There’s been a laser focus on the Star Wars franchise as of late, and now the billion-dollar behemoth is about to take another hit.
In 2012, George Lucas sold his science-fiction empire to The Walt Disney Company for over $4 billion. It took the House of the Mouse three years to release the first movie in its new Star Wars sequel trilogy. Under the stewardship of Kathleen Kennedy, Star Wars returned to the big screen with Star Wars: Episode VII–The Force Awakens (2015).
Set decades after the closing moments of Lucas’ own original trilogy finisher, Star Wars: Episode VI–Return of the Jedi (1983), The Force Awakens brought Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) back in supporting roles, with franchise newcomers Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver taking centerstage as Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Kylo Ren, respectively.
The Force Awakens, while criticized for its similarity to the plot of Star Wars: Episode IV–A New Hope (1977), was lauded by critics and fans, going on to secure an impressive $2.068 billion at the global box office.
While the eight and ninth installment in the Skywalker Saga also broke the $1 billion barrier–Star Wars: Episode VIII–The Last Jedi (2017) with $1.332 billion and Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker (2019) with $1.074 billion–the follow-ups were mired in controversy that left them unable to reach the lofty heights of the opening chapter.
Now, six years on since Star Wars last hit the big screen, Lucasfilm seems to have an action plan in place–it just took reports of Kathleen Kennedy’s rumored retirement for things to become clear. After refuting claims that she is retiring from making movies and thus her role as president of Lucasfilm, Kennedy confirmed that, following Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu release next year, Shawn Levy’s film will be produced next.
The Hollywood veteran also explained that the Rey movie with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy at the helm was still happening, and that the James Mangold film will continue moving ahead. Kennedy expanded on Simon Kinberg’s trilogy, stating that the producer/director has gone to script on the project.
That said, it still feels like the galaxy far, far away is in a state of chaos, with so many changes happening in the last half a decade. Now, Star Wars is about to lose another milestone.
The Force Awakens currently sits in the top five highest-grossing movies of all time at number five. With a $2.068 billion haul, the Star Wars sequel movie is joined by Avatar (2009) in number one, Avengers: Endgame (2019) at number two, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) in third, and Titanic (1997) in the fourth spot. However, Star Wars‘ days in the top five are numbered as a recent box office sensation is flying up the charts.
Jiaozi’s Ne Zha 2 (2025) released in Chinese theaters on January 29 for Chinese New Year. The movie, which is a sequel to Ne Zha (2019) and based on the novel “Investiture of the Gods” by Xu Zhonglin, has rapidly gained at the box office, usurping Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 (2024) as the highest-grossing animated movie of all time and ending its short-lived run in the top position.
Now, with a global total of $2.062 billion, Ne Zha 2 is primed to overtake The Force Awakens in the coming days and enter the highest-grossing movies of all time top five–a feat never achieved by an animated movie.
Despite it getting replaced as the fifth highest-grossing movie, The Force Awakens is still a major commercial success. However, with each Star Wars movie in the Skywalker Saga taking less and less since its debut, has the iconic franchise got the power to regain its prominence at the box office? All eyes will be on whether Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu can secure a big haul when it releases on May 22, 2026.
If the audience response to the third season of The Mandalorian is anything to go by, Favreau’s movie may not be the major box office smash Lucasfilm is expecting it to be. Pedro Pascal will return to Star Wars universe as Din Djarin, where he will be joined by his ward, Din Grogu. Also in the cast are Sigourney Weaver and, reportedly, The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt.
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