Given the amount of fanfare over the imminent ninth Star Wars episode, The Rise of Skywalker being the last in the Skywalker saga, you’d assume that this is going to be the final time we see Skywalkers of any generation appear on the big screen. That’s not what president of Lucasfilm and de facto Star Wars CEO Kathleen Kennedy is indicating though, going by her most recent comments on the matter.
While attending the new movie’s red carpet premiere, Kennedy described her conflicting feelings as this chapter in the saga comes to an end, and dropped a hint you perhaps wouldn’t have expected her to:
“I have to say it’s a mixture of emotions, I have to say because we’ve had such an incredible time/ It’s just flown by these five years and doing these three movies and to realize that we’re completing the saga and we’re not finishing the Skywalkers necessarily, they could always in one way or another reappear but for right now it is bringing it to a close.”
Should we expect any differently from Disney, the same company behind Marvel’s infinite franchise building opportunities? The Anthology films may have been put on hold for now, but I hardly think we’ll be seeing the kind of 16 year gap fans endured between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace, or even the 10 year gap between Revenge of the Sith and The Force Awakens.
No, this machine is here and here to stay. I, for one, can’t wait to see what the writers of Game of Thrones do with their planned Star Wars movies. Wait, that’s not happening anymore? What about the Rian Johnson trilogy? That’s gone quiet, too? Damn. To be honest, that last one will likely turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Still, it would surprise me if the film series weren’t revived sooner rather than later.
In any case, only a few more days till Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens and millions of fans flood cinemas across the world for this most ancient of traditions – the biannual Star Wars theatre trip (because I know you skipped Solo. I have the numbers to prove it).
