LucasfilmsReady for some brand-new lore?
A new hope became a reality today when Disney CEO Robert Iger confirmed that the studio is going to be making a number of Star Wars spinoff films in addition to the planned trilogy that will pick up after the action of Return of the Jedi.
"We are working on a few stand-alone films, derived from great Star Wars characters that are not part of the overall saga," the chief executive said in a sit-down with CNBC.
Lawrence Kasdan, who penned Jedi and The Empire Strikes Back, and Simon Kinberg are working on the new projects as well as consulting with J.J. Abrams, who, after giving fans the slick run-around about his intentions, recently confirmed that he is directing Episode VII.
"The implications for Star Wars fans will be great," Iger promised—though he would not divulge details about which characters would be getting the feature treatment, saying he would leave the creative process to executive producer Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm.
"We have these great opportunities," he said, "because there are these good ideas out there and good creators interested in fleshing out these ideas, and we're going for it."