At the Star Wars Celebration fan convention with all of the Star Wars films on display, Lucasfilm revealed, on Friday, its plan for the future of the franchise. Kathleen Kennedy, studio chief, revealed the first look of three feature films and four TV series which Lucasfilm said is a test to see how long can the company extend the Star Wars galaxy based on creativity, logically and even historically.
The previous Star Wars movie, beginning with “The Phantom Menace” (1999) and ending with “The Rise of Skywalker” (2019), have stretched on a 70-year timeline, between the ethereal Battle of Yavin in “A New Hope” that has been the focal point of the six-decade franchise. The live-action and spinoff TV series is based on this timeline only, including “The Mandalorian” on Disney+, ” The Book of Boba Fett”, ” The Bad Batch”, as well as the upcoming TV series ” Ahsoka” and “Skeleton Crew”( an animated series that exists beyond the Star Wars universe, launched in 2021.)
Among the many ties of Star Wars, including novels, comic books, and video games, true fans are fully aware that the franchise extends to over ten thousand years. With “The Acolyte”, the company begins to explore the extensive narrative topography of live-action. When announced in 2020, the series on Disney+ exposes two things: the 100 years before “The Phantom Menace ” and the rise of the Sith in the dwindling days of the High Republic.
At the convention on Friday, creator and showrunner Leslye Headland said, “I wanted to delve into the Star Wars universe and tell the story of this entire world that I love so much from the perspective of the villains.” He said, “The first thing that became apparent was that we’re going to have to set this between the High Republic and the beginning of the prequels. Not only because it’s such an exciting part of the timeline, but also because this is when the bad guys are outnumbered. They are the underdogs.”
Kennedy said that James Mangold, who directed “Logan” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”, will direct the film taking it 25,000 years back before the Battle of Yavin to show the origin of the Force, as a single piece that will join the entire Star Wars franchise together. After the presentation, Mangold fixated on the magnificent domination of Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s.
He said, “When I first talked to Kathy Kennedy about it, I said, ‘I just see this opening to make kind of a ‘Ben-Hur’ or ‘Ten Commandments’ about the birth of the Force. The Force has become a kind of religious legend that spans all these movies. But where did it come from? How was it found? Who found it? Who was the first Jedi? That’s what I’m writing right now.”
These two films will keep the audience on the edge not just for what they are set on, but for what they are about. there is no Empire, no Skywalkers, but rather shows characters inhabiting the dark and chaos. This is something major for hardcore fans, as it promises to unfold periods that exist beyond the periphery of the Star Wars franchise. But the franchise became a part of pop culture, not because of its dense tales but for the creative storytelling and majestic characters.
The excitement of the fanbase has led to predictions of how hard Star Wars can stretch. In the first two seasons, “The Mandalorian ” was a halfway-down-the-adventure show, tracing the bond between its silent character and the lovable ward Grogu as they set out to explore the galaxy. However, season 3 of “The Mandalorian”, has blemished that relationship to enroll deep into the cultural and religious lore of Mandalore and the scattered warriors battling to survive after the planet was destroyed.
While casual fans are disappointed to follow puzzling mythology, hardcore fans have confounded more populist storytelling choices, like casting Lizzo, Jack Black, and Christopher Lloyd in guest star roles in which some feel out of place within the larger story.
These reactions are growing as Lucasfilm continues to stretch what a Star Wars project can be. “Skeleton Crew” will be the first among the Star Wars project with a cast of entire children (alongside Jude Law), while “Ahsoka” will be largely taken from the animated “Clone Wars” series which was first introduced by the character played by Rosario Dawson. Both of those shows, along with “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” will lead to the climax in the upcoming feature film directed by Lucasfilm veteran Dave Filoni, an attempt to imitate the Marvel Studios’ franchise set up around the galaxy.
Both shows will have storylines interconnected to each other, explaining how “The Book of Boba Fett” landed on two episodes resolving the Season 2 cliffhanger from “The Mandalorian.” On Friday, Lucasfilm implied that Gorian Shard from “Mandalorian’s” season 3 will appear on “Skeleton Crew,” and it appears the Season 3 finale of “The Mandalorian” will lead to a massive dispute on “Ahsoka.” Even the greatly acclaimed show, “Andor” is set away from all the other Star Wars series, in terms of narrative and creativity, and isn’t exempt, Rebel leader Mon Mothma played by Genevieve O’Reilly will appear on “Ahsoka,” which set about a decade after she runs to “Andor.”
All of these storylines have been braided giving the feeling that these do not seem to be separate shows but rather one vast Star Wars series coming with different logos. The Disney executives look for steady content to have their Disney+ subscribers on board, but it’s a constant concern with the prospect for anyone to be dedicated enough to go with all of it.
Meanwhile, Lucasfilm is planning the future of the franchise by having Daisy Ridley back into her character as Rey from the sequel trilogy of films, as she re-assembles the Jedi while encountering a new threat. Despite the hostility toward “The Rise of Skywalker”, the studio is anticipating that audiences are looking forward to Rey’s story unfolding.
In director Sharmeen Obaid -Chinoy, Lucasfilm is also banking that the Oscar-winning documentarian, who will be directing his live-action narrative feature is believed to be the right one to take Star Wars to a new horizon.
On Friday, Obaid-Chinoy said, “I’ve spent the better part of my life meeting real heroes who are overcoming oppressive regimes and battling impossible odds.” He said, “I think that’s the heart of Star Wars. And that’s why I’m attracted to the promise of a new Jedi order and I’m attracted to the idea of immersing myself in a Jedi Academy with a powerful Jedi Master.”
The director then invited Ridley onto the stage, with loud cheers. Ridley said, “I’m very thrilled to be continuing this journey.” Lucasfilm hopes audiences are with us.
