Star Wars: Lucasfilm President Details Why Franchise Has Focused More on TV Over Movies

Now that the Star Wars Skywalker Saga has concluded, Lucasfilm has shifted its focus largely to streaming shows. While there are still plenty of Star Wars films in various stages of development, the latest being a picture from MCU Spider-Man helmer Jon Watts, the studio has released many more shows on Disney+ and will continue to do so in the coming months. Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy said in a recent interview the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga coming at the same time Disney+ was getting off the ground created a perfect storm for the content shift for her team.

“We all recognized, every single one of us inside of Lucasfilm, that this was a new chapter for the company and that we needed to all work together to create the architecture for where we were going,” Kennedy said in a wide-ranging interview with Vanity Fair. “Simultaneous to us taking a hiatus, [then CEO] Bob Iger changed the strategy of the Walt Disney Company to shift focus toward streaming. At the time, they didn’t even know what the streaming service was going to be called. That’s how new the idea was.”

With the franchise’s primary saga now over, Kennedy said it became time to experiment with other forms of stories.

“What’s unique about Star Wars is that we’re one story, basically. George was always dealing with ‘episodes,’” the producer added. “Ironically, he was serializing his storytelling. He was influenced by Flash Gordon and the cliff-hangers on Saturdays at movie theaters. All of that informed the DNA of what Star Wars is, which is why I think it’s just organic that we made the transition into television.”

She concluded, “So all of this coalesced. I love to say that we’re all strategic geniuses—we’re not. I think what we all did, very effectively, was we pivoted. I got lucky. I knew that Jon Favreau was always deeply interested in Star Wars. He was the first person I went to. What’s unique about Jon is his commitment. He’s had a sole focus pretty much on this for the last several years. That’s been a godsend.

The next show on the release slate for Lucasfilm is Obi-Wan, due out later this month.

Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Kumail Nanjiani, Sung Kang, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Moses Ingram, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, Simone Kessell, Benny Safdie, Bonnie Piesse, and Joel Edgerton, Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi is streaming May 25 on Disney+.

What other surprises do you feel are in store for the next Star Wars show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!

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