Kathleen Kennedy discusses how the Anthology films will fit into the Star Wars universe.
It’s almost here.
After months of anticipation and hype, The Force Awakens has almost arrived.
While a new Star Wars trilogy is about launch, let’s not forget there are other new films in this series that will standalone under the alias, “A Star Wars Story.”
We don’t know a whole lot about these standalone films, but recently, Slashfilm talked with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy on these upcoming Anthology titles.
First, Kennedy, who will be producing every upcoming Star Wars film, made an important distinction: The numbered, episode “saga” films will center on the Skywalker family, the standlone films will not.
Next, she stressed that each standalone film will be unique, with each one tackling many different film genres.
“They (Star Wars Anthology films) are really being designed as standalone movies,” Kennedy explained, “which is fantastic for the filmmakers we bring in, and the actors we hire, because it’s a different sensibility.”
Before we continue, let’s go over what Star Wars standalone films we know are happening.
The first Anthology film will be Rogue One, which focuses on a band of Rebels stealing the Death Star plans prior to A New Hope. This film will be directed by Gareth Edwards, star Felicity Jones, and will be released December 16, 2016.
First official photo featuring the cast of Rogue One.
The next planned film will be center around a young Han Solo, and will be directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord. A young Solo has yet to be cast, but the film is set to release on May 25, 2018.
A third Anthology film is also currently in development, but this one is a complete mystery. Josh Trank was originally set to direct this movie, however, he left the project (most likely due to his involvement in his previous film, Fant4stic). Rumors point to this film being a Boba Fett film, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Back to the interview.
Next, Kennedy emphasized that the standalone films will not all be prequels or focus on established characters, like Rogue One or the Han Solo film.
“It just so happens to be Rogue One is the precursor to New Hope and yes, this Han Solo idea but I would not argue that we are setting up any kind of prequel notion with these standalone movies. I think that’s so far just coincidence.”
Kathleen Kennedy with The Force Awakens director, J.J. Abrams.
Finally, Kennedy revealed that these films can take place anywhere in the Star Wars timeline.
“There is no strict guidelines for what we’re doing,” she explained.
However, she concluded by reassuring fans that Lucasfilm is making sure the standalone films will make sense, not contradict each other, and be quality products.
“We are very closely tied to any of the narrative storytelling in those divisions (Lucasfilm Story Group) because that does have to make some kind of sense. We don’t want something heading off in some direction that completely undoes what was setup in another story.”
It seems like these standalone films will be treated with the same care as the numbered Saga films, which is great. We’re excited to see how these new stories will shape the Star Wars series as it finally returns.
Speaking of which…
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now (almost) in theaters!
