it is, most people when they think Star Wars, they think Jedi. And they already have a show about Jedi. It's what Rebels is. I don't think they want to just make a live-action version of Rebels.
Now you may ask, well why don't they just set it during the time between Return and Awakens? My answer is two-fold. One, the books and comics are going to fill in this time period most likely. However, the bigger reason I think is that Episodes VIII and IX are not out yet. I don't think we're going to get a lot of world building in that time frame until this new trilogy is finished. "Okay, we've told the main story. Now we can give them the back story."

Bottom line is that Disney is still new to Star Wars. They're still testing the waters and getting their sea legs. Give it a few more years and I bet we'll start seeing a lot more.

 

[hermes]

Because Marvel characters can branch out into different series. We have the Captain America movies, the Iron Man movies, the Thor movies, the new heroes movies, etc. They are mostly independent, and once in a while, they come together in a continuity mashup. The amount of independent stories makes it easier to release several movies in a year.

Star Wars, on the other hand, is a single series, from which some spin offs can be produced. Star Wars is mostly the Skywalkers story and little else. I am totally prepared to be proven right when they unveil the "surprise" that Rey is Luke's daughter, niece or in vitro clone. Rogue One and Rebels are spin offs in the same way Agents of SHIELD is. Because, no matter how popular they get, they are not going to advance the main story (there is a reason why both happen in between movies). We all know how they start and how they end, and if any character of the main story appears, it is only through a cameo...

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

They've "Marvelled" Star Wars pretty thoroughly as far as I'm concerned. You get at least one movie every year and they're neatly divided between mainline entries and spin-off entries. What more do you want, 5 simultaneous TV shows? Will it not be enough until we're sick of it?

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

They've "Marvelled" Star Wars pretty thoroughly as far as I'm concerned. You get at least one movie every year and they're neatly divided between mainline entries and spin-off entries. What more do you want, 5 simultaneous TV shows? Will it not be enough until we're sick of it?

Yeah, a Star Wars movie every December is pretty crazy when before it was one every three years. Personally, after the overrated and mediocre Rogue One, I'm not optimistic about more of Disney's expanded universe. I find it pretty lame how the stories they're telling are all centered around the original trilogy, first with Rogue One and now with the young Han Solo movie. Thankfully, the Boba Fett movie was cancelled.

I rather see a Boba Fett movie than a young Han Solo movie.

 

[Hawki]

I want SW movies with original characters.

...every movie since Disney took over has predominantly featured original characters.