Star Wars and Lucasfilm Appoint Michelle Rejwan To Oversee Future of Film and TV Franchise
Star Wars and Lucasfilm appointed Michelle Rejwan to oversee the future of the Star Wars franchise in feature films and episodic series for Lucasfilm and Disney+.
Rejwan was previously a producer on Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. She also served as J.J. Abrams’ assistant on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Morning Glory. She also co-produced Star Trek Into Darkness and was an associate producer on Super 8.
Interesting to note, Rejwan was not attached to Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi nor Ron Howard’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. She also did not work on Rogue One.
Rejwan was promoted to Senior Vice President of Live Action Development and Production for Lucasfilm.
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, whose contract expires in 2021 released the following statement announcing Rejwan’s promotion.
“Working with Michelle over the last seven years as a producer on both The Force Awakens and now The Rise of Skywalker, I have seen first-hand her skills collaborating with writers and directors, and I’ve been incredibly impressed with her creative skills and her ability to manage the complexity surrounding these massive projects.”
Kennedy added:
“I know the importance of building a team that you trust and have fun working with – it is paramount to our success. There’s an exciting momentum building around the future of the franchise, and both myself and the Lucasfilm team look forward to working with Michelle in shaping the future in all areas of story development, from theatrical film development to live action content for Disney+.”
In an interview with Marie Claire back in 2015 Rejwan offered her advice to women who want to make it in Hollywood.
“One of the greatest things women can do is support other women. Hire them, collaborate with them, mentor them. Working incredibly hard and doing great work is what wins in the end, but that goes hand in hand with getting the opportunity in the first place. We need more of that in this business—and many others.”
As to how she went from an assistant to a Star Wars producer, Rejwan explained:
“I had been working as J.J.’s assistant for three years. We were making Super 8 and started working together in a slightly different way. We would talk about scenes and performances, and when we came back from shooting, I was more involved in postproduction. One day, he said, “I’m giving you an associate producer credit on the film.” From there, we worked on Star Trek Into Darkness and right into Star Wars. It all happened very organically and became the greatest thing I ever could have hoped for.”
She also revealed her most important career advice.
“Never settle for good when something can be great. When numerous pressures are coming at you, it can be seductive to think you’ve done all you can do. But if J.J. hears an idea that makes something better— no matter who it comes from—he’ll fight to do it. That’s become a core value in my approach to my job.”
Disney announced three new Star Wars films back in May. Those films will hit theaters on December 16, 2022, December 20, 2024, and December 18, 2026.
They also have a number of live-action series expected to debut on Disney+. Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian will debut in November and they have a Cassian Andor and K-2SO spin-off series in development.
What do you make of this move by Star Wars? Are you hopeful for the future of Star Wars or does this make you even more leery about the franchise?
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