Last month, Lucasfilm revealed the future of a galaxy far, far away at the Star Wars Celebration in London. Now, president and executive producer Kathleen Kennedy has discussed Lucasfilm’s current release strategy for their film slate.
In an interview with Empire Magazine, Kennedy confirmed plans to “eventize” each Star Wars. Translation? Yearly releases are out. Kennedy credited the James Bond franchise as an inspiration behind this model. The plan will hopefully take off pressure from the studio, and ensure the quality of the upcoming movies.
“I’ve often brought up Bond,” Kennedy said. “That’s every three or four years and there wasn’t this pressure to feel like you had to have a movie every year. I feel that was very important to Star Wars. We have to eventize this. It’s much better to tell the truth that we’re going to make these movies when they’re ready to be made, and release them when they’re ready to be released.”
What Are the Upcoming Star Wars Movies in Development?
During the 2023 Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm announced the development of three Star Wars movies. These included a project featuring the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker. Ridley’s untitled feature will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel), from a screenplay being written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. It will reportedly be set 15 years after the events of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, and depict Rey as she rebuilds a new Jedi Order.
The second untitled movie is billed as a crossover event, which will wrap up interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and other upcoming Disney+ shows. It will be directed by Dave Filoni, best known for creating popular animated shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Both series introduced a number of fan-favorite characters, including Bo Khatan.
Lucasfilm has also enlisted Logan filmmaker James Mangold to direct a movie centered on the dawn of the Jedi. It will be set thousands of years before A New Hope. Besides the three new projects, Taika Waititi and Rian Johnson’s long-in-development Star Wars movies are still in active development.