The Star Wars issue of Entertainment Weekly isn’t out yet, but apparently Kotaku got an early peek at it – and they’re reporting that Kathleen Kennedy says that Lucasfilm wants to make “two or three films a year.”
The full quote appears in the comments, from Luke Plunkett:
Lucasfilm’s co-chairman and soon-to-be president, Kathleen Kennedy, has told employees she wants the company to produce two or three films a year (it’s averaged fewer than four per decade), and first up is Star Wars: Episode VII for 2015, which will pick up sometime after Darth Vader gave his life to overthrow (figuratively and literally) the Emperor and save Luke in 1983’s Episode VI— Return of the Jedi. Yes, the plan is to return to the characters in the first trilogy (1977–83). Whether the original actors will have significant roles or merely be on hand to pass the baton to a new generation of actors—something Lucasfilm tried with mixed success with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Disney with TRON: Legacy—is unclear.
Two or three? Well, we can probably assume we’ll get three in 2014 – the 3-D re-releases of the original trilogy. But somehow, I doubt that’s what she’s talking about… Disney seems mostly focused on Star Wars, but that’s… A lot of Star Wars. (Market saturation much?) If they are all Star Wars, anyway.
… Or this could all be a misquote of the original thing we heard about one movie every 2 to 3 years. Personally, that’s what I’m hoping for.
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17 responses so far ↓
1 Andrew Liptak // Nov 14, 2012 at 10:43 pm
I wonder if they’re going to do more with films like Red Tails.
2 jawajames // Nov 14, 2012 at 10:47 pm
well, there’s plenty of non-Star Wars stuff to mine from LFL.
besides the fairy movie, there’s always room for a Red Tails prequel and sequel (all the awkwardness of racism in America, without the aerial combat!)
and of course, not just doing Star Wars live action movies, but also Clone Wars animated movies, and dare i say “Direct to DVD” features and sequels. “Ewoks – Battle for Endor II: Cindel’s Magical Journey”
wow. Cindel could so be a disney princess. she just needs a Dathomiri godmother!
3 Doyle // Nov 14, 2012 at 10:51 pm
Well, I’ve often thought that Lucasfilm could transition nicely into working as an actual studio. If they ever get that soundstage facility off of the ground, they’ll be in good shape for it…And I would love to see them become something of a proving ground for new talent interested in making films in the same vein as Lucas’s early work.
4 David (@chudleycannons) // Nov 14, 2012 at 11:10 pm
When this was first announced, a few people brought up the idea of treating Star Wars like The Avengers and have movies focusing on different characters and different time periods. We’ve already had three Star Wars films that aren’t “Episode #,” so why not have more like that?
5 David (@chudleycannons) // Nov 14, 2012 at 11:11 pm
But I also agree with what the other commenters have suggested and that they also produce non-Star Wars films. I love SW, but I’d like to also see them give other creators the chance to tell stories set in their own original worlds.
6 Brian // Nov 14, 2012 at 11:28 pm
I’m inclined to think that’s a misquote or a misunderstanding. Certainly different than what we were told at the original sale press conference.
2-3 Lucasfilm projects a year, sure. 2-3 Star Wars films a year seems crazypants. Not even Marvel is running at that pace with their MCU films.
7 kataja // Nov 14, 2012 at 11:34 pm
This sounds… not so good. If they plan to squeeze the orange so hard, it will turn dry quickly. Also, what will they do with the orinal actors if they plan to recast?
A turn of this is…
8 Amanda Jane // Nov 14, 2012 at 11:42 pm
Can I cross my fingers and toes for a movie adaptation of the Alien Chronicles trilogy by Deborah Chester? Anyone else remember those? I dearly loved them. It was a published with the “Lucasfilm” name attached to the title and came out from 1997-1999.
9 wild_karrde // Nov 15, 2012 at 12:32 am
Howard the Duck 2!!
10 Report: Is Lucasfilm Animation working on a feature film? // Nov 15, 2012 at 7:06 am
[...] have my skeptic hat on, even with yesterday’s report/very possible misquote of “two or three films a year.” With 3-D re-releases of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith late next year, plus the [...]
11 Hofmann // Nov 15, 2012 at 8:45 am
Two words: Willow reboot.
12 Megan // Nov 15, 2012 at 9:56 am
I second the comment about the Alien Chronicles.
13 Dom // Nov 15, 2012 at 10:26 am
Alien Chronicles is a great idea. Also, there’s the Dig video game
14 Report: Kennedy Says Lucasfilm Ramping Up for 2-3 Films Per Year? | Tosche Station // Nov 15, 2012 at 10:37 am
[...] Dunc over at Club Jade spotted an interesting (and surprising) quote in the Star Wars edition issue of Entertainment Weekly. According to them, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy wants to make 2-3 films a year? Lucasfilm’s co-chairman and soon-to-be president, Kathleen Kennedy, has told employees she wants the company to produce two or three films a year (it’s averaged fewer than four per decade), and first up is Star Wars: Episode VII for 2015, which will pick up sometime after Darth Vader gave his life to overthrow (figuratively and literally) the Emperor and save Luke in 1983’s Episode VI— Return of the Jedi. Yes, the plan is to return to the characters in the first trilogy (1977–83). Whether the original actors will have significant roles or merely be on hand to pass the baton to a new generation of actors—something Lucasfilm tried with mixed success with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Disney with TRON: Legacy—is unclear. [...]
15 David (@chudleycannons) // Nov 15, 2012 at 11:56 am
@Brian But Marvel is. 2011 had two MCU films and 2013, 2014, and 2015 all have two feature films announced, along with a potential tv series and likely a bunch of unannounced short films. Throw in the non-MCU films (X-Men, Spidey, Wolverine) and you’ve got 3 films in 2013 and FOUR in 2014. And there’s also supposedly Daredevil/FF in the works. (Also, I didn’t count any creator-owned works like Kick-Ass 2 or Powers.) That’s a lot of Marvel superheros on the screen!
16 Amaranthine // Nov 17, 2012 at 3:02 pm
I got my issue of EW today! No matter what anybody says about the Disney/Lucasfilm thing, it sure is nice to see Star Wars on a magazine cover again. Also awesome–in a “Speculations” column, they printed some Essential Guide pictures of Jaina, Jacen, and Mara.
17 Aaron // Nov 18, 2012 at 8:53 am
Having bought the issue just to fact-check the whole thing, I have come to a sad conclusion: The whole article is just a bad mix of previously known quotes merged with a number of misquotes and obvious mistakes. The whole 2 to 3 films per year thing is in all likelihood a twisted version of the one film every 2 to 3 years bit Disney put out when they took over LFL.
In case anyone studies journalism: This is a great example for how to sell a ton of magazines. And for how not to work as a journalist. ;-)
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