Two new Star Wars films are about to enter production, it has been announced, and more details about a third in the series have been revealed as series producer Lucasfilm looks to end its hiatus from the 2019 release of Star Wars: Episode IX. – The Rise of Skywalker.
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy made the announcement at a Star Wars Celebration event at the ExCeL Center in London.
The two new films will be overseen by Logan director James Mangold and Dave Filoni, co-creator of The Mandalorian TV series and director of 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Mangold’s film, Kennedy said, “will tell the story of the first Jedi to use the Force in an era of chaos and oppression and use it as a liberating force,” while Filoni’s film “will be about the escalating war between the Imperial remnant and a growing population.” The New Republic” and will “close the interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka and other Disney+ series”.
A third film to be announced, a Sharmeen Obeid-Sinai-directed project, has been known for some time, but seems to have been shelved due to changes in direction and staff departures. Obaid-Sinoy’s film The Rise of Skywalker takes place 15 years later and sees Daisy Ridley reprise her role as Rey; It will “tell the story of the rebuilding of the new Jedi Order and the forces that rise to tear it down”. Lucasfilm announced recently Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight replaced Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson as writers on the film.
Development of the Star Wars films has a checkered recent history, with separate projects overseen by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins. Wilson-Cairns is still in development.
At the same event, Lucasfilm confirmed a slew of new TV shows, including a second series of Andor and the Mandalorian spin-off Ahsoka.
