Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron recently provided a brief update on his upcoming Kevin Feige produced Star Wars film.
Waldron spoke with Variety while promoting Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saying, “We’re finally into it in earnest. I mean, I’m writing away. It’s a lot of fun.”
He then seemingly indicated the film will be standalone and not connected to anything that Lucasfilm has on Disney+ or previous films.
“I’m enjoying having the freedom on that to do something that’s not necessarily a sequel or anything,” Waldron explained. “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.”
He concluded, “So it’s nice. It feels like a different exercise.”
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Waldron would also discuss the film with Den of Geek telling them, “It’s coming along, it’s nice to have some time to focus on it.”
He added, “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.”
Feige’s Star Wars film was announced back in 2019 when Walt Disney Studios co-chairman Alan Horn stated, “We are excited about the projects Kathy and the Lucasfilm team are working on, not only in terms of Star Wars but also Indiana Jones and reaching into other parts of the company including Children of Blood and Bone with Emma Watts and Fox.”
He added, “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.”
Disney and Lucasfilm have kept any kind of plot details about the project under wraps and it appears to be a long-gestating project much like most Star Wars film projects following the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Before the release of The Last Jedi, Lucasfilm announced that director Rian Johnson would be working on his own trilogy. However, given fan reaction to The Last Jedi, that trilogy appeared to have died before it even got out of the cradle.
Following Johnson’s turn, Lucasfilm announced that Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would write and produce a new series of Star Wars films. However, like Johnson, after the disastrous final season of Game of Thrones the project was scrapped.
The duo announced their decision to leave Star Wars behind telling Deadline, “We love Star Wars. When George Lucas built it, he built us too. Getting to talk about Star Wars with him and the current Star Wars team was the thrill of a lifetime, and we will always be indebted to the saga that changed everything.”
They added, “There are only so many hours in the day, and we felt we could not do justice to both Star Wars and our Netflix projects. So we are regretfully stepping away.”
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy also issued her own statement, ““David Benioff and Dan Weiss are incredible storytellers,. We hope to include them in the journey forward when they are able to step away from their busy schedule to focus on Star Wars.”
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After Benioff and Weiss parted ways with Star Wars and Lucasfilm, the company announced on May 4, 2020 that Taika Waititi would be directing and co-writing a new Star Wars film. Like Feige’s project there has not been any real movement.
Then in December 2020, they announced that Patty Jenkins would be directing a Rogue Squadron film with Lucasfilm detailing the film would “introduce a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy.”
A rumor less than a year later indicated that the film would be delayed due to “creative differences” between Jenkins and Lucasfilm.
However, a month after that rumor circulated another indicated that Jenkins would leave the director’s seat of her previously announced Cleopatra film with Gal Gadot to focus on a third Wonder Woman film and Rogue Squadron.
The film does reportedly still have a 2023 release date despite seemingly no movement on it.
What do you make of Waldron seemingly revealing his Star Wars film will be unconnected to other Star Wars films and TV series?