*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).
As half a million Ukrainians fled when Russia invaded its neighbor, some civilians chose to stay in harm's way. Igor Gamaniuk, a 17-year-old Ukrainian college student, joined Cheddar News to talk about his decision to remain in his beloved country and volunteer to support soldiers with food, clothing, and supplies. "Right now people are pretty calm in my town. We are trying not to panic. But we have to be cautious because every day and every night the siren could sound and we have to move away from the window or go to the nearest shelter," Gamaniuk explained.
A hospital basement in Ukraine’s coastal city of Mariupol has transformed into a bomb shelter and maternity ward amid shelling during Russia’s invasion.
To kick off Women's History Month, Luminary will be hosting its first annual #InThisTogether Summit. Cate Luzio, founder and CEO of Luminary, joins Cheddar News to discuss the event.
President Biden says the union is strong, Russia is attacking civilians, and Mardis Gras returns! Here is all you Need2Know for Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
World leaders are currently dealing with a handful of pressing issues, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, inflation, and not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic; but it could be argued that the most pressing issue is one that has experienced its fair share of neglect in the past -- climate change. As tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine, there is fear the focus on climate will once again be pushed aside. However, the White House appears to be making some effort to prevent that from happening. The White House Office of Science and Technology held a first-of-its-kind roundtable discussion with some of the nation's leading climate scientists on Thursday. Michael Mann, Director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, and author of the book 'The New Climate War' joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as one of the climate scientists at the White House event.
U.S. stocks rebounded to end higher on Thursday after President Biden announced new sanctions against Russia following the country's attack on Ukraine. The Dow was down 859 points at its lowest point of the session, before ultimately finishing the day in the green. Melissa Armo, founder and owner of the Stock Swoosh, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Professional golfer Phil Mickelson issued an apology this week after facing backlash over comments he made in support of a golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia. The proposed golf league is called the Super Golf League and is funded by the Public Investment Fund, the financial arm of the Saudi government. Mickelson faced criticism after seeming to imply that he was willing to overlook the Middle Eastern country's human rights record in order to create a league that would rival the PGA Tour. David Salituro, PGA sportswriter for fansided.com, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
HearHere bills itself as a mobile audio entertainment app for road trips. The company just announced $3.2 million in seed funding led by Camping World, a retail company that sells recreational vehicles and camping supplies. HearHere's GPS-powered app offers over 8,880 stories across the continental U.S. and serves up the stories based on a users' geographic location and interests. The stories are narrated by some big-name celebrities including actor Kevin Costner, who is a co-founder of the company. Woody Sears, co-founder and CEO of HearHere, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
