As you know already, Disney has confirmed that “Star Wars” will be taking a break from the big screen for the foreseeable future after “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker.” The reason? Well, it hasn’t been explicitly stated by anyone at Lucasfilm, but it’s pretty obvious. Following the flop of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” Lucasfilm shifted their strategy and moved all their spin-off ideas onto Disney+ as limited series. That meant, there were no movies in the can and ready to go because “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” filmmaker Rian Johnson, creating a new trilogy, is busy with his new movie “Knives Out,” and the “Game Of Thrones” creators, creating yet another new trilogy, are putting their long-running HBO series to bed.
But Lucasfilm’s chief Kathleen Kennedy said yesterday, Johnson and the ‘GOT’ guys will be meeting soon at a summit to plan out the next ten years of “Star Wars.” Today, the Lucasfilm President has provided additional details on the plan moving forward.
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“We’re going to take a hiatus for a couple of years,” she told EW, echoing the comments she already made yesterday about the “Star Wars” theatrical break. “And we’re taking the time to really look at where this is going from the standpoint of a saga.”
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What does that mean? At least two years with no “Star Wars” films on the big screen, but that could be ok given that Disney’s “Avatar” sequels, which they now own since they acquired 20th Century Fox, are set for the next two Christmases in a row (there’s an opening starting Christmas 2022 and 2023).
So the idea is the “Star Wars” story group and brain trust are mapping out what the future holds in a bigger picture sense. “We’re not just looking at what the next three movies might be, or talking about this in terms of a trilogy,” she explained. “We’re looking at: What is the next decade of storytelling?”
One of many interesting details she reveals, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the “Game Of Thrones” creators will work closely with Rian Johnson as they come up with their ideas and present them to Lucasfilm. “As they finish ‘Game of Thrones,’ they’re going to segue into Star Wars,” Kennedy said. “They’re working very closely with Rian.”
Fans have been clamoring for more ancient “Star Wars” tales set in the Old Republic, which has already been seen in various books, comic books, and video games, much of which isn’t considered canon anymore. And while Kennedy doesn’t say the Old Republic by name, she admits, the timelines will open up and change and hinted heavily at this era.
“Yes, absolutely. I think that that’s absolutely on the horizon,” Kennedy said of “Star Wars” told in ancient times. “We’re looking at whether we can move massively in one direction of the other. It’s still ‘Star Wars,’ and holding on to the DNA of what George created is still very important to us. I think this is a huge opportunity to step into the galaxy in a little bit different part of the timeline.”
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Considering the ancient eras where “Game of Thrones” are meant to be set, it would not be a surprise at all if Benioff and Weiss lead up stories told in the Old Republic, centuries before the galactic dictatorship and saga that has taken up much of the last 40 years of “Star Wars.”
One thing that’s missing in the mix is female filmmakers and creators, something Kennedy has promised in the past, but has yet to make good on. But the idea is on her mind still and something she brings up again herself.
“We have a series of filmmakers that we’re bringing into the fold, that we can start to look at as directing talent, and we’re trying to bring women into the mix as well,” she said. “We’re making it very inclusive with the group of people that we’re pulling together.”
One possibility here is hand-off: it’s unlikely Johnson is going to spend a decade directing three more “Star Wars” films himself, and this may apply to Benioff and Weiss too. It’s conceivable each trilogy creator directs one film each and then hires new filmmakers for the sequels, much like George Lucas did with the original trilogy. There’s also series on Disney+ where female talent could direct. That said, it would be nice if they would take an entire creator pitch from a female director and see where that heads.
Either way, more should be revealed soon or possibly even this weekend during Star Wars Celebration.