There's been a disturbance in the Star Wars release schedule. What was once planned as a series releasing one movie every year – one main saga instalment, followed by a spin-off the next year, followed by a main saga one, repeat forever – has transformed into one movie every two years, starting back up in 2023. That's four years between Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the next Star War movie!
LucasFilm, who produce the Star Wars movies, is using this time to reevaluate what works and what does not, with Kathleen Kennedy carefully planning the series' next steps. Speaking with the Wrap, she said: "[The] stories have been told within this universe over the last 40-odd years, and there’s now the realization that this is a mythology that actually spans about 25,000 years, when you really start to look at all the different stories that have been told, whether it’s in books and games."
She continued: "We just need the time to step back and really absorb what George [Lucas] has created, and then start to think about where things might go. That’s what we’ve been doing, and we’ve been having a great deal of fun doing it, and meeting with lots of different filmmakers and talent.
"There’s so many fans out there and so many filmmakers that have been influenced by Star Wars for so long that it’s a fantastic opportunity to get a sense of who wants to be a part of this. So that’s what we’ve been doing."
Before the next instalment in the main series – which is expected to be directed by Taika Waititi – there will be a whole host of new Disney Plus series set in the Star Wars universe. We have already seen the beginning of what's possible with The Mandalorian, which will continue with The Mandalorian season 2 later this year.
"I’ve already seen evidence of it," Kennedy said of the importance of the Disney Plus shows. "The ability to be very character-driven, with extended storytelling and connected storytelling, I think this space offers us a great opportunity to do that."
Following Mando, there will be new series on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Cassian Andor, and a "female-led" series which speculators believe could revolve around Rosario Dawson's take on Ahsoka Tano . Whatever the case, the future of Star Wars is in good hands – we just wish the wait to see our favourite galaxy far, far away wasn't quite so long.
