In an exclusive interview with Deadline, long-tenured Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy divulged several potential projects and creators orbiting the galaxy far, far away. This comes on the heels of news she will indeed depart the post, sending a dynamic shift within the Force. 

Among the several name drops, Deadline reports Kennedy alluded to a script for a series from Vince Gilligan. The Emmy-winning scribe’s name came up as Kennedy spoke about finding a creator’s place within the Star Wars. She first referenced how Tony Gilroy wasn’t sure he was Jedi material.

“He didn’t see himself in the Star Wars universe. I said, ‘Okay, let’s just talk this through.’ And he came in on Rogue One and helped us and then he slowly started to get hooked.” Gilroy would later write the Emmy-winning series, Andor. 

“He found a way in because he realized there was something important he had to say and he could do it inside Star Wars, and that started to become very exciting for him,” Kennedy continued via Deadline. 

Kennedy then described how she’s had early conversations with Gilligan about a series.

Gilligan, most known for AMC’s critically acclaimed Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, could bring his genre-bending creativity within this universe. Especially after the record-breaking success of Apple TV’s Pluribus — a witty mix of horror, comedy, sci-fi and drama. 

In recent years, Star Wars has been a mixed bag when it comes to the small screen. For every Visions and The Mandalorian, there is a The Acolyte and The Book of Boba Fett. 

“The lows are that you’ve got a very, very small percentage of the fan base that has enormous expectations and basically they want to continue to see pretty much the same thing,” Kennedy told Deadline. “And if you’re not going to do that, then you know going in that you’re going to disappoint them. I’m not sure there’s anything you can do about that, because you can’t please everybody. All you can do is try to tell good stories and try to stick to the essence of what George created.”

Those good stories will be in different hands as Chief Creative Officer Dave Faloni, and Lucasfilm Exec. VP and General Manager Lynwen Brennan, will take over in Kennedy’s departure. Faloni has had great success with Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the coming-of-age adventure series, Skeleton Crew. The popular EP is also showrunner for Ahsoka, which is expected to release its second season later this year.

Photo credit: Raymond Flotat