Kathleen Kennedy Teases New Eras And Settings For Future 'Star Wars' Films

While Star Wars is still putting out TV show content on Disney+, we have to wait until December 2023 to see the next Star Wars film. It was previously intended for a December 2022 release before being pushed back. Some films have had to be pushed back due to the pandemic, though some have speculated that the delay could simply be due to Lucasfilm trying to figure out what it is that they want to do with the next set of films. There are no concrete details about when this next one will be set or what it is about, but Lucasfilm and much of the fans feel done with the Skywalker saga and are ready to explore the wider galaxy. Speaking with The Wrap recently, Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm, had the following to say about how the company is using the delay to their advantage:

“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. We just need the time to step back and really absorb what George 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.”

The mention of the mythology spanning 25,000 years may stick out to those familiar with Expanded Universe stories now branded as Legends. That universe went as far back as 25,793 BBY, to the novel Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void and the beginning of the Dawn of the Jedi comic series. The novel came out in May 2013, and the comic series ran from February 2012 to March 2014, ending a mere month before the EU was rebranded as Legends. While Kennedy’s words may not necessarily indicate that the upcoming films will go this far back, it may, at the very least, be an indication that Lucasfilm is attempting to flesh out and take into account what the history of the galaxy is prior to the films.

Fans have been aching for Star Wars to go to the far-flung past, with some clamoring for The Old Republic (the era or the stories of the era, which are nearly 4,000 years prior to the films) to be explored further on the big screen. On the publishing side of things, Star Wars is scratching the surface of the past with its upcoming publishing project titled The High Republic, which takes place only 200 years before the films and will be covered in novels and comics starting January 2021. This project was originally meant to start this month, but the release dates of the novels ended up getting pushed back. Despite this publishing line not going too far back, this indicates a first step into a larger world, exploring the canonical past of Star Wars little by little.

If the next films do explore the far-flung past, there is no guarantee that they will adapt familiar stories or eras in the way that people remember them. In fact, I am of the mind that the films should feature no familiar characters whatsoever. That way, there will not be any baggage as far as the fans’ perception of how the characters should be. Lucasfilm needs to decide what the canonical history of the galaxy is, and then build compelling new characters whom we can follow and grow attached to while experiencing the thrill of not knowing where they could potentially end up. Personally, after playing Jedi: Fallen Order last year, I am ready to see plenty of Jedi and potentially other ancient people from thousands of years prior to the films. New characters and new scenarios are what we need.

Written By Steven Shinder

Syndicated from Culture Slate