LucasfilmIt’s no secret that Star Wars has been stuck in an awkward phase. There was no clear path forward for the franchise after the polarizing 2019 release of The Rise of Skywalker, so Lucasfilm threw everything at the wall to see what would stick. TV shows were launched, books were written, and whole movie trilogies were given the green light before being quietly canceled. In December 2020, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced 10 new streaming series, including shows that have come and gone, like Ahsoka and The Acolyte. Also announced were a slew of projects that never made it off the ground, like Rangers of the New Republic and A Droid Story. Now, a new quote from Kennedy reveals that while Lucasfilm is trying to be more discerning with new projects, the Star Wars universe is still more open than we thought. Kathleen Kennedy stressed the importance of standalone stories at a recent Star Wars screening. | Jesse Grant/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty ImagesAt a recent screening of the original 1977 theatrical cut of Star Wars, Kennedy spoke on how she envisions the franchise’s future. “I really think that now we’re in a position where it’s broadened the possibility of stories and filmmakers we can bring in to tell stories that mean something to them,” she said, according to Variety. “It doesn’t necessarily have to connect to every little thing that's been done in Star Wars; it can actually be a standalone story that then builds into many, many other stories.” This was said in the context of the upcoming Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling Star Wars movie, Star Wars: Starfighter, which will be a standalone movie. The onslaught of new projects that began in 2020 led to a sort of mini-franchise of series set during the New Republic era, like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew. Does this quote imply the end of that pocket universe?Starfighter will have no connection to other Star Wars stories. | Christopher Jue/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty ImagesThere are still plenty of sequel and prequel movies on the way, like the upcoming Mandalorian and Grogu, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey sequel movie, and James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi. But Starfighter — and Kennedy’s comments — suggest that Lucasfilm is finally shifting its strategy in the wake of Rise of Skywalker leaving the franchise unmoored. Dozens of projects don’t need to all be announced at once, and they don’t all need to be interconnected either. Sometimes, a story can just be a story, even if it’s set in a galaxy far, far away.