Disney has invested nearly $650 million into the budget for Star War series Andor, but how much is too much?
When Disney goes in on a project, they go all in, especially if it involves one of the most lucrative properties ever. Take the budgets they put on their Star Wars endeavors and you get a good idea of what we’re talking about here. Remember, Disney’s Andor has had a total budget of $645 million to date. But should this matter or is it just part of how business is done now when their faith falls in place?
That nearly $650 million budget for Andor is enough to easily double even some of the most recent Star Wars movies from Disney. With that, it’s by far the most expensive Star Wars project ever. And while we can’t overlook other insanely pricey TV shows from Disney+, that sort of number is still practically unfathomable when it comes down to it.
And with something like The Acolyte, we’re not exactly talking small bucks there, either. With that, the first — and inevitably final — season of The Acolyte was budgeted around $230 million by most accounts, further making us wonder exactly what’s going on with such budgets and where the cutoff is for the studio. Really, let’s just cut through it and go to the one word that matters most: quality. As Disney Entertainment co-chair Andy Bergman put it, The Acolyte just “wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title, quite frankly, to go and make a season two. So that’s the reason why we didn’t do that.”
Season two of Andor is set at around a $290 million budget, which of course sets its own level of expectations. This sophomore outing is obviously being hyped by those involved but only time will truly tell if not only the quality holds but if the budget ends up being worth it. For what it’s worth in its own regard, the first season of Andor had a 96% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 87% from audiences.
There’s definitely an argument to be made for either side on whether or not Disney should be shelling out so much for a streaming series like Andor, but hey, if they want to spend a portion of their $200 billion giving us quality Star Wars, so be it.
Do you think the budget of Andor is justified or should Disney redirect their priorities?
