Lucasfilm officially opened their new ‘Sandcrawler’ building in Singapore this week (complete with some delightful photos) but for our purposes perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of this are Kathleen Kennedy’s comments on how the spin-off films will interact with the sequel trilogy, from the Straits Times, via Toys Revil.
“George was so clear as to how that works. The canon that he created was the Star Wars saga. Right now, [Episode VII] falls within that canon. The spin-off movies, or we may come up with some other way to call those films, they exist within that vast universe that he created,” she says.
“There is no attempt being made to carry characters (from the standalone films) in and out of the saga episodes. Consequently, from the creative standpoint, it’s a roadmap that George made pretty clear,” she adds.
We’re all pretty clear on ‘canon’ in this context, so the real meat here seems to be that the characters anchoring the spin-off films won’t be in the “Episodes.” The question: Does she mean just the new Episodes, or the Episodes that are already in the bag? The rumor mill has pegged characters such as Boba Fett, Han Solo, and Yoda as contenders, but Lucasfilm and Disney themselves have said nothing beyond that the spin-offs would be “origin stories.”
I’m inclined to think she means only the new films – which would probably clear folks like Fett and Yoda – but it’s certainly open for interpretation. And a formal name for the spin-offs would be nice as well. Star Wars Origins? (via)
Original comments:
1 jawajames // Jan 17, 2014 at 6:58 pm
you mean Mace Windu won’t appear at the end of each standalone to recruit the protagonist for the Jedi Avengers Initiative?
#makinganoldjokeagain
2 Dunc // Jan 17, 2014 at 7:11 pm
*sigh*
3 Stephen G // Jan 17, 2014 at 7:12 pm
Awwww
I was counting on a one-armed Mace Windu popping up too!
4 Jason Ward // Jan 17, 2014 at 7:33 pm
I think she means the new episodes as well. I like how there’s all this reverence for Lucas’ instruction after last night’s laugh riot.
5 Alex Johnson // Jan 17, 2014 at 8:41 pm
I’m still holding out for a post-RotS and pre-ANH Obi-Wan spin-off. That’d be perfect. You know, without him having a daughter…
6 Leandro // Jan 17, 2014 at 9:19 pm
Oh, so Latino Review was wrong? Didn’t see that coming!
BTW, a spin-off dedicated to Obi-Wan would be awesome.
8 Dunc // Jan 18, 2014 at 11:56 am
Well, you can think what you like about the LR version, but if you believe she means only the new Episodes, some sort of Fett movie is still a possibility. You don’t really need to have him cross over with the Skywalkers or Solos beyond what’s already there.
On the other hand, I wonder if they’ll use Rebels to launch new characters who then get their own films? Or pull folks from The Clone Wars? (Ahsoka?) Or even the far reaches of the EU? (Remember the Old Republic rumors?) Lots to think about.
9 Aaron // Jan 18, 2014 at 2:51 pm
It’s interesting that George Lucas is still the yardstick by which everything is measured. So the Story Group is trying to unite the canon, but as far as the films are concerned, there’s the George Lucas films (aka the sequels) and the “more or less in George Lucas’ universe” films (aka the spin-offs). Old habits die hard, I guess.
Anyway, I just want the Boba spin-offs out of the way as soon as possible, so that they can spend some time creating a worthy Wedge Antilles movie. Now that I would watch.
Oh, and get Aaron Allston’s Wraith Squadron in there, too. The more the merrier! :-)