It was recently revealed that Lucasfilm has temporarily halted production on all Star Wars Anthology movies. This is likely due to the underperformance of Ron Howard’s Solo, not to mention the various behind the scenes issues they’ve had with a number of director changeovers lately.
Fans worried about the future of cinematic storytelling in that galaxy far, far away can rest easy, however, as that new trilogy from The Last Jedi‘s Rian Johnson is still in development, as is the one from David Beinoff and D.B. Weiss, co-creators of Game of Thrones. In regards to these films, Collider noted the following in their report:
“These projects continue to be in development and are not part of the paused spinoffs we’re hearing about. But Lucasfilm’s main focus at the moment is planning the next trilogy after the Abrams-directed [Episode IX], which is expected to conclude the story of Rey (Daisy Ridley) that began with The Force Awakens.”
It’s wonderful to hear that original stories about brand new characters now have Lucasfilm’s full support and undivided attention. After all, the company has catered to established material for a long time. And while Collider’s report spells trouble for the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett films that are said to be in development, those were never officially confirmed in the first place. The work by Johnson, Beinoff and Weiss, meanwhile, has been teased by the studio for months now.
All that being said, one wonders when and if another Star Wars Anthology flick will ever be released. Even if it turns out to be the last movie of its kind, Solo should not be blamed for this. It’s quality entertainment in its own right and is merely the victim of a divided fanbase. Perhaps Lucasfilm will still revisit some of the galaxy’s most beloved characters somewhere down the road though and give them origin films of their own after the trilogies by Johnson, Beinoff, and Weiss are released. Fingers crossed, eh?