For the first time in a long time, the future of the Star Wars franchise seems more than a little unclear. The Rise of Skywalker will bring a definitive end to the narrative started by George Lucas over 40 years ago, while the proposed Anthology movies were quietly taken off the table after Solo: A Star Wars Story became the lowest-earning live-action entry in the history of the series.
Not only that, but two proposed trilogies set in a galaxy far, far away are also currently mired in development hell. Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were either fired or walked away from Star Wars depending on who you believe, while The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson’s plan for three movies of his own are still up in the air.
It seems that the future of the franchise may be on the small screen, then, with The Mandalorian generating plenty of positive buzz since debuting on Disney Plus, while fan anticipation is already through the roof for Ewan McGregor’s return in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show.
In a strange turn of events for such a popular and lucrative brand, it seems as though what comes next for Star Wars is far from set in stone, as Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy admitted in a recent interview.
Here’s what she said:
“We’ve got various things we’re looking at and various ways in which we can begin or not. As you can imagine. You know, do you go back? Do you go forward? All those questions are being asked. Do we stay in this galaxy? Do we go to another? The universe is never-ending. The good news and the bad news. They have endless possibilities. It’s liberating, it’s exciting, and it creates a lot of pressure and anxiety as well.”
It seems that a lot of this hinges on the critical and commercial reactions to The Rise of Skywalker, which is being marketed as the final chapter in the original saga. If fans treat the movie the same way they treated The Last Jedi, then Star Wars may be in need of a total reset. If it turns out to be a universally-popular smash hit though, then expect the next installment in the franchise to be announced shortly after.