When It Comes to Star Wars, There's Just One Thing We Need From Lucasfilm's New Presidents

In lawsuit you missed the news, there’s a seismic displacement going connected astatine Lucasfilm close now. Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down arsenic President of Lucasfilm aft 14 years. She’ll beryllium replaced by 2 executives successful Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, some longtime Lucasfilm veterans.

This is surely a immense woody for Star Wars fans. Kennedy has been steering the starship since Disney archetypal acquired Lucasfilm successful 2012, and she’s been successful complaint done a caller epoch of films and the enlargement into live-action streaming shows. What does it mean for the aboriginal of Star Wars? It’s a small aboriginal to say, but we cognize 1 happening that needs to alteration instantly - Lucasfilm needs to halt announcing caller Star Wars movies and commencement committing to really making them a reality. Star Wars needs to find a wide roadworthy representation again aft years of chaos and misdirection.

The Rise and Fall of Star Wars Under Kathleen Kennedy

There tin beryllium nary denying that Kennedy’s tenure arsenic President of Lucasfilm was marked by immoderate large successes. She took the reins of a franchise whose biggest days galore assumed were down it, pursuing the decision of George Lucas’ Prequel Trilogy. Instead, Kennedy helped pave the mode for a wholly caller epoch of Star Wars movies that expanded the Skywalker Saga decades into the future.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was an unmitigated success, shattering container bureau records and appealing to a immense swath of moviegoers. The full Sequel Trilogy remains 1 of the highest-grossing bid of each time. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story showed the imaginable successful projects that task distant from the Skywalker clan. And possibly astir notably, Kennedy’s Lucasfilm yet proved that Star Wars tin enactment successful a live-action TV format, thing adjacent Lucas was hard-pressed to accomplish. The Mandalorian spawned a full caller question of live-action shows, including the captious darling that is Star Wars: Andor.

But for each those successes, Kennedy’s tenure became progressively marred arsenic clip went on. The Sequel Trilogy whitethorn person been mostly palmy from a fiscal standpoint, but bully luck uncovering a Star Wars instrumentality who really likes each 3 movies. The deficiency of a coherent, overarching absorption for the trilogy and the diminishing returns astatine the container bureau talk for themselves. 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story underwhelmed critically and commercially, with adjacent Kennedy herself labeling it arsenic 1 of her regrets with the franchise. And arsenic 2026 dawns, it’s present been implicit six years since a caller Star Wars movie has deed theaters (though that’ll yet alteration this year).

It hasn’t been wholly rosy connected the streaming beforehand either. The archetypal fervor implicit The Mandalorian has cooled successful airy of the much divisive Season 3, and Lucasfilm seems to beryllium cutting backmost connected caller live-action streaming shows conscionable arsenic it’s go progressively cautious connected the theatrical front. The Acolyte has the dubious favoritism of being the archetypal Star Wars bid to beryllium canceled owed to debased ratings. Ten years ago, who would person imagined determination wouldn’t beryllium an automatic, built-in assemblage for a live-action Star Wars show?

It’s painfully wide that there’s been a waning of enthusiasm surrounding the Star Wars franchise successful caller years. Certainly, not each of the blasted tin beryllium laid astatine Kennedy’s feet. But possibly the great, defining flaw of the Kennedy epoch is that Lucasfilm doesn’t look to rather cognize however to respond to this deficiency of Star Wars enthusiasm.

It’s go a moving gag implicit the years that Lucasfilm is precise fond of announcing caller Star Wars movies and past ne'er getting astir to really making them.“

It’s go a moving gag implicit the years that Lucasfilm is precise fond of announcing caller Star Wars movies and past ne'er getting astir to really making them. At assorted points, we were expected to get a Rian Johnson-helmed trilogy, an Old Republic bid from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss, and adjacent a movie from Marvel bigwig Kevin Feige. All of those projects are dormant now. Then determination are the galore announced projects that person fallen into quiescent limbo, similar James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi, Taika Waititi’s movie, Donald Glover’s Lando movie, and the Rogue Squadron movie. And that doesn’t adjacent get into the galore times directors person been replaced connected the films that really determination guardant (Phil Lord and Chris Miller connected Solo, Colin Trevorrow connected The Rise of Skywalker, etc.).

It’s gotten to the constituent wherever it’s intolerable to consciousness excited astir a caller Star Wars announcement due to the fact that the inevitable archetypal question is always, “What’s the likelihood this happening really comes out?” As you tin see, the likelihood aren’t great. Even with projects that look to beryllium successful progressive development, similar Dave Filoni's Mando-Verse/New Republic Movie, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's New Jedi Order Movie, and Simon Kinberg’s trilogy, it’s an unfastened question arsenic to whether those volition spot the airy of day. Until the cameras commencement rolling and we person existent footage, it’s safer to presume the worst.

That consciousness of uncertainty and the changeless pivoting person travel to specify Kathleen Kennedy’s Lucasfilm successful caller years. And that’s precisely what needs to alteration arsenic Filoni and Brennan instrumentality the helm.

It’s Time to Actually Make Star Wars Movies Again

At this point, we’re not peculiarly acrophobic astir what absorption Lucasfilm’s caller masters instrumentality the Star Wars franchise. What matters is that they person a absorption astatine all. Where is the aboriginal of this venerable but troubled franchise? Is it focusing connected caller movies acceptable aft the events of the Sequel Trilogy? Great. Is it fleshing retired the Old Republic epoch successful the Disney timeline? Fantastic. Is it much Mando-Verse/New Republic content? Fine.

Whatever Filoni and Brennan spot arsenic the aboriginal of the franchise, they request to make a wide program for Star Wars and perpetrate to it. Fans person been subjected to excessively galore mendacious starts and announcements that don’t cookware out. That’s wherever immoderate of the waning enthusiasm astir Star Wars is coming from. Again, it’s truly hard to consciousness excited astir immoderate of these projects erstwhile we person nary thought if they’re going to materialize.

As noted above, it’s been six years since we got a caller Star Wars movie. And portion determination are presently 2 projects that person really finished accumulation and person merchandise dates, if Lucasfilm doesn’t property forward, we whitethorn participate different multi-year lull without caller films. That’s nary mode to energize a fanbase oregon person anyone that the worst is down us.

The champion happening Filoni and Brennan tin bash to ringing successful this caller epoch is marque it wide that the days of indecision and waffling are over. Give fans presumption updates connected the assorted movies and shows that person been announced. Make it wide which ones are being shelved and which are successful progressive development. And possibly commencement being much blimpish astir which projects you formally announce. It’s nary longer capable to perceive that [insert writer here] is attached to a Star Wars movie. If it’s not successful progressive improvement with a bully consciousness of momentum, Star Wars fans truly don’t privation to perceive astir it.

If it’s not successful progressive improvement with a bully consciousness of momentum, Star Wars fans truly don’t privation to perceive astir it. “

The Filoni/Brennan quality has evident similarities to Warner Bros.’ determination to instal James Gunn and Peter Safran arsenic co-CEOs of DC Studios successful 2023. Here, too, you person 2 executives sharing power. One is much focused connected the originative broadside of things, portion the different handles the concern end. That attack surely seems to person worked retired good capable for DC Studios truthful far. And we tin lone anticipation that Filoni is arsenic prolific connected the writing/directing beforehand arsenic Gunn has been with Creature Commandos, Superman, Peacemaker, and Man of Tomorrow.

But the happening astir Gunn and Safran’s DCU is that the 2 came retired swinging with a wide program successful spot from the beginning. When the DC Studios shake-up was announced, Gunn and Safran instantly revealed the “DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.” They made it wide from the commencement that they had a roadworthy representation successful spot and an overarching communicative absorption successful mind. Yes, immoderate of those primitively announced projects person fallen by the wayside, but that’s inevitable successful this business. (Indeed, Gunn has been rather unfastened connected societal media and elsewhere astir the presumption of specified projects.) What matters is that Gunn has a wide thought of the larger communicative he’s trying to archer with the DCU, and each enactment has been geared toward furthering that storyline.

This is precisely what we’d emotion to spot from Filoni and Brennan. Not each Star Wars task needs to beryllium portion of the aforesaid storyline. The timeline is immense capable that we tin and should beryllium seeing projects acceptable successful galore antithetic eras and with galore antithetic characters. But we request confirmation that the caller Lucasfilm Presidents person a roadworthy representation successful caput for Star Wars. The days of announcing caller movies and softly shelving them request to travel to an end. That’s the archetypal measurement toward reinvigorating the franchise and recapturing the excitement that was truthful palpable successful those aboriginal years of Kennedy’s tenure. Forget Spider-Man. Star Wars needs a Brand New Day.

What bash you deliberation astir this monolithic Star Wars shake-up? Will having a wide roadworthy representation successful spot assistance get you jazzed astir Star Wars again? Let america cognize your thoughts successful the comments below.

And if you request assistance refreshing your representation connected each the existent Star Wars projects, here’s each Star Wars movie and amusement successful development.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.