If the latest Star Wars rumors are true, Disney could be preparing for one of the most shocking franchise pivots hollywood has ever seen — quietly pushing the sequel trilogy out of focus and steering the galaxy back toward legacy characters fans actually embraced.
And the reason may not be the box office.
Because financially, the sequel trilogy looked unstoppable on paper. The Force Awakens exploded with over $2 billion worldwide. The Last Jedi crossed $1.3 billion. The Rise of Skywalker still cleared a billion despite massive backlash. Altogether, Disney’s trilogy earned a staggering $4.47 billion theatrically.
But behind the scenes, another number reportedly terrified Disney far more: merchandise sales.
Star Wars merchandising reportedly peaked around 2015 when The Force Awakens launched. Then came a dramatic collapse. By 2019 — during the supposed grand finale of the Skywalker Saga — toy revenue had reportedly fallen more than 70%. Shelves were packed with unsold sequel-era products. Rey, Finn, Poe, Rose, and other new characters struggled to generate long-term demand, with many products ending up in clearance bins for years.
Then came the ultimate embarrassment for Lucasfilm.
In 2020, with no theatrical Star Wars release, one streaming character completely changed the game: Grogu. Merchandise sales surged again, despite The Mandalorian being unavailable in several international markets at launch. Baby Yoda became a global phenomenon almost overnight — and reportedly outsold years of sequel-trilogy merchandise by himself.
That contrast exposed a brutal reality Disney may no longer be able to ignore: audiences connected more deeply with legacy-era icons like Luke, Vader, Boba Fett, and newer fan-favorites like Mando and Grogu than they ever did with the sequel cast.
Now, rumors of Disney shifting away from the sequel timeline don’t sound impossible anymore. They sound like damage control.
Because in hollywood, the box office opens doors.
But merchandise decides empires.
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