According to Disney, the upcoming Star Wars anthology film Rogue One is not expected to match TFA’s numbers. Disney head honcho had to say, “We never felt it would do the level that Force Awakens did”, although he did go on to say “The level of interest [in Rogue One] is as high as it was for Force Awakens.”
This may not be honest though. From all accounts, people are ambivalent about the Star Wars anthology film, and even moreso about the upcoming Han Solo film without Harrison Ford. Rogue One is not expected to match TFA at the box office for a reason.
The premise is interesting, but there are no Skywalkers, no Obi-Wan Kenobis, no Han Solos. The film just doesn’t have what it takes to garner the kind of interest that even the prequels did, even in their latter and unpopular years. Everyone knows what happens to the small band of rebels who steal the Death Star plans. They die. The one interesting thing about the film could very well be the return of Darth Vader, who is dead by the time the Sequel Trilogy rolls around, and the Emperor. Ian McDiarmid did such an incredible job in ROTJ and the prequels and seeing him again would be a delight.
It is a shame, but it seems that Disney is milking Star Wars for all it can. Yes, George Lucas’ “white slavers” metaphor was going way too far and was completely inappropriate, but Disney is going to use Star Wars for all its worth until there’s nothing left. And that’s tragic.