Star Wars: Why Solo FAILED At The Box Office
6. It Missed The New Generation Appeal
For all of the hand-wringing about the Sequel Trilogy "killing the past," those films knew to channel something that had ensured that the Prequel Trilogy had still made a lot of money despite the criticisms that came out of Episode One. They knew to consciously target a new generation and reinvent their product for them.
In the 70s and 80s, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo became the heroes of an entire generation. In the 2000s, Anakin and Obi-Wan followed suit and then with the new trilogy, fans were given Rey, Finn and Poe (to a lesser extent) to idolise, which was a VERY conscious decision.
LucasFilm could have simply continued the Skywalker story for another three films and brought no new heroes in and the series would have made more money, but it wouldn't have made the kind of money that The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi did, because the appeal to younger audiences wouldn't have been quite there.
And so to Solo, which is the absolute antithesis of appealing to a new generation: it's more about retelling for the core audience who were the new generation in the 80s. Sure, Han will still be classed as a truly great character, but that reinvention matters when it comes to making big money, even in something as nostalgic as Star Wars. Just look at Jurassic World's success, if you want further evidence.