Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy says that it’s the Skywalker family that links the nine Star Wars saga films
In less than three months, the Star Wars saga continues in theaters with the arrival of J.J. Abrams’ highly-anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens. After that, we’re set to get a new Star Wars film every single year for the foreseeable future, the plan being for Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm, Ltd. to deliver a Star Wars saga film every other year with Star Wars anthology films in between. There are planned to be nine distinct Star Wars saga films in the end, broken down into three distinct trilogies. So what makes a Star Wars saga film a Star Wars saga film? Kathleen Kennedy offeres an explanation in the pages of Costco Connection.
“The saga films focus on the Skywalker family,” says the Lucasfilm President. “The stories follow a linear narrative that connects to the previous six films. ‘The Force Awakens’ follows ‘Return of the Jedi’ and continues that generational story. The Anthology films offer opportunities to explore fresh characters, new storylines and a variety of genres inside the Star Wars universe.”
Does this mean that we will meet another, as of yet unrevealed Skywalker in The Force Awakens? It’s certainly a strong possibility and one that has been speculated on quite a bit, especially since we don’t know the last names of several characters that have already been introduced. It is also very possible, however, that Kathleen Kennedy’s comments aren’t meant to be taken completely literally. We may ultimately learn that the “Skywalker family” is something bigger and broader than just blood relations.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives in theaters December 18, 2015 and is followed on December 16, 2016 by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The next Star Wars saga film, Episode VIII, then arrives May 26, 2017, with the Han Solo anthology movie hitting May 25, 2018. Then, Colin Trevorrow’s Episode IX will conclude the Star Wars saga sometime in 2019.
