'Star Wars' movie releases are dramatically slowing down, with several projects officially on the back burner
Lucasfilm
- At least two expected "Star Wars" film projects have been put on the back burner.
- Kathleen Kennedy confirmed there are no immediate plans for films from Kevin Feige or Rian Johnson.
- Two other movie projects are still on the table, but we likely won't be seeing them any time soon.
"Star Wars" is hitting the brakes on the big screen.
Audiences won't be seeing two expected projects, at least not anytime soon, according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
In a Vanity Fair story published on Tuesday, Kennedy said there are no plans for a movie from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported in 2019 that Feige would produce a "Star Wars" movie, and he even hinted at his plans in an interview with THR's "Awards Chatter" podcast later that same year.
"I would love to see what movie he might come up with," Kennedy told Vanity Fair. "But right now, no, there isn't anything specifically."
She also confirmed that "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson's planned trilogy — which Lucasfilm announced in 2017 — is on the back burner, after Johnson landed a deal last year with Netflix to make two sequels to his 2019 film "Knives Out."
"Rian has been unbelievably busy with Knives Out and the deal that he made at Netflix for multiple movies," she said.
Lucasfilm, the studio behind the franchise, and its parent company Disney have indicated before that theatrically released "Star Wars" movies were hitting speed bumps.
After the standalone movie "Solo" disappointed at the box office with less than $400 million worldwide, the former Disney CEO Bob Iger said back in 2018 that fans should expect some "slow down" on "Star Wars" movie releases. The company had initially planned to release one movie a year for the foreseeable future.
That plan didn't last long. Disney hasn't released a "Star Wars" movie since 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker."
As Disney looked to grow its streaming business, projects centered on characters like Boba Fett and Obi-Wan that were once considered for feature films were instead given the series treatment.
Now, the company is focused on "Star Wars" TV shows for the streaming service Disney+, with "Obi-Wan Kenobi" premiering this month and many more series in the works, including the third season of the hit "Mandalorian" and the "Rogue One" prequel "Andor."
"Rogue Squadron," a "Star Wars" spinoff movie from "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins, is still on Disney's theatrical release schedule for December 2023. But THR reported last year that production would be delayed due to Jenkins' busy schedule, including making a third "Wonder Woman" movie.
In its Tuesday story, Vanity Fair also noted that "Rogue Squadron" was "further off" than a separate "Star Wars" film from "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi, which Lucasfilm first announced in 2020. That film would likely be released before "Rogue Squadron," according to Vanity Fair.
Seeing as how there have been no casting or production updates about that Waititi movie — and he's been busy making "Thor: Love and Thunder" for Marvel, which debuts in July — it would be safe to assume we won't be getting a "Star Wars" movie next year.
So, what exactly is Lucasfilm's new "Star Wars" film strategy? Kennedy implied that the franchise would be moving away from trilogies, saying that "Star Wars" is "much more about persistent storytelling."
The lack of "Star Wars" movies is a loss for the theatrical industry. While each movie in Disney's sequel trilogy — "The Force Awakens," "The Last Jedi," and "The Rise of Skywalker" — earned less at the global box office than the one before it, they all made over $1 billion, as did the standalone feature "Rogue One."
Disney is betting on another sci-fi franchise in theaters though, with four planned sequels to "Avatar," the highest-grossing movie of all time. The first sequel hits theaters later this year.