There has been much debate over how exactly J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars Episode VII (and the subsequent two instalments of the new trilogy) will fit in alongside the planned spin-offs, but we may now finally have some clarification. In a recent visit to Singapore, The Straits Time (via Empire) caught up with Kathleen Kennedy, producer and president of Lucasfilm, to ask how exactly the movies will be connected, if at all.
Speculation and rumours have ranged from characters like Boba Fett and Han Solo getting their own origin stories to previously untold tales featuring Yoda and groups of Jedi being revealed. All we do know for sure is that Disney have said that they will be released between each instalment of the new trilogy, meaning a new Star Wars movie from 2015 for the foreseeable future!
As it turns out, it appears as if they will be completely standalone, and won’t – as many guessed – be used to introduce new characters to the upcoming trilogy.
“George was so clear as to how that works. The canon that he created was the Star Wars saga. Right now, episode seven falls within that canon. The spin-off movies, or we may come up with some other way to call those films, they exist within that vast universe that he created. There is no attempt being made to carry characters (from the standalone films) in and out of the saga episodes. Consequently, from the creative standpoint, it’s a roadmap that George made pretty clear.”
This gives those working on the movies a lot of creative freedom, and the Star Wars universe is a vast playground for them to take advantage of. While they won’t necessarily have an impact on the story being told in Episode VII and beyond, they all exist in the same far away galaxy, ultimately meaning that it’s about to get bigger and more exciting than ever before.
To find out which Star Wars characters we would most like to see get their own origin stories, check that feature out by clicking here.
