Lately, it seems as though the majority of mainstream Star Wars stories, whether they be in movies or shows, tend to gravitate towards the familiar. While there are new characters in play, the stories being told around them are often retreads of old ones. Even if the stories are fresh, many times they forego new characters in favor of established ones who have already enjoyed the spotlight for many years. But what if that were to change?
Kevin Feige, the big boss behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is currently set to develop his own Star Wars movie at some point in the near future, featuring a screenplay from the writer of Loki, no less. That alone should be enough to perk a few ears up, given how Marvel Studios' offerings over the past decade and a half have pretty much appealed to everybody to some degree. But according to Michael Waldron, the aforementioned Loki screenwriter (who also worked on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), fans may have another good reason to get excited.
When speaking with Den of Geek, Waldron let slip a few choice words that suggest a much more standalone experience with the upcoming Star Wars movie compared to its predecessors. "It's coming along, it's nice to have some time to focus on it," Waldron said when asked about the movie's progress. "And it’s fun to get to do something that feels fresh and original, and I'm excited to work with Kevin again, and with the team at Lucasfilm. And I love Star Wars. So it’s a blast." The concepts of "fresh" and "original" may not be many people's first choice of descriptors when it comes to Star Wars, at least aside from refreshingly creative entries like Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi. So this is a potentially exciting prospect.
Waldron also recently spoke with Variety and gave a few similar comments on his Star Wars movie during a spoiler-filled interview regarding Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. "We're finally into it in earnest," he said when the topic briefly switched to Star Wars. "I mean, I'm writing away. It's a lot of fun. I'm enjoying having the freedom on that to do something that's not necessarily a sequel or anything. It maybe has a little bit less of a — it just doesn't have a bunch of TV shows and movies that you're servicing on top of it, the way I did with Doctor Strange. So it's nice. It feels like a different exercise." The operative words here being the lack of shows and movies that would lead into the new film.
While the concept of Feige and Waldron's Star Wars movie featuring an original story isn't exactly confirmed, it would be a perfect opportunity given who's involved. Being in charge of the MCU, Feige is particularly adept at maximizing mainstream appeal. So while The Last Jedi remains divisive among fans due to its particularly ambitious approach, this new film has the opportunity to reach a broader amount of fans. If it ends up doing something new with the Star Wars franchise while also gaining universal approval, it could very well open the door to more original stories and characters going forward instead of the rehashes that saturate the series now.
Perhaps a bit too optimistically, maybe such a situation could lead to Johnson's stalled Star Wars trilogy gaining more interest and clawing its way back onto the schedule. That's not to mention another upcoming Star Wars movie from Taika Waititi, which is almost guaranteed to do some unexpected things with the material. However it turns out, the future of the franchise definitely has a lot of promise.
The Star Wars saga is now available on Disney Plus.
Source: Den of Geek, Variety