Lucasfilm boss hints at connections between new Star Wars movies

The galaxy far, far away will soon be expanding with a new trilogy of movies, but these will be unlike any we’ve seen so far. It was announced during this year’s Star Wars Celebration that three films are in the works at Lucasfilm: one will explore the dawn of the Jedi long before Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace; one will tie in with the story playing out on shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, and one will be set after Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker and follow Daisy Ridley’s Rey as she attempts to begin to rebuild the Jedi Order.

Many of the details are still shrouded in mystery. Beyond those initial descriptions, we know that James Mangold (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) will direct the Dawn of the Jedi movie; Star Wars Rebels mastermind Dave Filoni will spearhead The Mandalorian-era film; and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness) will helm the Rey movie.

Rey’s movie will be part of a “new chapter” for Star Wars

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is starting to hint at what else to expect, including how Rey’s storyline about re-founding the Jedi Order will distinguish itself from Luke Skywalker’s failed attempt to do the same thing in the sequel trilogy.

“I think what’s always great about Star Wars is it’s a big galaxy, and we’re coming off what was a major war with the First Order,” Kennedy told GamesRadar+. “And now, Rey has made a promise to Luke and that’s really the core of where we’re going and what this story will be. And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter.”

It’s interesting that Lucasfilm treated these movies like they were a new trilogy even though they don’t seem to have anything to do with each other, taking place at very different points in time. Perhaps there will be some sort of connective tissue? That seems to be what Kennedy is implying:

"I think it’s a really nice compliment to what we’re doing with moving into the future with Rey, and then understanding a bit more of where this all came from. Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have began with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool."

It’ll be interesting to see what Lucasfilm does with these movies, but it’ll be a while before we know anything concrete. The next Star Wars movie is currently scheduled for release on May 26, 2026; we don’t know which of the three films on the docket will fill that date, but at least we have an idea of when to expect the first of them!

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h/t Gizmodo