Lucasfilm hasn't exactly succeeded in making fans consistently happy since being acquired by Disney but, moving forward, the hope is that the studio can course correct with Dave Filoni serving as chief creative officer of all things Star Wars.
We've lost track of the officially announced or rumoured film and TV projects which have failed to ever materialise, but things seem to be looking good for whatever Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy is cooking up for this Galaxy Far, Far Away.
While the filmmaker was reluctant to share too many specifics during a recent interview with Josh Horowitz (via SFFGazette.com), he did all but confirm that his Star Wars movie will be a fully standalone story.
"I'll say that the experience of crafting this story has forced me to think about that question. Because there's only so many times that Star Wars movies can revisit the same section of the timeline, and so it's really forced me - because I don't want to do a Star Wars movie that is redundant to others, nor am I interested in doing one that has to serve another movie."
"I really wanted to craft something that felt organic to me, both in tone and characters, so I think that there is certainly the Force and a connection to something bigger than our individual selves. And the way that that can make us powerful, those themes, combined with visual delight and wish fulfillment, that's Star Wars to me."
Early on, Lucasfilm stuck closely to the Skywalker Saga with a sequel trilogy and spin-offs set between the prequel and original movies. Since then, we've seen them become a little more ambitious, finally visiting the High Republic era on Disney+ after previously sticking to the few years after Return of the Jedi with shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.
The Acolyte drew mixed reviews from fans but the studio's intentions to expand the Star Wars franchise were made clear at last year's Star Wars Celebration event in London.
There, we learned that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold will explore the origins of the Jedi in a story about the First Jedi, though Lucasfilm will also play it safe with Filoni's New Republic crossover and a sequel to the sequels revolving around Rey Skywalker (which will hopefully wash away the bad taste left by The Rise of Skywalker).
Since then, The Mandalorian & Grogu has also been announced as an upcoming feature, signalling a shift from streaming back to theatrical releases. It has, after all, been close to half a decade since we last saw Star Wars in theaters!
What would you like Levy's Star Wars movie to focus on?