The latest issue of Empire magazine features a deep dive into the state of Star Wars, and luckily someone on Reddit has recapped a few of the print-only interviews for us frugal fans to review.
The most interesting nuggets come from Kathleen Kennedy, who provided updates on Rian Johnson’s Star Wars project, Taika Waititi’s, as well as the Lando series and Rogue Squadron movie.
Rian Johnson’s Trilogy
Rian and I talk all the time. He just keeps getting more and more successful, and it keeps moving things back further and further. One day we’ll figure this out.
Kathleen Kennedy Empire
Taika’s Movie
Taika is working away. He’s just, and he won’t get mad at me for saying this, slow. We’ve got a couple of acts, we need a third.
Kathleen Kennedy Empire
Lando & Rogue Squadron
Lando is still on the books, and Rogue Squadron is still on the books. We just want them to be great.
Kathleen Kennedy Empire
Dave Filoni on Thrawn
There are a lot of factors, especially in playing with a character like [novelist] Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn — I want to make sure that I’m honouring ideas that Tim had, so I want to see what’s [in his books] for the story. In The Bad Batch, there is actually some crossover with the book Heir To The Empire in the military base of Tantiss. So there are little things along the way that I’ve built across different mediums, all in preparation for things that come later.
Dave Filoni Empire
Dave on if Thrawn is the big bad of the New Republic Era:
Definitely, in my eyes. When Timothy Zahn wrote Heir To The Empire, Thrawn became this very iconic villain, because he was different than anything we’d seen before. He wasn’t another helmet-wearing, lightsaber-wielding bad guy, you know? There’s a lot of pull to make characters that are like Vader, because it is so iconic. But the boldness that Tim had was to make somebody that wasn’t like that, that didn’t have those abilities, but could fight in a different way. In the words ‘Star Wars’, the ‘war’ part of it — him being a Grand Admiral, a leader, a military strategist, a Moriarty archetype, someone that will out-think you, out-strategise you — that really resonated. He’s a critical player in this time period. We’re fortunate to have that character, and fortunate to have Lars [Mikkelsen] playing him.
Ahsoka Cast on the Ghost Family
“It’s the throughline [of the show],” says Winstead of the Ghost crew. “The strength that they need to get through what they’re facing [requires them] to come back together and redefine that family.”
“I like that there isn’t any structure to this. There’s no boss over them. There’s no-one telling them that they have to do this. This is a carryover from Rebels — these are people who are true believers, who have put themselves on the line, sacrificed everything to be together, and [who] create this chosen family on this mission that they’ve decided they need to be on. That makes it very special.”
Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Rosario Dawson Empire
Rebels fans are in for a treat, but newcomers will feel the history according to Dawson:
“That immediate connection between them is such a strength, because you trust that there’s a history there. You feel it. For the ones who have been anticipating this story to go on for a long time, they’re going to feel really happy.”
Rosario Dawson Empire
Nick and I will talk more about these quotes on next week’s episode of the SWTS, so don’t forget to tune into the Star Wars Time Show on a weekly basis via our podcast platforms or via YouTube if you prefer the livestream angle.
