In the midst of last week's "Will she, won't she retire," Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy gave an update for Shawn Levy's standalone Star Wars movie. And it was an update that I think is a brilliant move on Lucasfilm's part.
Speaking with Deadline, she was asked about both Levy and Simon Kinberg's upcoming films. She confirmed that Kinberg's is going to be "the new saga that moves us into the future." However, she was more concrete about Levy's movie saying, "Shawn’s is a standalone Star Wars story that’ll take place post-nine, maybe five or six years out."
This caught my eye because what we know about the Rey Skywalker film from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. That one is about 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. If Kinberg's saga is also in this post-sequel trilogy time period, Levy's film could be pivotal in setting up these movies.
The truth is that many general audience fans don't know when a lot of movies, especially the TV shows, are set in the Star Wars timeline. Heck, I'm deep in the fandom, and I occasionally have to google how many years after Return of the Jedi that The Mandalorian is set when it slips my mind. Having Levy's film as the next chronological entry makes it easy for more general fans to continue the story. They can watch The Rise of Skywalker and go right into his movie.
It would also provide a ton of world building for a post-sequels world. The galaxy's government body was destroyed when Hosnian Prime blew up. Who filled that power vacuum once the First Order was destroyed? Many of the heroes we grew up with would be retired, letting new people step into the roles of leadership. A standalone movie would give space to set up the new characters, world, and politics that will move Star Wars storytelling forward.
Levy's film could be very needed, setting up the very future of Star Wars. That idea excites me even more to get to know the new faces who will move the franchise forward.