Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige – generally acknowledged as the driving force behind the enormously successful series of blockbusters the studio has released – is to develop a new Star Wars film, it has been announced.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Walt Disney Company (which owns both Marvel Studios and Star Wars producers Lucasfilm) has asked Feige to work on Star Wars material with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Disney co-chair Alan Horn said: “With the close of the Skywalker Saga, [Kennedy] is pursuing a new era in Star Wars storytelling, and knowing what a diehard fan Kevin [Feige] is, it made sense for these two extraordinary producers to work on a Star Wars film together.”
No details have been revealed as to the nature of the project, or whether it will operate as part of the “main” chronological narrative or as a standalone “anthology” film. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, due for release in December, is the ninth and final part of the “Skywalker Saga”; Lucasfilm have previously made agreements with Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss and The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson to make separate trilogies.
However, Lucasfilm have experienced considerable hiccups in maintaining the Star Wars franchise since the triumphant release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. A series of directors have been replaced or sidelined: Tony Gilroy took over from Gareth Edwards on Rogue One, while Colin Trevorrow and director team Phil Lord and Chris Miller were replaced on The Rise of Skywalker and Solo: A Star Wars Story respectively. Disney CEO Bob Iger also admitted that Solo’s disappointing box office results were partly due to “franchise fatigue”, when the film was released only six months after The Last Jedi.
Since 2008, the 23 films that Feige has produced as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have grossed over $22.5bn (£18.2bn) worldwide.
