Simon Kinberg is officially working on a newStar Warstrilogy, and his background and experience makes him perfect for the role of writer and producer. There was a disturbance in the Force yesterday, when theStar Warsfandom was taken by surprise with the news thatSimon Kinberg is working on a newStar Warstrilogy. Precious little is known about this project right now;reports disagree over whether it’s officially Episodes 10-12 or something new. Still, Kinberg has taken to social media to confirm he is indeed creating a newStar Warsstory.
Kinberg’s new trilogy joins the ranks of manyupcomingStar Warsmovies, but there’s understandably a degree of skepticism right now. Lucasfilm has developed something of a bad reputation for behind-the-scenes drama, with a staggering number ofcanceledStar Warsmoviesover the years. Still, that’s probably why the studio has picked Simon Kinberg; the odds for this particular trilogy are better simply because of his involvement.
Simon Kinberg Has A Lot Of Experience Working With Franchises
Simon Kinberg has worked with the likes of the likes of Doug Liman, Guy Ritchie, and McG, and he’s written or produced films such asMr. & Mrs. Smith,The Martian, andSherlock Holmes. Fundamentally, though,he’s associated with Fox’s X-Men franchise, rising through the ranks and becoming increasingly important as the years went on. He’s often criticized for the likes ofX-Men: The Last StandandX-Men: Dark Phoenix, but it has to be noted that he wrote the hugely popular and critically-acclaimedX-Men: Days of Future Pastas well.
Select film project Kinberg has worked on
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X-Men: Dark Phoenix
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This background is surely key to Kinberg’s new role with Lucasfilm.He’s used to working with big studios on huge franchises, where creative decisions are being made in part because of the way things tie together with other mediums; frankly, in the past he’s often been the one figuring out what those restrictions are. In the past, Lucasfilm has tried to work with less experienced writers and directors who lack the background with massive franchises, and things haven’t worked out. Kinberg has the skills and experience to potentially make this work.
Lucasfilm Has Worked With Simon Kinberg Before
We tend to forget thatKinberg has worked with Lucasfilm before, and on projects that were tremendously successful. He was the co-creator ofStar Wars Rebels, working as a writer and executive producer on one ofStar Wars' most popular TV shows. Lucasfilm actually brought him on board as a creative consultant forStar Wars: The Force Awakens, and he received a special thank you in the credits forRogue One: A Star Wars Storyas well. These two were Disney’s best-performingStar Warsmovies in terms of box office, so his involvement there is important background.
It must also be noted that, according to reports so far,Kinberg is playing to his strengths here. He made his directorial debut with the critically-pannedX-Men: Dark Phoenix, but here he is only working as writer and producer again. Kinberg’sStar Warstrilogy is far too early in terms of development for a director to be assigned, and hopefully Lucasfilm’s choice here will be a bold one.
Star Wars Has Learned One Important Lesson From The Sequel Trilogy
TheStar Warssequel trilogy was heavily criticized for lacking a singular vision or any real sense of direction. Now, as the studio considers anotherStar Warstrilogy, Lucasfilm has signed up a single writer and producer to work on it - an important step forward. Kinberg’s challenge will be to figure out a path for the overarching story, one that is far more detailed than the vague outline Lucasfilm possessed for the sequels, although he’ll naturally still want to course-correct a little based on the popular reception.Lucasfilm’s decision to hire a single person to effectively oversee this trilogy is a positive one.
Kinberg’s background likely means he’s seen as something of a safe pair of hands to get a trilogy off the ground. He has the experience working with big franchises, as well as a good working relationship with Lucasfilm execs; this should limit the potential for the kind of behind-the-scenes drama that we saw with theStar Warsanthology projects, and that has led to so many cancelations and course-corrections. He knows how to operate in this system, which gives this trilogy a more solid chance of happening than some bolder ideas.
Will Simon Kinberg’sStar Warstrilogy become a reality? It’s too soon to say; this was never even announced by Lucasfilm, after all, but instead leaked to the trades. It’s reasonable to assume this was one announcement the studio intended to make at next year’s Star Wars Celebration. Instead, the information is public domain, and a wary fandom is watching with caution.
