Star Wars: The Last Jedi divided the fanbase, but it was a critical and commercial hit and so it's no wonder Disney and Lucasfilm signed Rian Johnson up to take the helm of a brand new trilogy of movies.
Literally no plot details have been revealed about these films, and during a recent interview, the filmmaker understandably wasn't willing to give anything away. He did, however, note that he remains hard at work on them.
"I'm where I can’t say anything about it," Johnson admitted.
"Still completely in process with it."
Asked if saying anything about these new Star Wars movies would "ruin" his process, he added:
"It’s just, I don’t know. 'It’s a process' means it’s a process. So that means it could change, it could shift. There are a bunch of moving parts with it."
In other words, it definitely sounds like it's still very early days for Johnson's trilogy, and if things are at a point where they could still change, that probably means they're still a long way off.
As a result, we can probably forget about getting yearly Star Wars movies for a while as Lucasfilm takes a step back and thinks long and hard about what comes next for the franchise following the conclusion of the "Skywalker Saga." On the plus side, it sounds like there will be plenty of Disney+ shows to keep us busy now that an Obi-Wan Kenobi series has finally been confirmed.
Let us know your thoughts on this below.
For a breakdown of reveals about The Mandalorian from the
latest issue of EW, simply hit the "View List" button below!
The Show Will Deal With The Rise Of The First Order
We know that
The Mandalorian is set after the events of
Return of the Jedi, but there's also a lot we
don't know about what happened during the thirty years between that movie and
The Force Awakens. However, it's now been confirmed that the Disney+ series will delve into how the fall of the Empire led to the rise of The First Order.
"This doesn’t turn into a good guy universe because you blew up two Death Stars," director Dave Filoni says, confirming that the Galaxy isn't at peace quite yet. "You get that the Rebels won and they’re trying to establish a Republic, but there’s no way that could have set in for everybody all at once. You have in a Western where you’re out on the frontier and there might be Washington and they might have some marshals, but sometimes good luck finding one."
Showrunner Jon Favreau adds: "Also, what could happen in the 30 years between celebrating the defeat of the Empire and then the First Order? You come in on Episode VII, [the First Order are] not just starting out. They’re pretty far along. So somehow, things weren’t necessarily managed as well as they could have been if [the galaxy] ended up in hot water again like that."
How The Mandalorian Differs To Boba Fett
The Mandalorian might look like Boba Fett, but it sounds like the similarities end there. For starters, he's actually a Mandalorian (Fett just wears the armor), which means the show will
"definitely explore the culture of the Mandalorian" according to Favreau.
"Our guy is operating in a much more unforgiving landscape."
"A place where survival is difficult enough," he continues,
"let alone flourishing in that atmosphere and the politics have dissolved. It’s ‘might is right.’ And how does somebody earn a living when there’s no structure to society anymore and everything is collapsing in on itself? How do you work your way through the world?"
Star Pedro Pascal, meanwhile, says that he's also more of an anti-hero than a villain (a role Fett definitely played well). "Ultimately he wants to do the right thing" the actor says. "But his duties could very much be in conflict with his destiny and doing the right thing has many faces. It can be a very windy road."
Don't Expect To See Any Legacy Characters...Yet
The Mandalorian will allude to the history of the
Star Wars Universe and fill in some gaps in the franchise's history but it won't necessarily serve as a continuation to the original trilogy or a prequel to the new ones. That means no Legacy characters (in the first season, at least...) as Favreau instead wants to deliver a
"boots on the ground" tale exploring something we've not seen before.
"I’ve always been curious what the other people in the cantina are up to," he explains.
"We’re digging really deep in the toy chest and pulling out the action figures that people were always curious about and were not quite in the center frame, but have a lot of potential."
Filoni adds: "These are the [action figures] you got. Your older brothers have had ‘good’ ones. Somehow you got Boba Fett. And if you have Boba Fett, you could always tell a good story."
The Mandalorian Will Be Keeping His Helmet On
Pascal's star is very much on the rise, but that doesn't mean he'll be showing off his face every chance he gets. However, Favreau's experience working on a character like Iron Man helped a lot and thanks to the actor's impressive line delivery and physicality along with some clever camera tricks and editing, he's reportedly found a way to ensure this masked man has a lot of personality.
"What’s remarkable is when you see the whole stretch of the first season how engaging the character is," the showrunner explains. "It’s amazing how many Star Wars characters are emotionally engaging that aren’t even anthropomorphic. R2-D2 is my favorite character and he barely has an eye." This definitely sounds like the right approach and is a bold move on the show's part.
Taika Waititi's IG-11 (Korg 2.0?)
Taikia Waititi is set to take on the role of IG-11, an assassin droid who looks nearly identical to classic bounty hunter IG-88. However, their personalities will be very different and it sounds like this supporting character won't be all that different to the loveable Korg, another CGI creation voiced by the actor and filmmaker (who actually helms the premiere episode of this Star Wars TV series).
"[IG-11 is] very innocent and naive and direct and doesn’t know about sarcasm and doesn’t know how to lie," Waititi says, likening the droid to a cross between Siri and HAL 9000.
"It’s like a child with a gun."
So, he's not exactly a badass, but Gina Carano's Cara Dune is. She's a former Rebel Shock Trooper turned mercenary who works alongside Greef Carga (Carl Weathers), the leader of a guild of bounty hunters."In Star Wars, you find yourself walking a different way, you behave differently, you relate to what’s around you differently, because it’s not a contemporary world," he says.
Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon
One of the most exciting additions to the series is
Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito. His role has been something of a mystery up until now, but Entertainment Weekly reveals that he'll play Moff Gideon, a one-time Governor for the Galactic Empire whose world was destroyed when the Rebels blew up the second Death Star and finally brought an end to The Emperor's rule over the Galaxy.
"He’s an Imperial remnant of a very fine officer who then switches to become sort of the guardian of the people," says Esposito, who also talked about having a geek out moment when he was able to climb aboard a TIE Fighter for the first time in the series.
"But what does [Moff Gideon] really want? This guy is going to be a big player because he has an idea of how to keep order."
Does that mean he's a hero or villain? It sounds like we'll have to just wait and see for now.
The Show Will Deliver Some Big Surprises
The first trailer for
The Mandalorian definitely impressed and with the magazine claiming that the show had a budget of around $100 million for all eight episodes, it's clear that Disney wants to deliver something that makes
Star Wars fans very happy indeed.
"I’ve seen a lot of Star Wars," Filoni, a man extremely well-versed in this Galaxy after working on everything from The Clone Wars to Rebels, says.
"And what’s most exciting to me is that I am very confident we did some things — and fans will see things — that have never been seen before."
In other words, this will definitely be worth a watch and it hasn't just been made for the sake of it!
Continue reading below to check out a full list of
Star Wars TV shows and movies that are on the way!
The Mandalorian (November 12th)
The first trailer for
The Mandalorian was released during D23, and it's fair to say that it didn't disappoint. It looks every bit as good as the
Star Wars movies in terms of visuals and the tone and approach to this story (set after the events of
Return of the Jedi) is vastly different to what we've seen before in this Galaxy Far, Far Away. Honestly, that's no bad thing.
The Mandalorian is going to be available on the Disney+ streaming service on November 12th, and the plan is for one episode to be released each week (so, you can forget about binging them).
In terms of plot details, all we really know is that the show is going to follow a bounty hunter who
isn't Boba Fett. However, the show promises to fill in some big gaps in this universe's history.
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (December 20th)
There's no way you're missing this one, right?
Last Monday, the D23 preview was officially released online and it's left
Star Wars fans everywhere talking. That shot of Rey wielding a double-bladed Sith lightsaber may be misdirection, but that makes it no less awesome. We've been left with a lot to talk about, and it's clear that the Skywalker Saga finale is going to surprise us in a lot of different ways.
With any luck, director J.J. Abrams will succeed in making fans happy while also ending this story in a way that feels right. That's not an easy task, but it is one you have to believe he's capable of.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (February 2020)
Netflix resurrected
Star Wars: The Clone Wars a few years back, but, much to the delight of fans everywhere, we later learned that it would return (again) on the Disney+ streaming service.
This time, though, this really is the end for the series, but at least that means it will get the finale it deserves. According to Dave Filoni, we're finally going to see the return of Darth Maul and Ahsoka Tano in a conflict he's dubbed "the Siege of Mandalore."
Just like Young Justice attracted fans to DC Universe, this will get Star Wars fans even more excited to subscribe to Disney+ and see more of their favourite animated characters.
Untitled 'Cassian Andor' Disney+ Series
This show still doesn't have a title, but it was confirmed at D23 that shooting is set to begin next year.
That means casting news should start coming our way soon and it's obviously already been confirmed that Diego Luna will return as Cassian Andor, while Alan Tudyk will voice K-2SO again. Set before the events of
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, it sounds like this will serve as an origin story for Cassian, while also shedding some light on the early adventures of the Rebellion.
With any luck, that will mean we get to see some of those
Star Wars Rebels characters in live-action!
Untitled 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Disney+ Series
One of the biggest announcements to come out of D23 is that Obi-Wan Kenobi is getting his own Disney+ series. Shooting for this is also expected to take place next year as the scripts have been written and Ewan McGregor has finally been able to confirm that, yes, he is indeed reprising the role.
Based on where this was placed on a timeline shared by Lucasfilm at the event, it will take place shortly after the events of
Solo: A Star Wars Story, so don't be surprised if the Jedi Knight crosses paths with his old enemy Darth Maul. The show would, however, need to be careful not to contradict the events of
Star Wars Rebels if that's the case.
Either way, we're sure this will be more exciting than Kenobi just wandering around the desert!
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' Star Wars Trilogy
The
Game of Thrones finale was not well recieved, but showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss remain a hot commodity in Hollywood and it's no great surprise that Disney is keen on them spearheading an entire trilogy of
Star Wars movies. Rumour has it that they'll be heading to The Old Republic era which would mean that this series of films would be set 4000 years before
A New Hope!
This trilogy would be unrelated to Rian Johnson's, but recent reports have pointed to the duo possibly only providing an outline for the trilogy and penning just one of the three screenplays.
That's a result of them signing a $250 million deal with Netflix and given the rivalry between them and Disney these days, don't be shocked if Lucasfilm ultimately takes a pass on this trilogy or decides to hand the idea over to a different set of filmmakers. Either way, it's not looking great right now.
Rian Johnson's Star Wars Trilogy
Rian Johnson's
Star Wars: The Last Jedi received its fair share of backlash from fans, but it was also a critical and commercial hit so are you really shocked that Lucasfilm intend to work with him again?
We have absolutely no idea what direction he intends to take things in, but it doesn't sound like this series of films will have anything to do with the Skywalker Saga. Johnson is writing the screenplays and should start working on the movies soon, so don't be surprised if the first chapter is the first
Star Wars movie to arrive in theaters after
The Rise of Skywalker.
Given how polarising his work on the main saga was, it will certainly be interesting to see what happens!
A New Star Wars Animated Series
Star Wars Rebels was a hit with fans as it expanded the mythology and filled in a lot of gaps between
Revenge of the Sith and
A New Hope.
Star Wars: Resistance, however, is ending after two seasons and has been mostly rejected by viewers, so it's clear that Disney and Lucasfilm need to go back to the drawing board when it comes to how best to handle this universe in an animated setting.
Well, there have been rumours for a while now that a new animated series of some sort might in the works and that Dave Filoni will once again be involved.
Rebels definitely ended in a way which allows for a sequel of some sort, while there are plenty of other eras a new TV show could take place in that would appeal to viewers (including after the Skywalker Saga now that is wrapping up).
Star Wars Detours
You probably forgot all about this, but back in 2012 (and before Disney purchased Lucasfilm for a whopping $4 billion), we learned that an animated series called
Star Wars Detours was in the works.
Set to deliver a comedic take on the
Star Wars Universe,
Robot Chicken's Seth Green and Matthew Senreich were set to take charge of the series and 39 episodes were produced with 62 finished scripts.
Lucasfilm filed a trademark for "Detours" back in June, so there's a chance that this will be resurrected for the Disney+ streaming service or something similar. We'll have to wait and see for now.
Solo: A Star Wars Story II
Solo: A Star Wars Story may have underperformed at the box office, but the movie still has its fair share of fans and there's been a lot of campaigning for a sequel online which has grabbed the attention of some noteworthy names (including replacement director Ron Howard).
Rumour has it that Disney has taken notice, and while they're reluctant to return to these spinoff movies right now, relatively reliable sources have indicated that Alden Ehrenreich's Han Solo could return in some way, shape, or form. With Disney+ set to serve as a home for a number of obscure projects, this particular rumour definitely feels like it's worth a mention.
However, it's probably best not to get too excited until we hear something a little more concrete.