There have been relatively persistent rumors over the past couple of years that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has taken on an active role in the Star Wars franchise. There has been a strong belief that the man behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe has quietly been guiding a galaxy far, far away as well. Now, Feige has finally been asked point-blank about those rumors and gave a no-nonsense answer.
Kevin Feige has been making the press rounds to promote WandaVision, the first scripted live-action MCU series produced for Disney+, which debuts this Friday. During a recent interview, the beloved Disney executive was asked about these rumors relating to the Star Wars franchise and whether or not he has any involvement beyond the mysterious movie that he is producing. Feige did not mince words.
“Not at all.”
Let’s look at the bigger picture. Kathleen Kennedy has been running the show ever since Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012. As president of the company, she has guided the Star Wars sequel trilogy, as well as spin-offs like Rogue One and the live-action series The Mandalorian, which has become a tremendous hit. It’s been a hit and miss handful of years, with The Force Awakens becoming one of the highest-grossing movies in history. Yet, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker proved to be intensely divisive. Plus, Solo is the only outright flop the franchise has ever suffered. And while The Mandalorian has become the most beloved thing to come around in the franchise in a long time, its success has been largely attributed to executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.
It’s no secret that there is a not-insignificant contingent of fans that place a lot of blame on Kathleen Kennedy for any perceived shortcomings Star Wars has suffered under the Disney regime. But Kennedy still has her job and she doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. Meanwhile, Favreau and Filoni are set to take a more active role, working on the massive slate of shows being developed for Disney+. This includes Ahsoka, Rangers of the New Republic, The Acolyte, The Book of Boba Fett, Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
If someone were to take over as creative head at Lucasfilm, Kevin Feige is an obvious choice. What he has done with the MCU is beyond impressive. In just over a decade, he turned Marvel’s superheroes into the biggest entertainment brand on the planet, generating more than $20 billion at the global box office. It doesn’t hurt that he’s an outspoken Star Wars fan.
But his role within the franchise is limited to the mysterious movie that he’s producing and developing. Next to nothing is known about Kevin Feige’s Star Wars movie, only that Michael Waldron (Loki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) was recently tapped to pen the screenplay. That may be for the best as Feige has his hands full with the MCU for, at the very least, the next five years or so. This news comes to us via Collider.