That galaxy far, far away is about to get a whole lot bigger.
At Star Wars Celebration in London on Friday, Lucasfilm announced several exciting Star Wars projects to an eager audience of 4,500 people. The upcoming titles include three timeline-redefining new films, directed by James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, respectively, as well as television shows that will be released in 2023 and 2024.
Inverse was in attendance at Star Wars Celebration and has all the details on the most exciting Star Wars projects. Here are the 5 best things we learned.
3 Movies Will Fill in the Gaps of the Star Wars Timeline
To start with the biggest headline: After a four-year wait, thirsty Star Wars fans got their first taste of not one, not two, but three new films. There has been uncertainty for a while in the world of the Star Wars movies, with a Kevin Feige film and the Patty Jenkins movie Rogue Squadron both seeming to have been shelved. However, Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm, came to Star Wars Celebration with more positive news, announcing the “very early days” of the three new Star Wars film projects on the horizon…
James Mangold, who directed 2017’s Logan and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, will helm what he described as something akin to a “biblical epic” set in the “deep past,” about the first Jedi and the dawn of the Force.
Dave Filoni, who writes and directs on The Mandalorian, will direct a film set after Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens, about “the escalating war between the Imperial remnant and the New Republic” and wrapping up the events of the “Mandoverse.”
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a director on Ms. Marvel, will take the reins for a story about the rebuilding of the New Order, set 15 years after the events in Rise of Skywalker. The film will be written by Steven Knight, who created the British television series Peaky Blinders. Daisy Ridley reprises her role in Obaid-Chinoy’s film as Rey, now a “powerful Jedi Master” leading a new generation of Jedi.
Ridley was greeted with a standing ovation as the biggest surprise reveal at this year’s Star Wars Celebration. “My heart is pounding,” said Ridley. “I’m very thrilled to be continuing this journey.” Some fans are speculating that this untitled Rey project could be the first in a brand-new trilogy.
The Acolyte is “Frozen Meets Kill Bill”
Lucasfilm also announced that The Acolyte, an eight-episode television series directed by Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland, will broadcast some time in 2024 after finishing shooting in May this year. The cast of the show, most of whom were brought onto the stage at Star Wars Celebration, include Amandla Stenberg, Joonas Suotamo, Manny Jacinto, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Lee Jung-jae playing a Jedi master.
Headland said that she wanted to use the series to examine the perspectives of the villains, pitching The Acolyte to Kennedy as “Frozen meets Kill Bill.”
The series, filming in the UK at the moment, is set between the time of the High Republic and the beginning of the prequels — “such an exciting part of timeline,” in Headland’s words — promising to take the audience further back than they’ve ever been before in live action Star Wars.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is The Goonies in Space
One of the biggest draws of the Celebration event, Jude Law took to the stage as Lucasfilm announced more details of their kid-centric television show Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which is now in post-production. Joining Law were Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, and Robert Timothy Smith, who play the children going on an intergalactic adventure in a show that invites comparisons to The Goonies.
The directors of the various episodes in the first series were revealed to be Jon Watts, Bryce Dallas Howard, the Daniels, Jake Schreier, Lee Isaac Chung, and David Lowery.
Ahsoka Teases a Star Wars Legend
Lucasfilm announced that Ahsoka, which stars Rosario Dawson as the former Jedi knight Ahsoka Tano, will debut on Disney+ in August 2023. Written by Dave Filoni, Ahsoka is set after the fall of the Empire.
Lucasfilm confirmed that Natasha Liu Bordizzo will play artist and warrior Sabine Wren and that Mary Elizabeth Winstead will play pilot and revolutionary leader Hera Syndulla. Also appearing will be actors like David Tennant, Diana Lee Inosanto, and Genevieve O’Reilly. The team also unveiled the show’s first teaser trailer, which tantalizingly teased the “Heir to the Empire” — a sly nod to a beloved Star Wars Legends novel, and a hint that the Disney+ series will be low-key rebooting the backstory of the highly anticipated villain, Thrawn.
Andor Season 2 Will be the Last Season
Creator Tony Gilroy confirmed that the second season of Andor is about half-way through shooting and, if all goes to plan, will finish in August 2023 and debut in August 2024. He also confirmed that the second season will be the last.
“If you know your ending, it really helps,” he said. Gilroy and his cast, who were out in full force on the Star Wars Celebration stage, also debuted some footage from Andor’s second season.
