Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Celebration event jumped into hyperspace instead of meandering around the corners of the galaxy far, far away this year. It certainly went big as compared to the last year’s event. This year’s event showcased some of the studio’s future offerings that may catch Kevin Feige off guard, if you know what we mean.
Lucasfilm’s head, Kathleen Kennedy, warmly welcomed more than 4500 die-hard Star Wars fans at the ExCeL Centre in London.
The space-opera franchise has gone through a rollercoaster since its acquisition by Disney in 2012. One of the first big projects that emerged from this acquisition was Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015). Despite being derivative, the film was received positively among the fanbase. Then the sequel trilogy stumbled by The Last Jedi (2017) and lost all momentum and fans’ love after The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Rogue One (2016) was a surprising but wonderful entry into the anthology series. But we cannot say the same for Solo (2018). What a waste of money!
Thanks to Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, the guardian angels of the franchise, for delivering The Mandalorian when the franchise badly needed something to turn things around. The show’s success motivated Lucasfilm to explore new storylines and characters, giving them a reason to bring much-needed innovation into the franchise instead of “making fans happy” with fan service.
The biggest takeaway from this year’s event was the announcement of three new Star Wars flicks. Have a look at their helmers below!
Just revealed at #StarWarsCelebration, Kathleen Kennedy welcomes James Mangold, Dave Filoni & Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on stage as future directors of three new upcoming Star Wars films. pic.twitter.com/v2os1tdHJH
— Star Wars (@starwars) April 7, 2023
Daisy Ridley is returning to play Rey again in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s upcoming Star Wars project. The film will take place 15 years after the events of Episode IX.
James Mangold’s SW project is set 25,000 years ago and will explore the origins of the Jedi. This one should silence the franchise’s nerds for some time.
Dave Filoni’s forthcoming film will serve as a send-off to the Mandoverse, treasuring all the crucial elements from The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and the upcoming Ahsoka. Additionally, Andor’s creator, Tony Gilroy, confirmed that the show will come to an end after Season 2, scheduled to release in August 2024.
The creator of The Acolyte, Leslie Headland, spilled some beans about her upcoming Star Wars project. The story would unfold in a timeframe located between the High Republic era and the beginning of the prequel films, further back in time than any other previously depicted project in the live-action Star Wars universe. She added that Acolyte will serve as a unique blend of “Kill Bill” and “Frozen”.
Moreover, the duo of Jon Favreau and Jude Law unveiled the teaser of Skeleton Crew, revolving around refreshing but defiant youngsters who traverse the universe and find themselves in unexpected dangerous situations. The series has a widely-talented set of helmers, encompassing talents like Bryce Dallas Howard, Jon Watts, The Daniels, David Lowery, Lee Isaac Chung, and Jake Schreier.
Lars Mikkelsen’s addition to the Ahsoka series as Grand Admiral Thrawn was nothing short of a shocker, given Disney’s attempts to get rid of preexisting Star Wars comics and novels in the past. Thrawn is one of the most beloved antagonists in the franchise. Mikkelsen voiced the popular character in the Star Wars Rebels animated series.
Star Wars 2023 celebration certainly turned out to be grander than the last year’s event. During the Celebration at Anaheim in 2022, fans learned teeny-tiny details about The Mandalorian Season 3, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew. Also, they watched trailers of Andor, The Bad Batch Season 2, and Tales of the Jedi. In other words, we can also say that the last year’s event sowed the seeds of this year’s event. Apart from all the projects mentioned above, fans also got to see the trailer of Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, starring Harrison Ford. Stay tuned for more updates.
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