In case you somehow missed it, today is May 4th aka Star Wars Day! So if you’re sick of being greeted with “May the 4th be with you”, you’ve only got another 12 hours to deal with it. Sorry. Today is also a good day to take stock of where the Star Wars franchise is and where it’s going. With three projects announced during Star Wars Celebration, the future looks pretty bright.
That said, there’s still a lingering question of WHEN these movies will actually show up. Things haven’t exactly been going smoothly over at Lucasfilm lately, with multiple projects announced and then shelved. But Kathleen Kennedy has an inspiration the roll out of future Star Wars films, and it’s the James Bond franchise.
Kennedy tells 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 eventise 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.”
You may recall that soon after the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm, their plan was to have a new movie every year, including spinoffs. That didn’t go so well. Stretching out the time between movies is smart, gives the director a bit of breathing room in case there are delays, while also keeping Star Wars “fresh” for fans.
The first movie isn’t likely to arrive until December 2025, an open date that’s been out there for a while. The three upcoming films include a James Mangold-directed movie set 25,000 years before The Skywalker Saga, centering on the first Jedi and the discovery of the Force. The Mandalorian creator Dave Filoni will direct another set within that universe, likely involving Grand Admiral Thrawn. Another from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will see the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey, as she attempts to train a new generation of Jedi 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker.
