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It’s official. Kathleen Kennedy leaves Lucasfilm. And, in a new interview discussing the decision, the producer gave an update on several Star Wars films that may or may not come in the future.
“Jim Mangold and Beau Willimon wrote an incredible script, but it definitely breaks the mold and it’s on hold,” Kennedy said. Deadline. “Taika [Waititi] created a scenario that I find hilarious and brilliant. It’s not just my decision, especially when I have one foot out there. Donald Glover turned in a screenplay. And as you read, Steve Soderbergh and Adam Driver filmed in a screenplay written by Scott Burns. It was just great. Anything is possible if someone is willing to take risks.
The Mangold-Willimon scenario is the Dawn of the Jedi idea which was first announced has Star Wars Celebration in 2023. The Taika Waititi film is the one announced by Lucasfilm in 2020and Glover’s script concerns Lando and was first discussed at the end of 2023. As for the Soderbergh and Driver affair, well, we know that.
Oddly, two films that Kennedy doesn’t mention are the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Rey film and the Dave Filoni film. Heir to the Empire film, both announced with Mangold’s film in 2023. It’s very, very discouraging.
What she has to say about Simon Kinberg’s new trilogy which, although currently being overhauled, continues to move forward. “[Kinberg] works right now,” Kennedy said. “He wrote something that we read in August, and it was very good, but not there. We basically turned the story upside down and then spent a lot of time on treatment, which he finished literally about four weeks ago. And it’s a very detailed treatment, like 70 pages. So he should give us something in March.”
So with The Mandalorian and Grogu which comes out this year, and Star Wars: Starfighter (which Kennedy said was supposed to be a standalone film but could, potentially, be spun off) will be released next year, what film will be released next? It will no longer be Kennedy’s decision, but there are other thoughts. “Mangold is really on the back burner, just like Soderbergh’s,” she said. “I think Taika and Donald’s are still somewhat alive. It’ll really be up to the new team to figure that out. I know that [new Lucasfilm heads] Dave [Filoni] and Lynwen [Brennan] are completely in agreement with what Simon is doing, and it would be a new trilogy. In the timeline of things, that takes us to 2030 and beyond. So this is really the sequel.
It seems like this is good news for fans of Taika Waititi and Donald Glover, but bad news for fans of James Mangold and Rey Skywalker. What do you think of the quotes?
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