My understanding is that it's Verizon (not Moto) who licenses the Droid name from Lucas Films & if so, can enter time-specific contracts to manufacture their lineup as they wish. This assumption was the premise of my original question as our expectations Motorola would continue to provide the Droid lineup post Lenovo.
That's right - Verizon has the brand agreement with Lucas Films.
Here is the story I referenced earlier:
Motorola now exclusive Droid partner to Verizon | Mobile - CNET News
Key quotes:
Starting with the Droid Ultra lineup, Motorola will be the only smartphone manufacturer to build Droid smartphones, Verizon marketing executive Jeff Dietel told CNET on Tuesday.
The partnership locks up a prime flagship slot for Motorola, which is badly in need of hit smartphones to turn itself around. While many vendors are opting to release their phones on multiple carriers, exclusives are seen as valuable because they guarantee a certain amount of marketing heft by the carrier.
Some more interesting quotes:
Dietel said the Droid Ultra lineup would remain Verizon's flagship smartphone for a while, and promised a longer shelf life for the products than past "hero" products. [...]
The three different devices, which come out simultaneously on August 20, give Verizon a lot to talk about, Dietel said. He added that he recognized the quick pace of device launches and worked closely with Motorola to ensure the longevity of the device.
This suggests that Verizon will not be rushing new Droids to market - I think we can assume that means no earlier than this summer. And also that Motorola has committed to continue upgrading and supporting the device into the future, which presumes that we will continue to see updates going forward (for example, soon to 4.4.2, and likely to the "L" version this fall.) So far, all of this has come true - Motorola has provided a couple of OTAs, and a very fast update to KitKat. I think that we have nothing to complain about.
Based on the wording of this story,
as long as Verizon continues the Droid brand, they will be made by Motorola. The thing is - this is just a report. Nobody truly knows the contract. I looked on Verizon Wireless's website for any official announcements about this, but there is nothing on their web site.