From the original films release in 1977 to the 2015 ‘return’ of the saga and The Force Awakens, you could confidently argue that no film series in the history of the cinematic art form has been more of an event than Star Wars. Truly the circus coming to town, every three years would bring the latest entry in the trilogy, dominating the zeitgeist and breaking box office records. Episode VII not only became one of the biggest films of all time, but you could get behind the thought that it was the most anticipated film ever released, trumping 1999’s The Phantom Menace.
However, despite its undoubted popularity and quality, Rogue One became the first brand new Star Wars film to be released a year after its predecessor, and by the time The Last Jedi arrived we’d had a trilogy of new films within two years. Suddenly, Star Wars wasn’t the hotly anticipated treat it had been during the Original and Prequel trilogy years but a date on an annual calendar to be fulfilled, and with the financial (certainly not creative) disappointment of Solo and an underwhelming (but still billion dollar) tally of The Rise of Skywalker, big screen Star Wars needed a reappraisal.
Speaking to Empire Magazine at Celebration Europe, Kathleen Kennedy touched upon this topic – how to return the saga to its prior lofty position and make cinematic Star Wars an event once again.
“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 eventise this.”
She also made it very clear that the films wouldn’t be produced or released until they were absolutely ready; good news for sure.
“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.”
