MCU Supremo Kevin Feige Is Making A Star Wars Movie!
No, it's probably not a crossover with the MCU. Sadly.
While Disney and Lucasfilm might be insisting that The Rise Of Skywalker is a full-stop on their current mainline Star Wars movies, it's far from the end for the billion dollar franchise. In fact, if you listen to Kathleen Kennedy, it's precisely the opposite.
Whether you actually believe that the Skywalker Saga will end and that the current crop of characters will all hang up their lightsabers and Rebellion uniforms when Episode 9's credits roll, there are other Star Wars eras to come.
We already knew about the trilogy of films coming thanks to Game Of Thrones creators DB Weiss and David Benioff and Rian Johnson apparently also still has his mooted trilogy cooking somewhere along the line too. The former will probably come first and then it may not be Johnson's project that comes next, because a new player has entered the game.
Clearly not content with spending his time overseeing the continued expansion of the MCU, Kevin Feige is the latest creative to be handed the reigns to a Star Wars movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney Studios boss Alan Horn has brought together his two most lucrative brands to fuse one superteam out of Kennedy and Feige who will "pursue a new era in Star Wars storytelling".
“With the close of the Skywalker Saga, Kathy is pursuing a new era in Star Wars storytelling, and knowing what a die-hard fan Kevin is, it made sense for these two extraordinary producers to work on a Star Wars film together.”
Fandom matters, but so too does dependability. Particularly for LucasFilm who have something of a wayward reputation for hiring creatively interesting people - like Phil Lord and Christopher Miller or Gareth Edwards - and then balking when they realise that they're interested in a little too much creative freedom. At least with Feige they can recognise one of their own - a producer with similar focus who likes to shepherd his own directors towards one unified creative vision (before giving them more rope for sequels).
Unfortunately, this probably doesn't mean we're going to see a Star Wars and Marvel crossover event, no matter how hard you wish it. There were some rumours to that end when Disney bought Lucasfilm, but it's a pipe dream surely?
Feige spoke about his approach to big franchises around the time of Avengers: Endgame's release (h/t Variety):
“I was never cynical about sequels. I was always excited to see how characters I loved would grow and change. I’d be disappointed sometimes. Every time a movie disappointed me I’d sit and think about what I’d have done differently. I wouldn’t write a screenplay, but I’d tease it out in my head. In many ways it’s not that dissimilar from what I do now.”
More interestingly for Star Wars fans who might still be stinging at the idea of Rian Johnson making Star Wars movies and seemingly "not understanding" the fanbase is that Feige expresses himself a fan quite openly and he did the same with Marvel. And as Chris Hemsworth told Variety “he approaches all of this from a fan’s point of view, not as a businessman or producer. He is truly making stories that he knows he himself would enjoy.”
And not only that, but Feige's position within Disney basically makes him the best person in the entire industry to lead change and really try to wade into some new waters. Even if fans might push back, Feige, unlike a lot of the creatives before him that LucasFilm have hired and then either got rid of or reshuffled behind an old, tested head, has power and autonomy. His director - whoever that might be - will answer to him and will have his power behind him. And when Alan Horn talked about Feige around Endgame's release, he said "he’s earned the right to bring us things about which we might be 100% unfamiliar" - could that mean we get to see more of the old Expanded Universe explored a bit more?
Here's hoping.