The first trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrived today and promised a thrilling final chapter in the Skywalker saga. This isn’t the end of our trips to that galaxy far, far away, however, as Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is promising that the studio’s working on a whole decade of new movies to come.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at this weekend’s Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, Kennedy said that the fact that the adventures of the Skywalker clan are ending doesn’t mean the franchise is running out of steam. In actuality, Lucasfilm is thinking even bigger this time around.
“We are looking at the next saga. We are not just looking at another trilogy, we’re really looking at the next 10 years or more.”
We already know of at least six films that are part of this 10-year plan. Following The Last Jedi, the studio is confident enough in Rian Johnson’s unique vision of Star Wars that they’ve invited him back to craft his own trilogy. What’s more, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are also working on their own, entirely separate, trio of movies.
Kennedy’s comments suggest there are other projects in the works, too, but it’s possible the rest of that decade she refers to could see the franchise take some time off before returning in full-force. Disney CEO Bob Iger did recently say that the SW brand will go on hiatus for a while following Episode IX, though Kennedy’s enthusiasm suggests that won’t last too long.
Whatever happens, Lucasfilm will likely reconsider their release strategy as dropping Solo mere months after TLJ didn’t end up working out too well. And when even one of their leading stars, Mark Hamill, is worrying that “Star Wars fatigue” is going to set in, the studio should probably tread carefully.
Before the future of the franchise can be determined, however, first this saga must end, which it will when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20th.
