GALAXY FEST

STAR WARS CELEBRATION Teasers was on the ground at Lucas Con 2023 for the biggest announcements from a galaxy far, far away…

- JORDAN FARLEY

THREE NEW MOVIES

Despite thriving on streaming, Star Wars is experiencing a fallow period on the big screen. All that is set to change with three freshly announced movies delving into the past, present and future of a new ‘mythological timeline’.

First up (chronologically, anyway): James Mangold will direct a movie exploring the ‘dawn of the Jedi’. Set 25,000 years before the original trilogy it will ‘tell the tale of the first Jedi to wield the Force’, according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

For Mangold the idea was to resurrect a long-dormant genre, and give it a Star Wars twist. ‘I thought about the biblical epic, like a Ten Commandments,’ Mangold said. ‘Where did the Force come from? When did we discover it? When did we know how to use it?’

Another new film will ‘expand on our present’, said Kennedy. Dave Filoni is directing a live-action feature that will ‘bring together many of the threads of our series’ and portray the ‘escalating war between the Imperial remnants, and the fledgling New Republic’. In other words, expect a cinematic – and potentially conclusive – collision of shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.

Finally, Daisy Ridley’s Jedi Master Rey will return to lead the new Jedi Order. Set 15 years after the events of the sequel trilogy, the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed film will see Rey turn teacher. ‘I’m attracted to the idea of immersing myself in a Jedi Academy with a powerful Jedi Master,’ said Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel). Steven Knight is currently on scripting duties. The past, present and future of Star Wars look very bright indeed.