The force is strong in the Western World for Disney and “Star Wars,” but for some reason it has never been well received in China. So they have enlisted the help of Chinese conglomerate Tencent to help build the fan base.
Tencent, who have stakes in the likes of Activision (publishers of the Call Of Duty video game franchise) and Epic Games (Fortnite creators) have got another one of their subsidiaries China Literature to help translate and distribute 40 “Star Wars” novels. There will also be a new Chinese “Star Wars” book written by one of their in-house writers.
Speaking in Shanghai on Wednesday, Disney and Lucasfilm announced the new story will have a Chinese hero and will “combine native Chinese elements and the narrative style of Chinese literature to tell the story of “Star Wars.””
Disney have found success in China before, with the Marvel films doing extremely well. “Avengers: Endgame” did $629 million in China, an amount enough to make it the highest grossing film of all time. However “Star Wars” has never reached the heights of the MCU.
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George Lucas’ space opera and China have never mixed well. The original trilogy never got a wide release in the country. The prequels did not sell well at the time of their release, and although “The Force Awakens” peaked interest, grossing $124 million (still below what Disney expected), both “Rogue One” and “The Last Jedi” did $69 million and $42.5 million respectively.
The disappointing sales in China for the newer films can be put down to the Chinese audience being confused by the complicated backstories of characters like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. Without seeing the original trilogy, it can be difficult to follow who the characters are and their importance. All the films have been made available on streaming services in China.
The idea of having a Chinese hero and having books released is just a small step into making sure the Chinese become interested and introduced properly to the “Star Wars” universe. James Vaugh who is the vice president of franchise content and strategy said, “It is really exciting to be able to embark on a journey to define the “Star Wars” narrative for the vast number of Chinese readers. We hope that in the future, we will have the opportunity to present more fascinating “Star Wars” stories and content experiences to Chinese readers, gripping them with the spiritual core of the “Star Wars” brand.”
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The hope is to have a knock on effect where the films can become successful in China, as China has the second highest annual box office sales, falling only behind North America. The market is there to be captured, and Disney will hope the force is strong for when it comes time for Rian Johnson’s and David Benioff/DB Weiss’ respective trilogy films release.