Media giant The Walt Disney Company DIS had a difficult 2023 with the stock hitting nine-year lows and the company struggling at the box office.
One of the company's key franchises could provide a boost in the future for both box office and its Disney+ streaming platform.
What Happened: Disney acquired the Lucasfilm company in 2012, which gave it the rights to the well-known Star Wars franchise.
Since the acquisition, Disney has released new movies and launched streaming shows in the Star Wars universe that have helped keep loyal fans and bring new fans into the world of Disney. The media giant has also used Star Wars to help boost several business lines including consumer goods, licensing, parks and resorts and more.
First introduced to the world on Nov. 12, 2019 in the premier episode of "The Mandalorian," the character known as "The Child" became known to many around the world as Baby Yoda, given his resemblance to the beloved Jedi character in the original Star Wars trilogy. Later in the series, the character's name would officially be revealed as Grogu.
Whatever his name is, the love for Baby Yoda spread worldwide with fans hoping to get their hands on merchandise related to the character and Disney couldn't make enough products for Christmas 2019.
While Baby Yoda remains a part of "The Mandalorian" series, he is now moving on to the big screen, as shared by Variety.
On Tuesday, Disney announced a new Star Wars movie titled "The Mandalorian & Grogu," which will be directed by Jon Favreau. Serving as a creator, director and producer for "The Mandalorian," Favreau's work in the Star Wars universe has generally received positive feedback from fans of the franchise.
The new film will enter production later this year, with no release date set yet. Three seasons of "The Mandalorian" have aired on Disney+ with a fourth season in development.
"I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created," Favreau said. "The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting."
Related Link: Disney Q4 Earnings Highlights: Revenue Miss, Earnings Beat, Disney+ Adds 7 Million Core Subscribers And More
Why It's Important: Disney has not released a Star Wars movie on the big screen since the 2019 film "Star Wars Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker." The film was one of three sequel trilogy films that were released in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
"The Rise of Skywalker" grossed $515.2 million domestically and $1.07 billion worldwide, ranking fourth in franchise history domestically and third from the sequel films.
The Star Wars franchise also saw standalone movies "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "Solo: A Star Wars Story" released in 2016 and 2018 respectively. The films had mixed results, with "Rogue One" grossing $532.2 million domestically and $1.06 billion worldwide and "Solo" grossing $213.8 million domestically and $392.9 million worldwide.
After releasing Star Wars films every two years on average, Disney has not released a theatrical film in over four years and there are currently no release dates scheduled for several films in the works.
The calendar of Star Wars film release dates included December 2025 which could serve as the date for the new Baby Yoda film. There are also scheduled dates of May 22, 2026, Dec. 18, 2026 and Dec. 17, 2027 on the books for Star Wars films.
While the new Star Wars film won't hit theaters until 2025 at the earliest, it could add to a strong upcoming slate of blockbuster films from Disney. The media company pushed several films scheduled for 2024 release into 2025, after failing to have a $1 billion grossing movie in 2023, its first time missing the milestone in non-COVID-19 effected years in some time.
Disney also confirmed that a second season of "Ahsoka" is in development for Disney+, extending another Star Wars series. The series premiered with strong viewership for its first two episodes in 2023.
DIS Price Action: Disney shares trade at $89.85 versus a 52-week trading range of $78.73 to $118.18. Shares of Disney are down 6% in the last year and down 21% over the last five years.
Photo: Shutterstock
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