As Entertainment Weekly revealed yesterday, Lucasfilm will host a top secret meeting this coming January to discuss and outline to future of the Star Wars franchise. Thanks to a new story published by EW, we now have an idea of just who will be in attendance, helping shape the continuation of the epic saga. The super secret summit will bring together the leading creatives behind the newest generation of Star Wars films to help shape the Star Wars universe for years to come.
EW asked President of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy who exactly would be helping to decide where to take the franchise:
“The story team and the trust, and the visual effects team that we have been working with. We always pull in the directors and the writers that have been a part of these other three movies. We create pretty much a very collegiate group of people to share ideas.”
Hopefully, this means director JJ Abrams, as well as Rian Johnson and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, will continue to be involved. Kasdan wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi plus co-wrote The Force Awakens with Abrams. Johnson, a brilliant filmmaker, has both written and directed the next chapter in the Skywalker Saga, the currently untitled Episode VIII.
The possibilities of where the franchise could go are endless. Die hard fans are aching to see a Knights of the Old Republic film or trilogy as well as a solo feature for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Actor Ewan McGregor who portrayed Kenobi in the prequel films has been campaigning to get the movie made himself.
Lucasfilm had a Boba Fett solo feature in development with Jost Trank (Chronicle, Fantastic Four) attached to direct, however. After word got out about the production woes on-set of the Fantastic Four, followed by the trainwreck of a film that was released, Trank was pulled from the project and it remains shelved for the time being. Lucasfilm had gone far enough into development that a teaser had planned to debut at Star Wars Celebration 2015 according to EW’s sources.
The big question that all Star Wars fans are asking is what happens beyond Episode IX? As of now, the last release set on the Star Wars calendar is Episode IX directed by Colin Trevorrow. Will the Skywalker saga come to a close? Or will Episode IX leave things open for a new beginning?
Kennedy revealed they don’t actually know but that it is currently being mulled over at Lucasfilm:
“That’s a conversation going on right now, too. I have to honestly tell you, could we [do nothing but stand-alones]? Sure. But I don’t know. We are looking at all of that.”
Lucasfilm has made the wise decision to restrain any further action until Rogue One is released into the world and the reaction to the film can be gauged. Even more pressure is now on Garreth Edwards and the rebel spies in Rogue One as the success or failure of the film will determine the direction the future of the franchise heads in.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters December 16, 2016.
SOURCE: EW
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