Kathleen Kennedy Explains Why 'Star Wars' Will Never Be Like the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have a lot in common. Both franchises are under the Disney umbrella, both have some of the most beloved characters in pop culture, and both rule the box offices. But there is one major difference you might not have thought about. Star Wars does not release a surplus of movies as the MCU does. And it turns out this is very much on purpose.

While Marvel Studios is currently practicing its one-two-three punch attack on box office with Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and soon Spider-Man: Far From Home, Star Wars is taking its sweet time releasing movies once a year.

Way back when the original trilogy was being made, a new Star Wars movie came out every three years, and then when the prequel trilogy premiered they followed the same pattern. But when Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out, the next to come was Rogue One, a year later. Star Wars has since adopted the pattern of releasing a new movie within the newest trilogy every two years, while releasing movies under the "A Star Wars Story" banner in the years in between. But that still isn't enough to compete with Marvel's movie inflation.

In Vanity Fair's latest cover story, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy offered up an explanation as to why Star Wars will never be like Marvel Studios.

“I think there is a larger expectation that Disney has,” Kennedy said, as highlighted by Fatherly. “… Right from the beginning, we talked [with Disney] about the fragility of this form of storytelling. Because it’s something that means so much to fans that you can’t turn this into some kind of factory approach. You can’t even do what Marvel does, necessarily, where you pick characters and build new franchises around those characters. This needs to evolve differently.”

Kennedy understands that Star Wars doesn't follow Marvel's "factory approach," and respects the stories within their universe. Although Marvel can pick out of a hat which superhero to cover next, Star Wars is more concerned with the history of the franchise and the stories it tells.

In many ways, by keep fans wanting more and making them wait for it, results in a better experience. The next Star Wars film after The Rise of Skywalker premieres this December, is set to release in 2022.

[h/t: Fatherly]