Disney/Lucasfilm has to put forth a positive face, but behind the scenes I'm sure they are scrambling like crazy. While Ep VIII wasn't bad, and in my opinion was actually a pretty good sci-fi movie, it was a terrible Star Wars movie. It was almost as if Johnson said, "let's tear up the formula that makes these movies successful and beloved by millions of fans, and do a desperate submarine movie in space, with a failed side mission, a flying sorceress, a mutiny, and a creepy love story while deconstructing the original optimistic hero, not answering the burning questions from the previous movie, sucking out all the fun, and doing a bait and switch on the big bad." The fact that everyone went along with the pitch (except Hamill) is mind-boggling.
I haven't had the chance to see Solo yet, but everyone I've talked to says it's good to very good. But the bad taste left over from Ep VIII combined with crap marketing sank Solo. The pressure is now on Ep IX, which in many respects could be a make or break for the franchise. I don't envy JJ. He has to undo or gloss over several of Johnson's bad choices, tell a great story, wrap up the narratives, and show fans that Star Wars is still fun. I personally think he will pull it off. I'm hoping Ep IX makes $2 billion+ at the global box office and gets the franchise back on track.
I don't understand why any Star Wars fan would want to see the movie fail. What then? It's not like there would be some kind of a reboot a year or two later that brings back Han and rewrites Luke's story. It would be at least five years, with maybe a TV series or two in the interim, before the franchise returned to the big screen. I'm hoping this trilogy wraps with a triumphant bang, and then a new trilogy is launched three years later. As for Johnson, unless his new trilogy is something absolutely spectacular, and includes fun characters, jedi and siths, laser swords, aliens, creatures, and Saturday afternoon matinee-style adventures, Disney should quietly show him the door. The last thing they need is another "reinvention".