Outgoing Star Wars Boss Talks New Trilogy, Ben Solo, And ‘Online Negativity’

Kathleen Kennedy, who helped produce and create films like Jurassic Park, E.T., and Indiana Jones, is officially stepping down from her role as Lucasfilm president after holding the position since George Lucas left following the Disney deal in 2012. And in a new interview with Kennedy, the longtime producer and filmmaker shared some updates on various Star Wars projects, and the one Star Wars project that left her with regrets.

On January 15, after announcing her departure from Lucasfilm, Deadline posted a lengthy interview with the outgoing producer and president covering a whole lot of ground. Depressingly, Kennedy seems to be excited about AI and wants to work with the tech to make new stuff. She also told the outlet that she’s been planning this exit for a few years now and hand-picked her successors, Clone Wars creator Dave Filoni and veteran ILM manager Lynwen Brennan. And while she’ll still be around producing future Star Wars movies, including Ryan Gosling’s Starfighter and the upcoming Mandalorian and Grogu flick, it’s clear from this interview that Kennedy was tired of Disney not wanting to take more risks on projects like Andor.

A new Star Wars trilogy and an update on the Ben Solo movie

Perhaps the biggest news to come out of this interview is Kennedy sharing the status of various Star Wars movie projects and confirming that the previously announced Star Wars trilogy being led by screenwriter Simon Kinberg is still happening, at least for now.

“[James] Mangold’s is really on the back burner, as is Soderbergh’s [Ben Solo film],” Kennedy told the outlet. “I think the ones by Taika and Donald [Glover] are still somewhat alive. That’s going to really be up to the new team to figure out. Dave, I know that Dave [Filoni] and Lynwen [Brennan] are very much on board with what Simon [Kinnberg]’s doing, and that would be a new trilogy. In the timeline of things, that takes you well into 2030 plus. So that’s really what’s up next.”

It was previously reported that this new Star Wars trilogy wouldn’t be connected to the Skywalker Saga, but it is also possible that things have changed. Kennedy makes it clear in this interview that putting together Star Wars movies takes many years of dedication, and a lot of directors and filmmakers aren’t willing to commit to such an undertaking. That likely explains the large number of canceled and delayed Star Wars movies over the last seven years or so. As for the status of Kinberg’s first film in this new trilogy, it doesn’t sound close to filming at all.

“[Kinberg is] working right now.,” said Kennedy. “He wrote something that we read in August, and it was very good, but not there. 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. And it’s a very detailed treatment, like 70 pages. And so he is expected to give us something in March.”

I wouldn’t get too excited about this trilogy yet. Remember that Rian Johnson, who directed The Last Jedi, was tapped to direct a new trilogy of films after his 2017 Star Wars movie was a big hit. But according to Kennedy, the negative firestorm online scared him away, and he got distracted with Knives Out and its sequels. So who knows if this new trilogy will happen anytime soon or ever.

Regrets and concerns about studios being too afraid of risk

Elsewhere in the interview, Kennedy called the script for the Ben Solo movie, whose existence was leaked publicly by Adam Driver last year and got fans very excited, “great.” And it could still happen, according to her. “Anything’s a possibility if somebody’s willing to take a risk.” However, that seems unlikely as the longtime Lucasfilm boss explained that, at the moment, Disney and other big studios aren’t interested in taking bold swings and big risks.

“Right now we’re in an era where companies are so risk-averse, and I get it,” said Kennedy. “I hear all the conversations. They’ve got Wall Street to please, and I get it, but I also believe that that’s what contributes to things disappearing, ultimately. I just think you have to take those chances. Everything I just reeled off to you is taking a bit of a chance because none of those filmmakers are just walking in trying to do the same old, same old. I’m excited by that, but the studio’s nervous about that, and that’s kind of where it sits at the moment.”

And as for whether she has any regrets from her time as president of Lucasfilm, Kennedy listed the 2018 Solo spin-off movie as the only one because, according to her, they tried to replace Harrison Ford, and that was always going to be a nearly impossible challenge.

“We were so excited about that idea,” said Kennedy. “And then when you’re into something, and you realize fundamentally, conceptually, you cannot replace Han Solo, at least right now. As wonderful as Alden Ehrenreich was, and he really was good, and is a wonderful actor, we put him in an impossible situation. 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.”