‘The Force Awakens’ To Be Replaced as ‘Star Wars’ Movie About To Lose Iconic Status
The Star Wars franchise has been under intense scrutiny lately, and now it’s facing another significant change.
In 2012, George Lucas sold his beloved science-fiction universe to The Walt Disney Company for over $4 billion. Three years later, Disney released the first installment in its new sequel trilogy. Under the guidance of Kathleen Kennedy, Star Wars: Episode VII–The Force Awakens (2015) hit theaters, marking the franchise’s cinematic return.
The Force Awakens, set decades after Star Wars: Episode VI–Return of the Jedi (1983), brought back legacy characters Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in supporting roles. The film introduced new faces like Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, and Adam Driver as Kylo Ren.
While The Force Awakens earned criticism for closely mirroring the plot of Star Wars: Episode IV–A New Hope (1977), it still captured the hearts of fans and critics alike. The movie went on to gross $2.068 billion worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of all time.
The sequel trilogy’s subsequent entries, Star Wars: Episode VIII–The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker (2019), both surpassed the $1 billion mark. However, with $1.332 billion and $1.074 billion respectively, they struggled to replicate the financial dominance of The Force Awakens, amid ongoing fan division.
Now, six years since Star Wars last graced the big screen, Lucasfilm appears to be setting a course for the future. Following speculation about her retirement, Kathleen Kennedy recently confirmed she remains at the helm of Lucasfilm. Kennedy announced that following Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu movie next year, Shawn Levy’s untitled Star Wars project will enter production.
Additionally, Kennedy confirmed that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film, featuring Daisy Ridley’s Rey, remains in development. James Mangold’s “biblical” project is also moving forward, and Kennedy shared that Simon Kinberg’s proposed trilogy is still being scripted.
However, with so much upheaval in the franchise, Star Wars is now poised to lose a notable milestone. The Force Awakens, currently the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, is set to be dethroned.
As it stands, the top-grossing films globally are Avatar (2009) at number one, Avengers: Endgame (2019) in second, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) in third, and Titanic (1997) in fourth. The Force Awakens currently holds the fifth spot, but that position is now under threat from a new animated juggernaut.
Jiaozi’s Ne Zha 2 (2025), released in China on January 29 during the Chinese New Year season, has surged at the box office. The sequel to 2019’s Ne Zha, adapted from Xu Zhonglin’s “Investiture of the Gods,” has already claimed the title of highest-grossing animated film, overtaking Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 (2024).
Ne Zha 2 now boasts a global total of $2.062 billion and is on track to overtake The Force Awakens in the coming days, securing a historic spot in the all-time top five.
Despite losing its position in the top five, The Force Awakens remains a major achievement. Yet, the Star Wars saga’s box office dominance has waned with each new entry. All eyes are now on Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, set to release on May 22, 2026, to see if it can reignite the franchise’s financial momentum.
If the third season of The Mandalorian is any indication, Favreau’s film may face an uphill battle. Pedro Pascal will reprise his role as Din Djarin, alongside his young ward Din Grogu. The cast will also include Sigourney Weaver and, reportedly, Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) as Rotta the Hutt.
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