*By Conor White*
Most movie studios would be happy when one of its films earns first-place at the box office on its opening weekend. Disney is not one of those studios.
Studio execs are wondering what went wrong after "Solo: A Star Wars Story" took in $103 million in four days, including the Memorial Day holiday weekend. That's an underwhelming box-office debut for a "Star Wars" movie.
"Sounds like a lot of money, but it's not for a 'Star Wars' film. Not even close," said Julian Roman, a contributing editor at Movie Web.
Roman suggested the "Star Wars" producers take a page out of another movie franchise's playbook to re-invigorate their sci-fi productions.
"I think what Kathleen Kennedy and LucasFilm have to do is do what Kevin Feige and Marvel did, and get some better directors, some interesting stories, and make it less about these iconic characters, and have other people in the 'Star Wars' universe," Roman said. "Because you can only milk it for so long."
LucasFilm has been telling "Star Wars" stories, with many of the same characters, for more than 40 years, ever since "Episode IV- A New Hope," with new movies based on other characters expected. [Next up](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-boba-fett-movie-is-happening-james-mangold-direct-1113273) may be a movie based on the character of the bounty hunter, Boba Fett.
Roman said the studio needs to take the franchise in a different direction.
"They've got to mix it up a little bit," said Roman, who suggested the studio move away from the original canon of characters. "They can't hang their shingle on Luke Skywalker and Han Solo forever."
The "Solo" movie had been dogged by bad buzz after the directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord were fired more than halfway through filming. Their replacement, Ron Howard, reportedly re-shot more than 80 percent of the film.
"It's good enough," said Roman. "But it's not epic. It's not 'Star Wars' epic."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/solo-bombs-at-the-box-office).
Geoffrey Zakarian, a former Iron Chef and host of the show "Big Restaurant Bet," and Margaret Zakarian, the president of Zakarian Hospitality and a featured judge on the series, joined Cheddar News to discuss the project for the Food Network. "The reason why the show is named 'Big Restaurant Bet' is because running any restaurant is a gamble. It really is. It's the hardest thing in good times. When everything's great it's hard," said Geoffrey.
American gas stations are massive and only getting bigger. That's because most chains like Wawa, Sheetz, and Buc-ee's sell way more than just gas. So when and why did gas stations change from single-pump service garages to supersized, all-in-one travel hubs?
Nina Gilden Seavey, Founding Director, The Documentary Center Research at George Washington University, joins Cheddar to dissect the evolution of documentaries in the streaming age.
Andrea Swift, Chair of NYFA Documentary Department, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the documentary filmmaking process and why they remain so important in 2022.
Ye, more commonly known as Kanye West, has announced that he is removing himself from the lineup for Coachella. The rapper was a highly anticipated headliner for the last day of the music festival.
As Yellowstone National Park celebrates its 150th anniversary year, the park's fundraising arm is seeking $1,500 donations in exchange for an annual entry pass that can be used by carloads of the donor's descendants to visit the park in 150 years.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 5, 2022, with Biden's call for a war crimes trial for Putin, another arrest made in the Sacramento mass shooting, NYC rolling out a campaign against Florida’s "Don’t Say Gay" bill, an aluminum shortage potentially affecting beer and cat food cans, and more.
Biden is ready to put more sanctions on Russia, Kansas is the March Madness champ, and the artist known as Kanye bails from Coachella. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
