Kathleen Kennedy, who helped produce and create movies like Jurassic Park, E.T., and Indiana Jones, is officially stepping down from her function as Lucasfilm president after holding the place since George Lucas left following the Disney deal in 2012. And in a brand new interview with Kennedy, the longtime producer and filmmaker shared some updates on varied Star Wars tasks, and the one Star Wars venture that left her with regrets.
On January 15, after asserting her departure from Lucasfilm, Deadline posted a lengthy interview with the outgoing producer and president masking a complete lot of floor. Depressingly, Kennedy appears to be enthusiastic about AI and needs to work with the tech to make new stuff. She additionally advised the outlet that she’s been planning this exit for just a few years now and hand-picked her successors, Clone Wars creator Dave Filoni and veteran ILM supervisor Lynwen Brennan. And whereas she’ll nonetheless be round producing future Star Wars motion pictures, together with Ryan Gosling’s Starfighter and the upcoming Mandalorian and Grogu flick, it’s clear from this interview that Kennedy was uninterested in Disney not desirous to take extra dangers on tasks like Andor.
A brand new Star Wars trilogy and an replace on the Ben Solo film
Maybe the largest information to come back out of this interview is Kennedy sharing the standing of assorted Star Wars film tasks and confirming that the previously announced Star Wars trilogy being led by screenwriter Simon Kinberg remains to be occurring, a minimum of for now.
“[James] Mangold’s is basically on the again burner, as is Soderbergh’s [Ben Solo film],” Kennedy advised the outlet. “I believe those by Taika and Donald [Glover] are nonetheless considerably alive. That’s going to essentially be as much as the brand new staff to determine. Dave, I do know that Dave [Filoni] and Lynwen [Brennan] are very a lot on board with what Simon [Kinnberg]’s doing, and that might be a brand new trilogy. Within the timeline of issues, that takes you properly into 2030 plus. In order that’s actually what’s up subsequent.”
It was beforehand reported that this new Star Wars trilogy wouldn’t be related to the Skywalker Saga, however additionally it is doable that issues have modified. Kennedy makes it clear on this interview that placing collectively Star Wars motion pictures takes a few years of dedication, and a variety of administrators and filmmakers aren’t keen to decide to such an enterprise. That doubtless explains the massive variety of canceled and delayed Star Wars motion pictures over the past seven years or so. As for the standing of Kinberg’s first movie on this new trilogy, it doesn’t sound near filming in any respect.
“[Kinberg is] working proper now.,” stated Kennedy. “He wrote one thing that we learn in August, and it was excellent, however not there. We’ve just about upended the story, after which spent quite a lot of time on the remedy, which he completed actually about 4 weeks in the past. And it’s a really detailed remedy, like 70 pages. And so he’s anticipated to present us one thing in March.”
I wouldn’t get too enthusiastic about this trilogy but. Do not forget that Rian Johnson, who directed The Final Jedi, was tapped to direct a brand new trilogy of movies after his 2017 Star Wars film was an enormous hit. However based on Kennedy, the adverse firestorm on-line scared him away, and he acquired distracted with Knives Out and its sequels. So who is aware of if this new trilogy will occur anytime quickly or ever.
Regrets and issues about studios being too afraid of threat
Elsewhere within the interview, Kennedy known as the script for the Ben Solo film, whose existence was leaked publicly by Adam Driver final 12 months and acquired followers very excited, “nice.” And it may nonetheless occur, based on her. “Something’s a chance if any person’s keen to take a threat.” Nevertheless, that appears unlikely because the longtime Lucasfilm boss defined that, for the time being, Disney and different huge studios aren’t fascinated by taking daring swings and large dangers.
“Proper now we’re in an period the place firms are so risk-averse, and I get it,” stated Kennedy. “I hear all of the conversations. They’ve acquired Wall Avenue to please, and I get it, however I additionally imagine that that’s what contributes to issues disappearing, in the end. I simply suppose you need to take these probabilities. All the pieces I simply reeled off to you is taking a little bit of an opportunity as a result of none of these filmmakers are simply strolling in making an attempt to do the identical previous, usual. I’m excited by that, however the studio’s nervous about that, and that’s type of the place it sits for the time being.”
And as for whether or not she has any regrets from her time as president of Lucasfilm, Kennedy listed the 2018 Solo spin-off film as the one one as a result of, based on her, they tried to switch Harrison Ford, and that was all the time going to be a virtually not possible problem.
“We have been so enthusiastic about that concept,” stated Kennedy. “After which while you’re into one thing, and also you notice essentially, conceptually, you can not exchange Han Solo, a minimum of proper now. As great as Alden Ehrenreich was, and he actually was good, and is an excellent actor, we put him in an not possible state of affairs. And when you’re in it and when you’re dedicated, you’ve acquired to hold on. I believe I’ve a little bit of remorse about that, however not in regards to the moviemaking and filmmaking. I don’t have regrets about that. I simply suppose that conceptually, we did it too quickly.”
