LATEST NEWS

Disney CEO Confirms Multiple Standalone 'Star Wars' Films on the Way

by Alex Billington
February 5, 2013
Source: CNBC

So they're really going all out. It's about time we finally explored the Star Wars universe cinematically in ways other than the Skywalkers. We've been hearing bits of rumors over the last few weeks that Lucasfilm might be planning standalone, solo movies set in the Star Wars universe about different characters from it. For example, just yesterday we heard rumors that Yoda and even maybe Jabba are getting solo projects first. Now it seems like that all might be true. Disney CEO Bob Iger recently spoke to CNBC and confirmed, straight up, there are more standalone films in development. He also confirms the writers working on them.

Here's the exact quote from Bob Iger directly from the CNBC interview, where he drops a lot of key details:

"There's been speculation about some standalone films in development, and I can confirm to you today that in fact we are working on a few standalone films. [Lawrence] Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are both working on films, derived from great Star Wars characters that are not part of the overall saga. So we still plan to make Star Wars 7, 8 and 9 roughly over a six year period of time, starting 2015. But there are going to be a few other films released in that period of time, too."

The interviewers, thank goodness, literally state that this is "big news" and Iger jokingly responds, "yea, I guess it is big news." Uh yea, it definitely is! This is huge news! It's official confirmation that, in addition to the new trilogy of Star Wars movies, we're going to get standalone Star Wars movies coming out while the new trilogy is being released from 2015 to 2021. They will also focus specifically on characters like Yoda and Jabba or even Boba Fett or other Jedi. Maybe I'm just a huge Star Wars geek who loves seeing more stories told in this universe, but all of this sounds awesome. I really want to see more Star Wars, and I don't care if they're Yoda flicks, as long as they don't turn out as bad as the Ewok movies there's nothing to worry about.

Iger also added, "Well, the implications for Star Wars fans, let's start with that because we're here to service our fans too, will be great, because there will be more Star Wars released in the atmosphere, so to speak, that's new and fresh. But I'm going to leave it to [Kathleen Kennedy] and the Lucas team to provide all the details when they're ready... By the way, they're both working with J.J. as consultants on Star Wars 7." Once again, he's confirming that screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan (of Empires Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Simon Kinberg (of X-Men: The Last Stand, Jumper, Sherlock Holmes) are working on these standalone films, and consulting on Star Wars 7. There's definitely a lot in the works.

Interview above for reference. Most of this news regarding standalone movies was rumored and reported late last year, but details were sketchy then. This isn't too much of a major update beyond confirmation of talent involved, the timeline, and details about consulting crossovers as well as these new standalone movies being released during the next trilogy. All of it sounds exciting to me, but this is just the start. Any ideas?

Update: Another set of quotes from Iger have arrived (via Deadline) to follow up everything earlier. Of course the PR teams went crazy after that aired and are making sure all the details are correct. For example, everything is still in very early development stages, so the "concept is simply 'becoming more real' with scripts now in development." Beyond that, they explain "at a meeting a few weeks ago he and Lucas agreed to focus their energies for now on the next Star Wars film due in 2015. They plan to investigate strategies to squeeze as much money from it as they can, including initiatives involving online, mobile apps, television, and parks and resorts." So these updates are hitting fast and as soon as they do, we usually hear something.

Filed under Feat, Movie News, Star Wars

From around the web: