Kathleen Kennedy Wants to "Eventize" Future Star Wars Movies, Suggesting Longer Gaps Between Releases

It is appropriate that Empire Magazine released a first look at their new interview with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy on “Star Wars Day,” but it comes with the slightly disappointing news that when Star Wars returns to the big screen fans should not expect to see a constant stream of new movies. While there are many projects currently being worked on, Kennedy has made it clear there will be no rush to put out new content on an annual basis.

At last month’s Star Wars Celebration fans were given a hint of the many projects that will be coming in the next few years, including more TV shows and the first theatrical release since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. However, while Marvel Studios continue to put out several movies a year, Kennedy doesn’t intend to put that pressure on the Star Wars franchise and instead wants theatrical releases to be events, similar to the James Bond franchise. She told Empire:

“I’ve often brought up Bond. That’s every three or four years and there wasn’t this pressure to feel like you had to have a movie every year. I feel that was very important to Star Wars. We have to eventize this. It’s much better to tell the truth, that we’re going to make these movies when they’re ready to be made, and release them when they’re ready to be released.”

Related: The Simpsons ‘Rogue Not Quite One’ Poster Teases New Star Wars Parody Coming May 4th

Where Does the Star Wars Franchise Go Next?

Since the Covid pandemic, Star Wars has become a streaming based franchise on Disney+. There have been several popular series delivered in the last three years, including The Mandalorian and Andor, and that certainly isn’t going to change anytime soon with several new shows already coming to the platform in the next year.

When it comes to the once-dominant movie side of The Force, there have been many rumors and even more “might-have-beens” for fans to contend with. However, last month brought the confirmation of a first wave of Star Wars movies, including one set 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Skywalker Saga sequel starring Daisy Ridley. Kennedy added a little more information to this latter movie, which is set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker, explaining that it, and the other new Star Wars projects, are all about expanding the lore of the franchise. She said:

“What we’re exploring is the evolution of the Jedi. We’re going very far back, we’re looking at the present, and now we’re moving 15 years after The Rise Of Skywalker. The First Order has fallen, the Jedi are in chaos – there’s even a question of how many exist anymore – and Rey’s building the New Jedi Order, based on the text that she was given and that Luke imparted on her.”

With many Star Wars projects already heading to Disney+, including this summer’s Ahsoka, expect to hear more about the expansive period coming to the galaxy far, far away soon.