Four years ago, before “The Rise Of Skywalker” came out, a bombshell hit Hollywood: Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige would develop a “Star Wars” movie. The man who made the MCU in a galaxy far, far away? Fanboys were ecstatic or furious with little in-between. But now it looks like that project won’t happen after all.
THR reports that Feige confirmed his “Star Wars” feature is no longer happening in the most curt way possible. When asked if the project was still in development by ET at the premiere of “The Marvels” on Tuesday, Feige said, “No.” The news shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the year Marvel Studios has had. But it does suggest that Feige wants to have all of his focus at Marvel Studios as the MCU enters perhaps the rockiest phase of its existence.
There was never much info about Feige’s “Star Wars” project in the first place. After it was first announced in September 2019, news broke in January 2021 that Feige had “Loki” creator Michael Waldron on board to pen the film’s script. But after that, there was radio silence from both Feige and Lucasfilm about it. And Feige’s wasn’t part of Kathleen Kennedy‘s announcement of the three upcoming “Star Wars” films at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year. That had many speculating if Feige’s project would happen at all.
And now it’s confirmed by Feige that he won’t join the “Star Wars” galaxy any time soon. So why did this project fall through the cracks? Chalk it up to the landscape of blockbusters being very different from when the film was first announced. “The Rise Of Skywalker” still hadn’t hit theaters and in turn, met by critics with mediocre critical reception. But “The Mandalorian” also hadn’t debuted on Disney+ yet either, which quickly became the most popular “Star Wars” installment over the new trilogy. And despite plenty of films announced, Lucasfilm hasn’t had a “Star Wars” movie in theaters since “Rise Of Skywalker” either. That speaks to a creative back-up of some kind, especially with other Disney+ “Star Wars” series meeting frosty receptions, too.
In short, that means Feige’s “Star Wars” isn’t the only one to fall through the cracks in recent years. A trilogy by “Game Of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss never got off the ground. Nor did Petty Jenkins‘ long-gestating “Rogue Squadron” movie. There’s also Taika Waititi‘s “Star Wars” movie, which may or may not ever get greenlit. But here’s what is upcoming from Lucasfilm for the big screen: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy‘s movie about Daisy Ridley‘s Rey; James Mangold‘s film about the origins of the Jedi Order; and Dave Filoni‘s feature wrap-up of “The Mandalorian” saga.
As for Feige, he’ll be busy with the dozens of MCU projects in the pipeline at Marvel Studios. And if “The Marvels” does poorly at the box office (and it looks like it will), expect even further shake-ups to the MCU’s future very soon. It goes without saying: Feige working on a “Star Wars” movie isn’t feasible with everything else happening at Marvel Studios.
