Kathleen Kennedy looks to James Bond for how to “eventise” new Star Wars movies

Last Updated on May 25, 2023

Disney kicked off a new era of Star Wars with the release of The Force Awakens in 2015. The film was followed by Rogue One in 2016, The Last Jedi in 2017, Solo in 2018, and The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. That’s five Star Wars movies in five years. The big-screen side of the franchise has been dormant ever since, but when new movies do return to theaters, it won’t be quite so often.

While speaking with Empire, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said that they’re looking to the James Bond franchise for how to “eventise” the upcoming Star Wars movies. “I’ve often brought up Bond,” Kennedy said. “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.” As much as I love seeing Star Wars movies in theaters, it’s not a franchise that needs to be out there annually. With the various TV shows on Disney+, there’s plenty to keep fans happy in between movies. “It’s much better to tell the truth,” Kennedy said, “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.“

We got our first tease of the new set of Star Wars movies at Star Wars Celebration. James Mangold will direct a movie set 25,000 years before the Skywalker Saga which explores the first Jedi and the discovery of the Force. Dave Filoni will helm a movie which will bring The Mandalorian and the other New Republic shows together. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will also direct a movie which will take place 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker and will bring back Daisy Ridley as Rey. “What we’re exploring is the evolution of the Jedi,” Kathleen Kennedy said of the new movies. “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.“

Will the new Star Wars movies be better off not following a yearly release pattern?