Former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy just set the record straight about George Lucas' supposed story treatments and plans for Episodes 7-9 of Star Wars, claiming that they essentially never existed. Star Wars has been in an interesting position since George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012. On one hand, the franchise has seen ridiculous profits, as each film in the sequel trilogy grossed more than $1 billion, but on the other hand, fans criticize nearly every aspect of every project. One of the biggest stories to come out regarding Star Wars since the Disney acquisition was that Lucas himself had already planned out his own version of the sequel trilogy, and even gave it to Disney during the sale, under the impression that it would follow his story.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg at Bloomberg Screentime 2026 in Los Angeles (shared via YouTube), Kathleen Kennedy revealed that Lucas did not actually have any of those treatments that fans have been hearing about for years now, and that they were little more than a few sentences about the direction he would take the sequels in.
Specifically, Kennedy talked about what Lucas told her after he named her to be his successor at Lucasfilm. She mentioned that she was "not feeling bittersweet" about handing the keys to Lucasfilm over to Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, and followed that up by saying that Lucas said there was nothing she "should look at" for the sequel trilogy, and that everything was in his head:
"No, I'm not feeling bittersweet. I suppose there was a bit of relief. These jobs are not easy. And stepping into something like that that George had created was an incredible challenge. And I'll tell you a story that I thought was actually kind of amusing is when I first said to him, 'So, George, the stories that we're going to do next. I mean, is there anything I should look at? Should I have some sense?' He said, 'No, no, it's all here. [pointing to her head]' And I said, 'Okay, well, that's going to be interesting to try to mine that.'"
When Kennedy was then asked about the story treatments Lucas had created for his own version of the Sequel Trilogy, she revealed that Lucasfilm "had a couple of paragraphs," and that they weren't even full "story treatments." This is a pretty major revelation, as many have been under the impression that Lucas had a clear vision for where he wanted the Skywalker Saga to go, and that Disney completely undermined that:
"We had a couple of paragraphs. He didn't really have story treatments. But the amazing thing is that he put together an incredible company and there's amazing people inside the company, Dave being one of them. There were also a number of people that have been with Lucasfilm from the beginning, certainly through all the prequels. And so, there was a great deal of knowledge inside the company that we could tap as we created things."
It is also worth noting that, in the interview, Kennedy also talked about Star Wars and its approach to creating television projects. For reference, Star Wars entered the streaming world in 2019 with the launch of Disney+, and it hasn't looked back since.
Kennedy noted that, while Star Wars is mainly known for being a movie franchise, Star Wars "absolutely needs to" tap into streaming and film, and that Lucas himself "started out with serialized storytelling," which means that television is in Star Wars' nature:
"I think you absolutely need to do both. I think what's what's fantastic about streaming is it's a different form of storytelling. It's long form storytelling. And interestingly enough, George Lucas started out with serialized storytelling. That's what inspired him with, you know, Buck Rogers and that kind of cliffhanger storytelling. So, I think absolutely something like Star Wars belongs on television, but it's a different process than what you go through with making a movie."
As many likely know, Lucas recently opened his own museum in California (called the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art), which celebrates all different kinds of art. Kennedy touched on this museum in her interview as well, giving Lucas a lot of credit:
"There's a narrative in that... I think, if I know George well, anyone who knows George, that museum is like walking inside his mind. It is quite extraordinary what he has put together. And I think the divisiveness may come only from the fact that it's being compared, perhaps to other museums. I think what George has done is absolutely amazing, and I think that the fact that he wants to celebrate illustrative art, he wants to look at the things that inspired him... He's probably one of the first people I certainly met where it was so clear that art and illustration and the things that he's showing all of us now inside this museum, are the things that inspired him."
She then mentioned that the museum allows fans to see that Lucas' projects have always seen so much success due to the fact that he "had such a connection to the population" and had an "understanding (of) what people wanted:"
"So, you get a real sense of why he had such a connection to the population, to people, to understanding what people wanted. I think that if you go into the museum, I think you'll see and feel that right away. And even the landscaping on the outside is quaint."
A lot of fans debate whether Lucas should or shouldn't return to Star Wars. Essentially, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks, as Lucas needs to do what is best for him.
According to Kennedy, the legendary filmmaker is seemingly happy where he is at:
"The whole time I was working there, he would just constantly remind me that he was retired. So, I think that's where he is."
George Lucas' Star Wars Sequel Plans
No one but George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy knows if Kennedy is being entirely truthful in what she is saying about Lucas' story treatments. So many reports have come out over the years that have stated Lucas had a strong direction and idea for his version of the sequel trilogy, and that he had gotten as far as to hire a writer for his Episode VII.
Unfortunately, the public will likely never know what is actually true and what has been embellished. However, there is enough out there to put together a solid idea of what Lucas' vision was, or at least the bones of it.
Essentially, according to reports, Lucas wanted his sequel trilogy to showcase the Original Trilogy characters like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia. All three actors who played those characters in the Original Trilogy reportedly agreed to return, even Harrison Ford, who apparently only agreed to come back because Lucas told him that Han would receive a meaningful send-off (not unlike what happened in The Force Awakens).
Lucas himself stated that his version of the sequels would have featured Maul as the major antagonist and that he would be training an apprentice named Darth Talon. Many believe that Dave Filoni is trying to somewhat tell Lucas' story through Maul - Shadow Lord, as Maul is training a Twi'lek apprentice in that show named Devon Izara.
Lucas also detailed that he was interested in exploring what Darth Vader's grandchildren would have been like, which Disney's sequels did with Kylo Ren, but he also revealed that he was going to focus on the Whills of the Force, which have been explained as microscopic organisms that represent the Force itself. For reference, the Whills predate nearly everything in Star Wars lore, as the earliest draft of A New Hope was originally titled The Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars.
As mentioned, it is impossible to know how detailed Lucas' treatments and written content were for his own sequel trilogy. While Kennedy claims that they were nothing more than a couple of paragraphs, the amount of information that Lucas himself has revealed about his sequels seems as though they would make up more than that.
Unfortunately, fans will likely never know the truth, and will likely never see Lucas' vision realized.
