By George & Josh Bate
After rumblings for over a year, Lucasfilm officially announced that its president Kathleen Kennedy will step down this week. As the veteran producer exits the company she has spearheaded for the past 14 years and hands over the reigns with Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, Kennedy was interviewed by Deadline and provided a number of interesting updates on a variety of Star Wars projects.
Keep reading to learn everything Kennedy said about upcoming Star Wars movies….
Star Wars: Starfighter
Despite exiting Lucasfilm, Kennedy will remain as a producer on The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter. Regarding the latter, Kennedy reiterated that Shawn Levy’s film is intended as a stand-alone, although it’s possible it may receive a sequel. “With Shawn’s movie, this could go on, but it’s not our intention right now,” said Kennedy. “We really made the movie as a stand-alone story.”
Kennedy also spoke highly of chiild actor Flynn Gray, who will star in the movie alongside Ryan Gosling. Not only was he there with Ryan Gosling,” Kennedy commented, “this movie is structured in a way that he had kind of a new actor coming in every few weeks that he was one-on-one with. Matt Smith, Amy Adams, Aaron Pierre. And each one, it was so great to watch him because he would just get so excited by the actors he got to work with. It was like he was in the best university you could possibly be in.”
Lando
Kathleen Kennedy revealed that Donald Glover has turned in a script for the Lando movie.
Unlike other titles commented on by Kennedy, Lando does not appear to be on “the backburner.” That being said, it’s taken a while for the project to develop as it originally began as a Disney+ series before evolving into a feature film.
Dawn of the Jedi
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold and Andor writer Beau Willimon’s Dawn of the Jedi is currently “on hold,” says Kennedy.
“Jim Mangold and Beau Willimon wrote an incredible script, but it is definitely breaking the mold and it’s on hold.”
The Hunt for Ben Solo
At last, Kathleen Kennedy acknowledges the existence of The Hunt for Ben Solo.
The departing Lucasfilm president said that the film is “on the backburner.” She elaborated, ““Steve Soderbergh and Adam Driver turned in a script written by Scott Burns. It was just great. Anything’s a possibility if somebody’s willing to take a risk.”
Please, Lucasfilm. Take this risk and carry forward with The Hunt for Ben Solo.
Simon Kinberg’s new saga
Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars movies are “the new trilogy,” according to Kathleen Kennedy.
“We’ve pretty much upended the story, and then spent a great deal of time on the treatment, which he finished literally about four weeks ago,” Kennedy stated. “And it’s a very detailed treatment, like 70 pages. And so he is expected to give us something in March.”
Taika Waititi’s movie
Initally announced during Disney Investor Day 2020, very little news has come out about Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie over the past 5+ years.
But, according to Kennedy, things are still moving forward. “Taika has turned in a script that I think is hilarious and great,” she said.
Other news
In other news, Kennedy revealed she has spoken with David Fincher (Se7en, Zodiac), Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), and Alex Garland (28 Days Later) about making Star Wars projects of their own.
She also hinted that Lucasfilm held discussions with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler. “But Star Wars isn’t really Ryan’s thing,” Kennedy said. “The trickiest thing is to find a filmmaker and say, ‘You can step into this space and you can still be you.’”
In reflecting on her tenure at Lucasfilm, Kennedy stated she has “a bit of regret about Solo: A Star Wars Story.”“ I brought Larry Kasdan in on, and we were so excited about that idea,” Kennedy remarked. “And then when you’re into something and you realize fundamentally, conceptually, you cannot replace Han Solo, at least right now.”
Kennedy was also surprisingly candid about the challenges recasting Han Solo. “As wonderful as Alden Ehrenreich was, and he really was good, and is a wonderful actor, we put him in an impossible situation,” Kennedy said. “And once you’re in it and once you’re committed, you’ve got to carry on. I think I have a bit of regret about that, but not about the moviemaking and filmmaking. I don’t have regrets about that. I just think that conceptually, we did it too soon.”