Lucasfilms Plans for the Future: Things Weve Heard About Upcoming Star Wars Projects!

Alright, so my earlier piece on three of the classic planets we'll see return in the Sequel Trilogy made a splash among those who read it. But that wasn't the only thing that this particular source told me: I also asked about what Lucasfilm's plans are for beyond 2019. I think it's gonna be a long, long time until touchdown brings us around to find if this information is true or not (since these movies are all years out), but for now, the answers that I received may be of interest to you...







Contrary to my previous article from this source about the three planets set to appear in future Star Wars movies, this piece will be less speculative and will also be completely spoiler-free in regards to possible plot details or anything of that nature. I'd also like to note two other things - the first being that we received this scoop a little while before Bob Iger's recent statement that Lucasfilm had plans for at least fifteen more years of Star Wars after the end of the Sequel Trilogy, and the second being that we got this scoop slightly before the story about the three planets (which I chose to report first, because Episode VIII and Episode IX are going to be much closer in terms of release than a bunch of spin-offs that don't have creative teams yet). Also, I'd like to note that every quote I make in regards to the source is significantly paraphrased from what he told me.







Lucasfilm's Creative Process



Before we get into the meat of this article, I'm going to touch upon one of the first things I asked about, which concerned the creative process that goes on behind closed doors at Lucasfilm. Here's a summary of what the source said on the subject:

This is not really unexpected, considering that the big focus right now will be continuing and concluding the Sequel Trilogy, with a spin-off about a certain smuggler on the side. It seems that they have a more concrete plan and direction in mind for the Saga films, but this fluidity seems to be based more around Anthology films.



In the day and age where big film studios tend to announce a slate of upcoming films years in advance, many fans may be confused about why Lucasfilm has kept their cards so close to the chest regarding future projects. According to our source, this is the reason why:

This is why we haven't seen a years-in-advance unveiling of every movie they want to make comparable to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 3 announcement years in advance, and why they still haven't confirmed what Anthology #3 is. Their approach is more in-line with the standard kind of protocol that one would associate with smaller franchises, or at least franchises that were started prior to 2012. The process, as I was able to understand it, goes a little something like this:

For instance, one of the projects mentioned below did not have a script when it was kind of/sort of announced (unofficially, of course, but we'll get there). But it's worth noting that unfinished or restructured projects can still have an impact on the Star Wars franchise:

This would be consistent with what's been officially stated about Lucasfilm's existing approach to unused ideas. For example, the Inquisitor lightsabers shown in Rebels were based on concept art for Galen Marek's lightsaber in The Force Unleashed. (Yes, even after that game was excised into Legends.) As of right now, there are three major film projects that have a significant amount of traction (or enough ideas) within Lucasfilm that they are likely to be made - and these projects will almost certainly be movies unless something significant changes. Once I'm done discussing them, I'll go into some additional plans that are going to be a ways away. We'll start us off with the idea that the greatest number of fans want to see on film, followed by the idea that we've kind of known about for a while, and lastly an idea that has not been discussed anywhere else.







Obi-Wan Kenobi



A while ago, we were told by Anthony Breznican that Lucasfilm seemed to be waiting to figure out if the Sequel Trilogy was going to use Obi-Wan before they wanted to greenlight a spin-off. Well, evidently, they didn't have to wait that long. Your prayers have been answered, Kenobi bros:

Of the three projects, this is the one I was told the most about. It should also be noted that our source clarified the following:

There was a bit of confusion over this one, since some believed that the character would be getting an entire trilogy to himself because there were three different pitches being developed for the film. However, I'd like to stress that three different pitches do not necessarily denote three different movies - and, in some respect, that may be three more pitches than most other potential Star Wars movies have right now. (Wink to our friend Jordan from Cinelinx who reported that back in 2014.)





Who might be directing the film, you may ask? One potential candidate is someone already familiar with the Galaxy Far, Far Away:

As of right now, Edwards is taking a well-deserved break from directing after handling the movie that launched the MonsterVerse (2014's Godzilla) and the first Star Wars spin-off, and when he'll return to doing another tent-pole is anyone's guess. Since the movie doesn't come out until 2020 at the absolute earliest, that gives him more than enough time to come back and even direct a 'small' movie in the interim. But even if Edwards does return, our source told us that:

Should this pan out, then one thing I hope for above all else is the possibility of a fight between Obi-Wan and a Krayt Dragon. Seems like it'd fit with how much Edwards loves giant monsters.



Lastly, the source told me that he thinks that an announcement for this one is forthcoming in the next few weeks:

And it's not just a gut feeling - this possibility is supported by the existence of a few materials that were made in conjunction with the event.



As it stands, at the end of 2015, there were four movies in the works at Lucasfilm: The Last Jedi and Han Solo in pre-production, Rogue One in production, and The Force Awakens in post-production. At the end of 2016, the same thing could be said with Episode VIII in place of The Force Awakens. It's entirely possible that they'll keep this pattern up until The Last Jedi actually comes out.







Boba Fett & The Bounty Hunters



This is another project that we already knew about - the film was originally set to be announced at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim nearly two years ago. The picture was intended to be directed by Josh Trank, and was intended to be shown with a small proof-of-concept teaser akin to the one that Rogue One got, but Trank didn't show up for the panel due to a 'cold', and the project was delayed once Trank announced that he'd be focusing on smaller projects - like Fonzo, which will star Tom Hardy - instead. In actuality, there was a lot of friction between Trank and producer Simon Kinberg over Fant4stic, which had an absolute nightmare of a production that led to Trank having a nervous breakdown while filming - and Kinberg apparently threatened to walk out on Lucasfilm if Trank wasn't encouraged to leave. (Bear in mind that he was busy making sure that Rebels got off the ground at this time as well.) So leave Trank did, and the 2018-targeting movie was subsequently swapped out for the Han Solo movie (which was also in an early stage of development) directed by Philip Lord & Christopher Miller. Some took this delay as a sign that Lucasfilm no longer has interest in the idea and are putting it out to pasture. But our source clarified that the idea itself hasn't been thrown out with its former director:

There's good news and bad news for Fett fanatics regarding this project. Here's the good news: as far as I can tell, the movie will most likely not be an origin story. (Since, y'know, we basically already had one through Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars, and we're all more interested in why he has such a great reputation when he got his ass kicked by a blind man - by accident.) The bad news is that:

That last bit might be good news, however, if you were among the fans worried that the picture was going to de-mystify the man behind the mask - I'm not saying that they're going to be pulling a Dredd with this movie and never show the actor's face, because I don't know, but our source seems to think that the film is more of an ensemble effort than a story based on a singular character:

With that in mind, I would be unsurprised if they put Fett's helmet on all of the merchandise like they did with Kylo Ren for the line for The Force Awakens or Darth Vader for Rogue One... Scratch that, damn near all Star Wars merchandise.



Just in case you're wondering about if any ideas were thrown out, I can also tell you that the idea for the film seems to be the same as the one in the works when Trank was on board:

Aside from the obvious reason for such a delay, I think the official explanation (read: excuse) that Kathleen Kennedy gave for the delay was that visual effects would be a big component to this film - so hopefully this project will end up being one of the most visually-stunning Star Wars films when it eventually comes to fruition.







The Fault In Our Star Wars



This project is one that hasn't been discussed by anyone else as of yet, and I get the feeling that that this will probably be the one fans are going to be least excited about - or rather, older fans. Younger fans are probably going to Tumblr gush over this movie, provided that it's done well. As you might be able to guess from my spoof of a title, 40-year-old men may not be the target demographic for this one. Our source had the following to say about the project:

Now, before you guys claw each others' eyes out over this pitch, bear with me for a moment. For those of you worried that Lucasfilm has given into imaginary pressure from Disney and is now going to turn the franchise into Twilight lite (God forbid), our source also notes:

Perhaps the correct comparison would be to call it a Rogue One lite, if that movie had chosen to play up the Jyn/Cassian angle a fair amount more than it actually did.



If you remember earlier news, Kathleen Kennedy said that she's looking for opportunities for women to direct future Star Wars movies, but our source seems to think that this may be the first major step toward getting a Star Wars movie that's directed by a woman.



Considering that there's been a recent push in Hollywood to get more women in director's chairs (in part due to pressure from unions), it seems like this would be a shrewd decision on Kennedy's part... Presuming, of course, that a female director isn't attached to one of the spin-offs made prior to this. Hopefully, they can get someone like Claudia Grey to handle the script, as her work on Lost Stars (a novel that handled the same kind of pitch) has been deemed some of the best literature in the new canon, even if it is based around a standard young adult narrative. However, although our source allows that this story is in the same vein as Lost Stars, he clarified the following:

I'm not sold on this concept yet, but then again, there are so few details on it that I can't really make a judgment one way or another.







What Comes Next



So that's it for the three projects that will likely become films after 2019. But first, a quick aside, because it's not going to fit in anywhere else in this article and it doesn't warrant its own page. Our source says:

That much should be obvious given that they're angling for a May release date. But he also made mention about the style and vibe of the film:

This would make a lot of sense if you're familiar with Lord & Miller's existing body of work. Anyway, onto the distant future. While it was noted by Iger that there are already rough plans for about 15 years of Star Wars material after Episode IX (as mentioned at the beginning of this article), it also seems that even though Disney/Lucasfilm doesn't have an end anywhere in sight for the franchise for some time, they may be planning to ease off on the idea of putting out a Star Wars movie every year in perpetuity:

While that might seem unthinkable at first, there are two reasons that they'd do this.







The first reason is that:

As Pablo Hidalgo said, one of the reason that Dave Filoni got that big promotion to oversee all animated projects is because there's going to be plenty of them in the pipeline. We already know that another series is in development, though we don't know when it's going to hit or what it's going to be about. Our source had this to say about an upcoming TV project:

I'm not sure what that entails, but I guess we'll find out soon enough. One other thing that may or may not be related to this point that's worth mentioning is that Lucasfilm is not letting anything go to waste:

My guess is that this stuff could be reused for either future movies, or possibly for the live-action television show that will eventually happen.



On to the second point:

It seems that the executives at Disney/LFL are keenly aware of the possibility of over-saturation with the franchise, and will intentionally institute dry periods in effort to increase the desire for future matierial, much like how the 3-D re-releases of the later two chapters of the Prequel Trilogy (and presumably, the Original Trilogy as well) were all cancelled during the lead-up to The Force Awakens. While Star Wars looks to be the kind of franchise that will bank hundreds of millions no matter what:

That's not to say that they won't be developing new movie content on the side, but that it won't be Star Wars related. You can probably guess where this is going, because it's related to something that's going to be a huge announcement when it actually happens...







The Fourth Star Wars Saga Trilogy



C'mon, you know that this was going to happen eventually. The Force Awakens isn't the highest-grossing movie not directed by James Cameron for nothing. But at the same time, they might be taking another page from Cameron - wait a while before you do the sequel. Hopefully, it's not as long a wait as Avatar 2 has been, and hopefully the waiting game will play out in Avatar's favor, but still. It's safe to say that after the success of the Sequel Trilogy, another trilogy is going to follow:

And that's all I was told about the future of Star Wars. All of this is a long way off from materializing, so there's not going to be much in the way of confirming or debunking any of this information. Until then, I'll preemptively brag that you heard it here, on Star Wars News Net, first.





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