Before yesterday's Disney Q1 earnings were released, CEO Bob Iger announced on CNBC there would be more "Star Wars" spinoff films, in addition to episodes 7, 8, and 9.
Iger said the standalone films will follow individual characters from inside the "Star Wars" universe and that veteran Lucasfilm writer Lawrence Kasden and Simon Kinberg ("X-Men: Days of Future Past") will be working on new films, but didn't say much more.
Though we can still ponder who the films may follow, Iger expanded a bit more on his earlier announcement during the Q1 earnings call:
"When we were exploring very seriously with George the acquisition of Lucasfilm, the idea of producing a few so-called standalone films that were not part of the overall saga came up. And we discussed not in great detail, a few of the possibilities. What I confirm today is that those possibilities are becoming more real and they are now creative entities that are working on developing scripts for what would be those standalone films. We are not saying how many."
"Lawrence Kasdan who wrote 'Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi' is working on one. And Simon Kinberg is working on another. And Lucasfilm will have details about these projects at a later date."
What to take from this:
- How many we can expect: There will be at least two "Star Wars" spinoffs. One created from Kinberg and Kasdan.
- The idea has been brewing since October: Spinoff films were in mind during Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm.
- Release dates: In his CNBC interview, Iger said the spinoffs will hit theaters sometime between the releases of episodes 7, 8, and 9 which are expected to rollout over a six-year period beginning summer 2015.
UPDATE:EW is reporting the first two films will center around Boba Fett and a young Han Solo.