Three new Star Wars films are officially in development, including one that will explore the origins of the Jedi Order. Star Wars Celebration 2023 is being held this weekend, and within hours of kick-off fans have been blessed with a major announcement regarding the cinematic future of the franchise.
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy took to the stage at London’s ExCeL on Friday (April 7) to announce a trio of new Star Wars film are in the works. She said director James Mangold – known for directing Logan, Walk the Line and upcoming blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – will helm a new film set 25,000 years in the past.
Kennedy said Dawn of the Jedi – described as a “biblical epic” – will tell “the tale of the first Jedi to wield the force and harness its liberating power in an era of chaos and oppression.” The Mandalorian executive producer Dave Filoni will also direct a new chapter in the Star Wars saga alongside producer Jon Favreau.
READ MORE: Star Wars Celebration 2023 panel schedule and how to watch at home - Manchester Evening News
Their flick will be set in the era of the New Republic, and will wrap up the interconnected stories told in Disney+ shows The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and the upcoming Ahsoka – colloquially known as the MandoVerse. And as if that wasn’t enough, Kennedy revealed a star from the Star Wars sequel trilogy is to make a surprise return to the franchise.
Oscar-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will take the reins for Star Wars: New Jedi Order, set 15 years after the events of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker and with Daisy Ridley reprising the role of Rey. Kennedy said it will “[tell] the story of rebuilding the new Jedi Order and the powers that rise to tear it down.”
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Peaky Blinders and Spencer writer Steven Knight – who recently revealed he was in talks to work on Star Wars film – will pen the script. On the first day of Star Wars Celebration, the fans in attendance have also been treated to new trailers and footage of the hotly anticipated Ahsoka series, plus the first glimpse of the Jude Law-led Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and upcoming mystery-thriller The Acolyte.
The latter will take fans “to a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.” Fans can keep up with all the breaking news from Star Wars Celebration 2023 on the Star Wars website and on the official Star Wars YouTube channel.
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