Star Wars Movies Need to Be James Bond-Like Events, Says Kathleen Kennedy

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has spoken about the future of Star Wars on the big screen, emphasizing how she wants new theatrical releases to be James Bond-like events from now on.

Lucasfilm and Disney announced not one, not two, but three new live-action Star Wars films at Star Wars Celebration in April, but Kennedy has suggested that they are in no rush to have them ready by a set date. Instead, she would like future movies to feel more like events.

“I’ve often brought up Bond,” Kennedy told Empire of her outlook on theatrical release schedules. “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,” she continued, “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.”

While a release window for the next Star Wars movie is unknown, we know that James Mangold is creating a film about the dawn of the Jedi, Dave Filoni is focusing on the New Republic era, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is directing a movie that centers around Daisy Ridley’s Rey.

“What we’re exploring is the evolution of the Jedi,” Kennedy explained about their plans. “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.”

These projects mark Star Wars’ return to the big screen after a multiyear absence. The last theatrical Star Wars release was 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, which concluded The Skywalker Saga that first began with the release of the original Star Wars trilogy from 1977 to 1983.

Since then, the galaxy far, far away has pivoted to episodic storytelling on Disney+ through series like The Mandalorian, Andor, and more. That side is also expanding, with first looks of The Acolyte, Skeleton Crew, and Ahsoka shown to Star Wars Celebration attendees.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Cover image credit: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images.