Now that the dust seems to be settling on The Mandalorian and Grogu, hopefully Star Wars fans can also leave something else behind: The discourse about The Mandalorian and Grogu and what makes fun Star Wars movies fun, and whether or not this movie was good because it was fun or bad because we’ve seen it all before. Because there’s one thing we can all agree on about Mando and Grogu: It didn’t have any lightsabers or Jedi. And if that’s part of the reason you like Star Wars, you won’t have to wait for Ahsoka Season 2 or the 2027 film Starfighter to experience the full power of the Force. In fact, what will almost certainly be the best Star Wars event of 2026, and possibly, the best Star Wars series since 2019, is coming very, very soon.
On July 2, 2026, at Anime Expo in LA, the first episode of the new series Star Wars: The Ninth Jedi will debut the first episode of the new series for lucky convention attendees. And if you’ve been stuck in carbonite, sleeping on this series, here’s a gentle reminder: the first Ninth Jedi short, which debuted in Visions Season 1, is easily one of the best Star Wars stories of the 21st century, and totally represents the next hope for what the franchise could become.
