Return of the Jedi‘s turning 40 this year, so it makes sense that Lucasfilm would want to host one of their big Star Wars Celebration events to both honor the past and sell you on all of the projects that are in the pipeline. This year’s event is currently taking place in London, which is a real pain for anybody stateside who needs to report on it, but the news is good, friends. Your faith has been rewarded: there’s so many new projects coming out of Lucasfilm over the next few years that you’ll probably have to quit your job to watch them all. Here’s our recap of what happened on Friday morning at the Panel to End All Panels: the main Lucasfilm one.
Movies:
Here’s the most significant set of announcements for the day: Star Wars will return to movie theaters in the next few years. Sure, there have been more canceled projects from Lucasfilm than there have been mainline releases, but when you’re bringing people on stage to tell everyone about it, you kind of have to follow through with your announcements. First up is the project we know the most about, the first post-sequel trilogy film, listed under the “New Jedi Order” point on Lucasfilm’s timeline for the Star Wars saga. This was the one that Damon Lindelof was once attached to before he dropped out of the project, but he was never going to direct it — Ms. Marvel director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has the reins here. Steven Knight — he of Peaky Blinders, Locke and Spencer fame — will be penning the script. But most importantly, this film will feature the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey, as she begins to rebuild the New Jedi Order following the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Insert your own “Somehow, Rey’s returned” joke here.
There were two other announcements, though. First up is that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny helmer James Mangold will make a movie about the first Jedi (think Knights of the Old Republic, but even earlier), and that, of course, is at the start of the new timeline, under the “Dawn of the Jedi” moniker. Second, Dave Filoni, the fellow behind The Clone Wars, Rebels and basically every Star Wars television show released in the last twenty years will make a feature that will serve as a capstone to the Mandalorian subset of shows, about the New Republic fighting the last battles against the Imperial Remnant. We’d wager that this is the project that’s most likely going to make its way to the big screen, given that something like this — a giant crossover event where all the main Mando characters square off against a new enemy — has always been in the cards. The only difference is, we guess, that Disney recognizes the goodwill they’ve accumulated over the last few seasons of that show and wants to capitalize on it in a more tangible way than boasting about subscriber numbers.
But that’s not all! Lest you forgot that there’s an Indiana Jones movie coming out in just a little over two months, here’s a brand-new trailer for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Television:
Here’s where most of the panel’s biggest teases were — so big, in fact, that we have to tell you that if you want to see anything other than an Ahsoka trailer, you’ll have to go out and find your own shaky-cam footage from someone stealthily recording with a cellphone on the convention floor, because we are most definitely not going to get a C&D from Lucasfilm so you can check out a heavily pixelated version of Jude Law’s hairline. But we will say that it is out there, provided that you’re quick enough to avoid the internet censors taking it down (though with Elon Musk’s Twitter, who knows how long that shit’ll stay up).
First up is the one you can actually watch in full 4K glory, which is the Ahsoka trailer. Rosario Dawson’s back as the former Poochie-type character turned fan-favorite as she goes to hunt down Grand Admiral Thrawn (glimpsed only from behind in this trailer) alongside her pals from Star Wars: Rebels. Those include Hera Syndulla, played in live-action by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Sabine Wren, whose live-action translation has been tasked to Natasha Liu Bordazzo. But what we’re really stoked about is Ray Stevenson, the one-time Punisher, who looks like an absolute boss as whatever dark Jedi/Sith/whatever will serve as Thrawn’s muscle. It’ll hit Disney+ in August.
Next up is the new original installment within the Mandalorian subset of the Star Wars universe, which is Skeleton Crew. This is that aforementioned Jude Law project, which was created by Jon Watts (of Spider-Man fame) and Christopher Ford, and takes a great deal of inspiration from your classic Amblin kids-on-a-mission film. Law’s a Jedi that the kids encounter on their adventure, and the three protagonists leading the cast — Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, and Robert Timothy Smith — are all newcomers. Who aren’t newcomers are the directors assembled for the project: aside from Watts, David Lowery, Lee Issac Chung, Daniels, Jake Schreier, and Bryce Dallas Howard have all directed episodes of the show. It’s scheduled to land on Disney+ later this year.
Then there’s the second season of Andor, the genuinely surprising hit that got loads of fan interest and critical acclaim when it premiered last year. Trust us, we’re just as shocked as you are that it’s as good as it is. Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgard and most of the cast will return for this season, and it’s currently filming overseas. It’ll hit in 2024, and we’re sure that you can find out more information on exactly what the hell is happening with it provided you’re willing to plumb the depths of set photos and leakers and such on Reddit.
Finally, there’s the most interesting of the bunch: The Acolyte, which is the first live-action Star Wars series to be set in the High Republic Era — basically when the Jedi were at their most powerful, being the pride that cameth before the fall in the prequel trilogy. What footage we saw from the leaked trailer looked pretty cool, though, again, we can’t say much. But there’s a full synopsis now, and holy shit does it sound pretty dope: the show is “a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated,” per The Wrap. It stars Amandla Stenberg, Carrie-Ann Moss, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Lee Jung-jae, and it’ll land on Disney+ in 2024.
Phew. We need a nap. If anything else breaks, you’ll find it here, but for now, we’re snuggling up next to our Baby Yoda plushie and drifting off to a galaxy far, far away.