Kathleen Kennedy on Why Star Wars Movies Keep Losing Directors

The modern-day Star Wars films might have gotten a lot of positive press from critics but they have been pretty troublesome behind-the-scenes. Granted, films like The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi mostly went off without a hitch but spin-off movies like Solo and Rogue One, not to mention Colin Trevorrow leaving The Rise of Skywalker before it had a name and the Game of Thrones showrunners recently leaving their planned trilogy, it's clear that these films have been problematic for directors.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy commented on the matter and stated that Star Wars is a hard nut to crack. Unlike Marvel movies, which have a ton of comics to base their material on or subvert from, Star Wars movies have to be original stories and can't just adapt stories from its tie-in material.

Kennedy also argues that some directors have a hard time grasping the franchise, stating that they tend to get overwhelmed with what the franchise entails. Considering how hard it must be to make new characters and settings for this beloved franchise, especially since the fans can be very vocal about what they like and don't like.

Here's what Kennedy had to say about the franchise's knack for losing directors or having them fired:

"You start by talking to filmmakers who you think exhibit the sensibilities that you're looking for. And I would argue that the list is very small — people who really do have the sensibilities about these kind of movies, and then the experience and the ability to handle how enormous a job these movies are. So we try to be as thoughtful as we possibly can about making those choices. I would also argue that sometimes people get involved in the normal development process, and then they realize, "Oh, my God, this is so much more than I ever imagined." So it's pretty common that when you're working on movies, you're not making choices and decisions that necessarily work out exactly the way you want from the get-go."

Currently, the future of Star Wars after The Rise of Skywalker is unknown. Benioff and Weiss were supposed to write the next trilogy but they left for Netflix so we don't know what's going to happen.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is coming out on December 20.

Read:Why Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Brought Back the Second Death Star