Kathleen Kennedy Describes New Jedi Order Era and Emphasizes That Movies Will Release Only When They’re Ready
Kathleen Kennedy has shed a bit of light on what the New Jedi Order era – that is, the era that will see the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker in the new film project – will be about. She also emphasizes that Lucasfilm will develop projects at their own pace and release them when they are ready instead of rushing to fit shareholder-friendly deadlines announced years in advance.
Kathleen Kennedy spoke to Empire during last month’s Star Wars Celebration Europe event, discussing the three new films: the Dawn of the Jedi story exploring the origins of the Jedi Order, the spin-off film serving as a culmination for multiple arcs across The Mandalorian and its spin-offs, and a New Jedi Order story serving as an epilogue to the Skywalker Saga. In keeping up with the franchise name of Star Wars, Kennedy indicated that the time period after the end of the First Order and the Sith will be anything but peaceful as the fate of the Jedi is uncertain:
“What we’re exploring is the evolution of the Jedi. We’re going very far back, we’re looking at the present, and now we’re moving 15 years after The Rise Of Skywalker. The First Order has fallen, the Jedi are in chaos – there’s even a question of how many exist anymore – and Rey’s building the New Jedi Order, based on the text that she was given and that Luke imparted on her.”
Kennedy also compared the release strategy for upcoming Star Wars movies to the James Bond film franchise, noting that the goal for Lucasfilm is to develop an abundance of projects that they feel confident in, and that they will set the release dates when they feel that the time is right:
“I’ve often brought up Bond. That’s every three or four years and there wasn’t this pressure to feel like you had to have a movie every year. I feel that was very important to Star Wars. We have to event-ize this. It’s much better to tell the truth, that we’re going to make these movies when they’re ready to be made, and release them when they’re ready to be released.”
The issue of Empire that will feature more of this interview with Kennedy and others at Lucasfilm will be arriving on May 11, 2023.
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.
