In just under a month, Disney and LucasFilm will unleash the first everStar Wars spin-offmovie, whenRogue One: A Star Wars Storyhits theaters. This story will take place just days before the events of the first everStar Warsmovie,A New Hope, with next year bringing us back to the new trilogy with the second installment,Star Wars: Episode VIII. The studio is also developing the Han Solo spin-off andStar Wars: Episode IX, along with a long-rumored Boba Fett spin-off that may arrive in 2020. But after that, it hasn’t been confirmed what will be coming next. LucasFilm presidentKathleen Kennedyrecently revealed that the studio is still trying to decide what will happen with the next wave ofStar Warsmovies.
Earlier this year, we reported that Disney plans to put out a newStar Wars movieonce a year, indefinitely, meaning there will be no shortage of adventures in this galaxy far, far away. Some have assumed that a new trilogy will begin afterStar Wars 9, along with more spin-offs coming in between the trilogy movies.Entertainment Weeklycaught up withKathleen Kennedy, who was asked if LucasFilm is developing another new trilogy, or if futureStar Warsmovies will all be stand-alone projects that do have a thread running through them, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Here’s whatKathleen Kennedyhad to say below.
“That’s a conversation going on right now, too. I have to honestly tell you, could we [do nothing butstand-alones]? Sure. But I don’t know. We are looking at all of that.”
Fans' reaction to the first stand-alone movie,Rogue Onewill be integral to how LucasFilm moves forward with the future of theirStar Warsslate. There will be some big changes that fans will have to get used to inRogue One, withKathleen Kennedyhinting once again thatRogue Onemay not have an opening crawl, but it seems that final decision hasn’t been set in stone quite yet. Here’s what she had to say below about why there won’t be an opening crawl inRogue One.
“More than likely we will not have a crawl. We feel that that is proprietary with the saga films. But how this evolves…? We haven’t fully decided, and [traditionalStar Wars elements] may be pretty spare for this first one.”
There has not been any official confirmation about any futureStar Warsmovies, but there have been rumors of an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie, which may bring backEwan McGregorto reprise his role as the Jedi warrior from the prequel trilogy.Kathleen Kennedyreveals that there are a number of different projects that they may move forward with, but nothing will be set in stone until early next year. Here’s whatKathleen Kennedyhad to say below.
“There are [possible movies] that we have been talking a lot about. But we are planning to sit down in January, since we will have had The Force Awakens released, now Rogue One, and we’ve finished shooting Episode VIII. We have enough information where we can step back a little bit and say, What are we doing? What do we feel is exciting? And what are some of the things we want to explore? The story team and the trust, and the visual effects team that we have been working with (will be making those calls). We always pull in the directors and the writers that have been a part of these other three movies. We create pretty much a very collegiate group of people to share ideas.”
BothRogue Oneand theHan Solospin-off are set betweenRevenge of the SithandA New Hope, areas in the timeline that fans are familiar with and have references to. In the future, though,Kathleen Kennedyhopes to launch brand newStar Warsspin-offs that aren’t tied to any distinct part of the exsiting timeline. Here’s what she had to say below.
“Rogue Onefelt like a great beginning for because they know about the Death Star plans. They know the things that happened in A New Hope, So it had those familiar elements, those anchor points, but it also was about a completely new set of characters. So it felt like a really good template for the kinds of things that we feel these movies can do. I think that that’s exciting for fans, It’s certainly exciting as a filmmaker, the notion that we can explore these stories that genuinely have a beginning, middle and an end, and don’t necessarily have to tie into something specific.”
Earlier today, we reported that the firstStar Warsstand alone film,Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is on track to take in more than $130 million on opening weekend, when it hits theaters on December 16. If it manages to meet or exceed this figure, the studio may be more forthcoming with its plans for futureStar Warsmovies, but that hasn’t been confirmed. At any rate, theStar Warsmovies that are already in the works will keep fans busy until 2019.
