Over the past few years, Star Wars has given fans numerous Disney+ series. Even with the success of those projects, fans of the galaxy far, far away are starting to realize an important truth. Star Wars movies have been on hiatus for way too long. The Rise of Skywalker was the last film that fans saw in theaters, and that was already a few years ago. However, the real problem hasn't been the lack of Star Wars films. The real problem has been the number of projects that Disney has announced and subsequently canceled or shelved.Luckily, Disney has realized the problem. As part of 2023's Star Wars Celebration, Disney and Lucasfilm announced three new movies that will greatly expand Star Wars' storytelling potential. Assuming those films come to fruition, Star Wars fans will be delighted. But the question is: when can fans expect the trio of films? Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy recently gave a cryptic answer to that question, but it only raised more questions when she referenced another popular franchise.
Kathleen Kennedy Wants to Eventise Star Wars Films
In an interview with Empire Magazine, Kennedy explained how Disney and Lucasfilm are taking a new direction with their Star Wars releases: "I've often brought up Bond," Kennedy said. "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 continued, "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."
From what Kennedy said, it looks like none of the three Star Wars films -- which includes the risky Dawn of the Jedi project -- will be released in the immediate future. She gave herself, the filmmakers and the actors plenty of leeway, and that makes perfect sense. When so many Star Wars projects have fallen through, Lucasfilm should be cautious about commitments until things are totally set in stone. As she said, there shouldn't be pressure to release so many films in such a preplanned release window. The films should be done well and released when they're ready. Plus, eventising allows for ample marketing and build-up. But as some have noted, there's another example closer to home than James Bond.
Star Wars Is Copying Its Own Example, Not James Bond
What Kennedy said about eventising Star Wars is absolutely right, but her inspiration is misplaced. As well-known YouTuber Star Wars Theory pointed out, Lucasfilm's new model isn't following the Bond franchise's example -- it's following George Lucas' template. The original trilogy films were released in 1977, 1980 and 1983. Likewise, the prequel films were released in 1999, 2002 and 2005. There were three years in between each of those movies. Sure, it made fans wait, but it ensured that the films were well-made and highly anticipated.
When the sequels came out, Disney only allowed for two years in between each film. Then, it started to cram anthology films into the off-years, and eventually, it was just too much for the filmmakers to keep up with. However, it's important to note that fans didn't pressure Disney into year releases; it was simply Disney being too eager. All that to say, fans won't have a problem with eventising Star Wars releases -- because it's been done before. In other words, Star Wars is getting back to Lucas' roots. It would just be better if that was acknowledged rather than giving credit to James Bond.