Kathleen Kennedy on the Future of STAR WARS, the Shift Into New Territory, and Moving Beyond the Trilogy Format
After the Skywalker saga comes to an end with Star Wars: The Ride of Skywalker we really have no idea what to expect from the future of the franchise. Lucasfilm is still in the process of figuring out what the future of the Star Wars films will be.
During a recent interview The LA Times, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy offered up her thoughts on the future of the Star Wars franchise and what they are planning. She explained that they will be transitioning into new territory and also that they will move beyond the trilogy format.
“Obviously, that’s what’s we’ve been spending so much time talking about, and it’s a really important transition for Star Wars. What we’ve been focused on these last five or six years is finishing that family saga around the Skywalkers. Now is the time to start thinking about how to segue into something new and different.”
While Lucasfilm did try some new and different things already with Solo and Rogue One, those still had ties to the Skywalker saga. I imagine some of these upcoming films will be new and different in that there are no ties to the Skywalker saga at all. But Kennedy also confirmed that Lucasfilm will not be abandoning the new characters created in the most recent trilogy. So, we could see more adventures with some of these characters, which I think a lot of fans are ready to move away from.
When talking about moving beyond the trilogy format, Kennedy said:
“I think it gives us a more open-ended view of storytelling and doesn’t lock us into this three-act structure. We’re not going to have some finite number and fit it into a box. We’re really going to let the story dictate that.”
I like the fact that they are looking to move beyond the trilogy format as they move forward. This way they can just tell the stories they want to tell without having to worry about how many movies they will need to make to tell that story.
What are you all hoping to see from the future of the Star Wars film franchise? The first Star Wars film after The Rise of Skywalker is coming out in 2022 and an announcement regarding the next film is expected to come in January 2020.