Star Wars for the last few years has been a TV franchise, but in the latest Vanity Fair article Kathleen Kennedy gets into the future of Star Wars movies. Prior to this week we had an idea of potentially three movies in development for Star Wars. First up was Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron. Then, it was to be Taika Waititi’s movie, being co-written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Finally, there seemed to be a Kevin Feige produced movie being developed for later on. As we know though, plans have changed. It became apparent that Rogue Squadron was delayed, despite Lucasfilm never officially announcing this delay.

Well, based on Kennedy’s comments I think we can now firmly place Taika Waititi’s movie as the next Star Wars movie to hit theaters, though when that will be, we don’t know?

“We have a road map. I would say that Taika’s story fits more specifically into that. Rogue Squadron…we kind of pushed off to the side for the moment. Patty is developing the script further. Then we will talk about how that connects to the central spine that we’re working on. There’s a couple of [filmmakers] that we’ve been in conversation with over quite a long period of time that I’m hoping will come in and make the overall commitment that Jon and Dave have made. That’s ideally what I would love to see happen in the feature space.”

Asked if she meant like Kevin Feige at Marvel, Kennedy clarified.

“I wouldn’t go so far. Kevin is an anomaly—an amazing one. But [the goal is] definitely having somebody make more of a commitment. I hesitate to use the word trilogies anymore because Star Wars is much more about persistent storytelling.”

Commitment

Kennedy had previously in this interview spoken about how tricky it was to get filmmakers to commit to Star Wars movies across many years. It also seems by this comment that Waititi’s movie is more connected to where the new movies are going than Rogue Squadron. Saying all that, we (LRM) also heard one of the main issues with Rogue Squadron was technical limitations which still had to be resolved. Right now, I think we have to wait and see what the fate of Rogue Squadron will be. However I don’t expect to see it anytime soon. As for Waititi’s movie, my guess is ’25 or ’26 at the earliest before we see that.

So what about Rian Johnson? The director of The Last Jedi was initially offered a trilogy, which he always maintains he is still going to make one day. Kennedy explained that Johnson, sadly, is simply too busy right now with his Netflix deal. However, when he does have time, it’s something they absolutely still want to explore.

“Rian has been unbelievably busy with Knives Out and the deal that he made at Netflix for multiple movies. I’ve had meetings with Rian; he’s somebody that’s come in as part of our little brain trust discussions along the way. He remains very committed to what it is we’re trying to do. He just literally hasn’t had the time to devote. That’s what I’m saying: Anyone who comes into the Star Wars universe needs to know that it’s a three, four, five-year commitment. That’s what it takes. You can’t step in for a year and shoot something and then walk away. It just doesn’t work that way. So it requires that kind of nurturing.”

Feige

Finally, Kathleen Kennedy did briefly mention Kevin Feige’s movie. Feige of course as always is a bit busy, so I think his Star Wars movie is one that’s being developed slowly with no specific target date in mind anytime soon. However as the article makes it clear, this interview was conducted before Michael Waldron’s recent comments that he had begun writing the movie.

“[That’s] the rumor mill. Kevin, I think everybody knows, is a huge Star Wars fan. He’s clearly been inspired by Star Wars in the way in which he’s handled Marvel. I know he’s got a lot on his plate right now. I would love to see at some point what movie he might come up with. But right now, no. There isn’t anything specifically on the horizon.”

We know that’s not completely true, any longer. However, at the same time I don’t think we would see a Kevin Feige movie go into production for several years. That means the story Waldron is working on now may go through several stages and several hands before Feige decides to run with it, (per Kennedy’s approval)

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That’s Kathleen Kennedy’s update on the future of Star Wars movies. Waititi’s movie may kick off stories in a new era, but what else comes after that, we are going to have to wait and see? Though, we may well find out more during Star Wars Celebration next week. As said above, this interview with Kennedy was conducted in March. at that point Kennedy teased when we might hear more about the future of Star Wars movies.

“We’ll probably get a little bit more specific in a couple of months.”

March, April….May? SWC is right around the corner. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for more news.

What do you think of Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy’s comments on the future of Star Wars movies? As always, leave any thoughts below, or over on Discord.

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