A Star Wars fan event recently held in London shared details on several upcoming movies and television shows that should excite fans and investors of The Walt Disney Company DIS.
What Happened: Disney announced plans to acquire Star Wars parent company Lucasfilm in 2012. Since that time, the media giant has utilized the strong branding power and intellectual property of Star Wars to help boost its movie offerings and content on the streaming platform Disney+.
Announcements made at Star Wars Celebration 2023 indicate that more content is on the way.
Movie News: Among the biggest news presented at Star Wars Celebration 2023 (held between April 7-April 10) was Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy confirming that there are three Star Wars films in the works. Here’s a look at the three films.
Movie from James Mangold: set in the dawn of the Jedi time period, telling of the “first Jedi to wield the Force.” The movie will take place around 25,000 years before the original “Star Wars” film.
Movie from Dave Filoni: the movie will focus on the New Republic and is said to close out the storylines of “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Ahsoka.”
Movie from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy: the film will take place 15 years after the events of “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker,” which was released in 2019. The movie will center on rebuilding the Jedi Order.
“I think that’s the heart of Star Wars and that’s why I’m attracted to the promise of a new Jedi Order,” Obaid-Chinoy said.
Perhaps the biggest news of the Star Wars Celebration event was the discussion of Obaid-Chinoy’s movie, which will feature the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey, a character who appeared in the three most recent Star Wars trilogy films.
“I’m very thrilled to be continuing this journey,” Ridley said, appearing live at the event.
Kennedy told IGN in an interview that the film will explore Rey fulfilling her promise to Luke Skywalker and rebuilding the Jedi Order.
“There’s a lot of discussion around, ‘Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What’s the state of the galaxy,’” Kennedy said.
Kennedy wouldn’t confirm if Mark Hamill would appear as Skywalker via flashbacks or as a force ghost in the new movie.
Outside of the new movies from Star Wars, it was also announced that an old favorite will be returning to theaters. “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” the third theatrical release and sixth film chronologically of the nine trilogy movies, will return to theaters to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
The film will be in select theaters in the United States, United Kingdom and other territories beginning April 28. This marks the film’s first official release in 26 years.
“Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” was similarly re-released in theaters in 2020 to celebrate 40 years. The movie topped the box office for the first time since 1997.
The last Star Wars re-release came during the COVID-19 pandemic so “Return of the Jedi” could see stronger box office performance and will also run in theaters through May 4th, coinciding with the official annual Star Wars holiday.
Related Link: Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo Could Be Returning To Star Wars
Television News: The Star Wars event featured several new trailers and updates on previously announced trailers and several new show announcements.
Panels included updates on “Andor,” “The Mandalorian” and others.
Star Wars also premiered a new trailer for the highly anticipated “Ahsoka” and announced a release month of April 2023 for the Disney+ series.
A trailer for “Young Jedi Adventures,” which airs on Disney+ and Disney Junior on May 5th, was showcased. The show is aimed at a younger audience and could create new Star Wars fans.
Another big update at Star Wars Celebration was on the series “The Acolyte,” which will hit Disney+ in 2024. The series will feature “Squid Game” actor Lee Jung-Jae and Joonas Suotamo, well-known for playing Chewbacca in the most recent Star Wars films. Suotamo will be playing a Jedi Master Wookiee.
Show creator Leslye Headland said she pitched “The Acolyte” as “Frozen meets Kill Bill.” The movie centers on the Golden Age of the Jedi time period and will be set between the High Republic and the beginning of the prequel films.
Other Announcements: Along with the television and movie updates, Disney also provided new looks at novels and comics in the Star Wars franchise.
The company also shared several new products coming from licensing partners like Funko Inc FNKO and Hasbro Inc HAS.
A new trailer for the upcoming video game “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” from Electronic Arts Inc EA was also highlighted at the event.
It was also announced that the next Star Wars Celebration will be held in Japan from April 18 through April 20 in 2025.
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