Given that we’re unlikely to hear much more than rumor about Star Wars: Episode VII for the foreseeable future, we have to take any concrete information we can get. The next little tidbit to emerge surrounding the multitude of Star Wars sequels and spinoffs comes courtesy of writer Simon Kinberg. He reveals what was probably already assumed (but it’s nice to be confirmed): the Star Wars sequels will remain grounded in the cinematic canon.
What does that exactly mean? Simply that all of those video games, novels, animated series, etc. will not be worked into the projected sequels. As Kinberg told IGN (via The Playlist), “I know for the movies, the canon is the canon, and the canon is the six films that exist.” So while various animated series and all those massive numbers of spin-off novels set in the Star Wars universe are all well and good, the films will stay focused on what we already know from the original trilogy and its prequels.
Is this a welcome piece of information? Yes, it is, at least for someone unfamiliar with the expansive universe that has been built up around the Star Wars franchise. While I’m sure that many die-hard fans would love to see some of their favorite novels or video games come into play on the big screen, the whole thing could wind up being far too confusing for those of us who have only a casual interest in the franchise. Kinberg is tasked with writing at least one of the projected spin-offs, and it’s somehow comforting to know that the films will not depart too far from what we’ve already experienced.
That’s just about all we’re going to get from Kinberg, of course. Although he does mention Boba Fett as a favorite character, he’s still on lockdown about what spin-off he’s actually writing. We’ll likely know more about Star Wars: Episode VIIÂ before we know more about that.
The first in the next line of Star Wars films will hit cinemas in December 2015. Until then, we’ll just have to be content with rumors.
