It takes a lot to helm a franchise that is well-loved and a high level of expectancy with the pressure to maintain its image, legacy, and continuity. This is true when the franchise is Star Wars which is one of the most beloved titles of all time and the Marvel Cinematic Universe which remains to be a fan-favorite. However, it was reported that the House of Mouse forced both Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios to make announcements even when they are far from ready.
For more than forty years, Star Wars cemented its name on the entertainment industry with various releases such as movies, series, games, books, and more. Same with Marvel, the franchise holds some the highest grossing movies of all time in history and that puts a lot of pressure when it comes to keeping everything afloat while living up to the expectations of the audience. While the people could only see what these studios bring forth, what happens inside of it proves to be a stressful environment.
During Disney's Investor Day 2020, Lucasfilm, through Kathleen Kennedy, made various announcements for Star Wars with the upcoming titles for the franchise such as Ahsoka, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: Visions, The Acolyte, Lando, Rangers of the New Republic, Roque Squadron, and Star Wars: A Droid Story. Marvel Studios, on the other hand, unveiled its Phase Four with WandaVision, Black Widow, Eternals, Loki, Ms. Marvel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and more. In the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios (via ScreenRant), it was claimed that both Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm were forced to make announcements when the projects are not ready yet:
Kevin Feige and Lucasfilm chair Kathleen Kennedy appeared onscreen to announce a dizzying number of new projects... Both Feige and Kennedy were pressured into announcing projects that were nowhere near ready, some of which have since been canceled... or significantly overhauled and delayed.
These comments seem to be true and that the Force was not with Lucasfilm this time. Some of the titles suffered majorly as a consequence to the pressure that Disney had allegedly put on Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios when announcing the titles which are not ready. The reeling effects of these ill-considered announcements still hurt both studios to date.
What happened to the titles announced by Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm?
Well, Lucasfilm managed to deliver most of the projects with success but not all pushed through. Some were not as fortunate as the others as they faced a series of development issues. Lando remains without any updates that even those working on the project haven't heard anything from Lucasfilm. Rogue Squadron of Patty Jenkins has been officially cancelled. Rangers of the New Republic is also cancelled because its narrative could be taken in by other popular titles such as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. For Star Wars: A Droid Story, it has not been heard of since the announcement of the title.
As for Marvel Studios, the studio did deliver the promised titles that they were forced to announce, however, what the studio is currently facing is the delay in the schedule of the titles announced. Marvel pushed back the schedules of their projects such as Blade, Fantastic Four, and more as these faced major development issues. With the SAG strike in force, more titles like Deadpool 3 and Daredevil: Born Again were put to an indefinite delay.
To check on the upcoming Star Wars shows, here's a list of what to expect next after Ahsoka Season 1. For the upcoming Marvel shows, here are the shows after Loki Season 2.
