‘Star Wars’ Is Ready to Move On From the Skywalker Saga
Moving on from the Skywalker saga to tell new stories is vital for the Star Wars franchise, according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
According to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, moving on from the Skywalker saga to tell new stories is vital for the Star Wars franchise. Following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, the term “Skywalker saga” was coined to refer to the trilogy of Star Wars trilogies. This includes the universally beloved original trilogy, George Lucas’ oft-derided prequels, and Disney’s controversial sequel trilogy spearheaded mainly by J.J. Abrams (with Rian Johnson helming The Last Jedi). The saga tells one ongoing story (more or less), starting with A New Hope in 1977 and culminating decades later with 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.
Since the Skywalker saga only encompasses the nine episodic entries, the Star Wars Story spinoff movies like the venerable Rogue One and the box office bomb Solo are not technically part of the overall saga, even though they feature some of the same characters like Darth Vader and Han Solo. Since the release of Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars movies have been on hiatus as streaming shows on Disney+ have flourished, and Lucasfilm takes time to determine the franchise’s direction after the conclusion of the Skywalker saga. Now, that direction is beginning to become more apparent.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Kathleen Kennedy discussed the future of Star Wars. According to the president of Lucasfilm, moving on from the Skywalker Saga is “vital” for the franchise. In her view, staying within Lucas’s original vision would be a mistake. It is now time to step away while still maintaining a connection to the robust mythology he created. Read what Kennedy shared below:
I think it is vital. Just staying within the construct of George’s storytelling, to keep chipping away at that, I think would be wrong. It’s our job to step away now, but still have a connection to the mythology that George created. That won’t stop. But we are moving on from the Skywalker saga. That’s what’s taking a lot of time, discussion, and thought right now.
Right now, there are a few different Star Wars projects in the works at Lucasfilm that would move the franchise away from the gravity of the Skywalker saga. According to the massive Star Wars article published by Vanity Fair, Taika Waititi’s movie could be the first of the bunch to release. Also in the works are Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron, a Star Wars movie produced by Kevin Feige and written by Michael Waldron, and a new trilogy from Rian Johnson, which has been put on the back-burner for now.
