Kathleen Kennedy Says Next ‘Star Wars’ Saga Should Last a Decade

The coming Star Wars spinoff saga, helmed by Game of Thrones‘ D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, could do away with the accelerated process that produced Lucasfilm‘s sequel trilogy across four years.

“We’re looking at stories that will span the next decade,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Fandango‘s Erik Davis at Star Wars Celebration in Chicago.

Owners Disney, who acquired Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion from creator George Lucas in 2012 and revamped the franchise with 2015’s The Force Awakens, concludes the long-running Skywalker saga this December in the J.J. Abrams-directed Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Disney’s fifth entry in the Star Wars galaxy.

Disney CEO Bob Iger first declared a Star Wars slowdown in September, admitting to THR, “I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna make films.

Benioff and Weiss are “developing sagas of their own, which we haven’t been specific about,” Iger said. “And we are just at the point where we’re gonna start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.’s. But I think we’re gonna be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that.”

A day after unveiling Disney+ — Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming service that boasts original animated and live-action Star Wars content, including Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and the Diego Luna-led Cassian Andor Rogue One prequel series — Iger reaffirmed the slowdown at Celebration, saying the movie side of the franchise will go on “hiatus” after Skywalker.

“We have not announced any specific plans for movies thereafter. There are movies in development, but we have not announced them,” Iger said. “We will take a pause, some time, and reset, because the Skywalker saga comes to an end with this ninth movie. There will be other Stars Wars movies, but there will be a bit of a hiatus.”

Beyond the Weiss and Benioff films, Star Wars: The Last Jedi writer-director Rian Johnson said at CinemaCon earlier this month he remains in early development on his own planned spinoff trilogy.

Lucasfilm next premieres The Mandalorian when Disney+ launches November 12. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker releases to theaters December 20.

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