The Rise of Skywalker is about to crest $1 billion at the global box office and with it concluding the infamous Skywalker saga, leaving fans wondering - what's next for Star Wars? Although Disney Plus is seeing tremendous success with the conclusion of their The Mandalorian series of which season 2 will arrive this Fall and with an Obi-Wan Kenobi series also set to arrive to the streaming service in the near future, Lucasfilm / Disney are definitely not finished with Star Wars movies. Back in April, 2019 Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirmed to MTV News that they were actively developing a film adaptation of Knights of the Old Republic.
For those unfamiliar, Knights of the Old Republic (aka KOTOR) was a role-playing videgame based in the Star Wars universe which released back in 2003. The game's timeline took place 4,000 years before the formation of the Galactic Empire - it pre-dates all of the existing Star Wars movies by generations and expanded the Star Wars lore well beyond the confines of the Skywalker lineage. The game's concepts and characters are a treasure trove of ideas and source material Disney and Lucasfilm can now draw from to fuel new movies - not just a stand-alone adaptation, but its own saga - like that of the original 9 films.
Although back in April 2019 Kathleen did admit the KOTOR movie was in very early stages of pre-production. Having been nearly a year since that interview and given The Rise of Skywalker's box office pull, it's possible Lucasfilm will be ramping up production on their plans with Knights of the Old Republic. Kathleen's initial concern was to avoid over-saturation of the Star Wars brand - insinuating that a specific cadence must be maintained to avoid audiences getting fed up and desensitized (like what Marvel has done). However, The Rise of Skywalker has proved that Star Wars films can survive and are profitable without the reliance on nostalgia and franchise icons to bring in the crowds.
One thing we know for certain - Disney and Lucasfilm are developing a Knights of the Old Republic movie. The question now is - when will it be given a release date?
As we learn more, we'll be sure to keep you posted!
