Kathleen Kennedy Says its Time to “Step Back and Really Absorb’ ‘Star Wars'”

Kathleen Kennedy, the head of LucasFilm, had some interesting things to say about the current state of the galaxy far, far away. As far as “Star Wars” goes, there seems to be a never-ending future and rich past to pull inspiration from, to keep the storytelling going for generations to come.

That said, Kennedy thinks the time has come for fans and creators to “step back and really absorb what George [Lucas] has created.”

In a recent chat with TheWrap, Kennedy spoke about the future of the franchise, and how she thinks TV will become a large part of the tales to come.

“It’s an ever-evolving process. You know, when I personally came into this, George had already been having conversations with his previous actors, Carrie (Fisher) and Harrison (Ford) and Mark (Hamill) — there was a saga that the fans loved and he never finished. He always talked about doing nine movies and he was ready to complete that. And so our focus had been from the beginning on finishing that saga.

And now we’re stepping back. Stories have been told within this universe over the last 40-odd years, and there’s now the realization that this is a mythology that actually spans about 25,000 years, when you really start to look at all the different stories that have been told, whether it’s in books and games.

We just need the time to step back and really absorb what George has created, and then start to think about where things might go. That’s what we’ve been doing, and we’ve been having a great deal of fun doing it, and meeting with lots of different filmmakers and talent. There’s so many fans out there and so many filmmakers that have been influenced by Star Wars for so long that it’s a fantastic opportunity to get a sense of who wants to be a part of this. So that’s what we’ve been doing.”

When asked about the role of Disney+’s “Star Wars” television series, and their ability to further the future of the franchise, Kennedy said:  

“I do. And I’ve already seen evidence of it. The ability to be very character-driven, with extended storytelling and connected storytelling, I think this space offers us a great opportunity to do that.”

Kennedy went on to acknowledge how exciting and important the addition of female and minority filmmakers into the franchise is.

“It’s absolutely a priority. It’s been very exciting to see the talent that’s come in. And we’re now developing the limited Obi-Wan Kenobi series with Deborah Chow, and she’s just been doing a phenomenal job,” she said.

The next time we’ll be getting a theatrical released “Star Wars” film won’t be til December 22nd, 2023, and that’s if things start to get back to normal as far as production goes.

Disney+ landmark series “The Mandalorian” is expected to debut in October of 2020, with a new trailer hitting any time now.