Daisy Ridley teases Rey’s new movie, Dave Filoni becomes Star Wars Chief Creative Officer

There’s some big news out of the Star Wars galaxy today. First up, Daisy Ridley — who played Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy — is sounding off for the first time about her new Star Wars film, where Rey will return in an as-yet-unknown capacity. That surprise announcement was made at this year’s Star Wars Celebration, and apparently she was nervous about breaking the news.

“I was s***ting myself before I went on stage, because no one knew I was going to that,” Ridley told Collider. “No one knew I was going to Celebration, bar like [Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy] and there were a couple of people. I was so nervous. Oh my God. It was such a wonderful reception. I’m very excited. The story is really cool. I’m waiting to read a script because, obviously, I don’t have any other updates. It’s not what I expected, but I’m very excited.”

"I know the storyline for one film. That’s not to say that that’s all it is, but that’s what I was told about. And I imagine it will be the next film, I think. I mean, again, I don’t know, post strikes and everything, how quickly everything will start up again. But yes, so far, I know the story of one film and I think people will be very excited."

So Ridley knows vaguely what’s going to happen in Rey’s new Star Wars movie, but hasn’t read a script. It could be anything. Maybe she’ll rebuild the Jedi order. Maybe she’ll go on more adventures with Finn and Poe. Maybe she’ll open up a bed and breakfast and the whole thing will be about her trying to balance work and love. It’s anyone’s guess!

As for this movie being the “next film,” I’ll believe that when I see it. Under the direction of Kathleen Kennedy, the Star Wars Cinematic Universe has seen a lot of starts and stops over the years. The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson was going to make a new trilogy, but that’s on hold. Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and David Benioff were going to make a new trilogy, but that was cancelled. Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins was going to make a Rogue Squadron movie, but that got canned. Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige was going to make a Star Wars film, but that’s dead. I’d be very suspicions of new Star Wars movie announcements. They tend to peter out.

What Star Wars may need is a steady hand at the helm. And it may be getting one…

Ahsoka creator Dave Filoni becomes Chief Creative Officer for Star Wars

Vanity Fair has revealed that Dave Filoni — who has been producing Star Wars projects for over a decade at this point — has been made the Chief Creative Officer for the series. Before this, Filoni was working on all things Star Wars, but was usually brought into a project “after it had already developed a good ways.” Now, he says he’ll be “involved at the inception phase” of everything Lucasfilm has planned for the future of the franchise.

Filoni got his start in the Star Wars universe producing the animated show Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which introduced the popular character of Ahsoka Tano. He went on to create another animated show, Star Wars Rebels, before becoming one of the main brains behind live-action series like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and most recently Star Wars: Ahsoka, which saw Rosario Dawson bring the animated character to life.

And now, it sounds like Filoni will be to Star Wars what Kevin Feige is to Marvel: the guy in charge of the overall direction of things. That could be a very good or very nerve-wracking thing, depending on who you ask. There’s no doubt that Filoni loves Star Wars; many fans see him as the natural successor to George Lucas. But he’s also pretty preoccupied with the minutia of the mythology, rather than with telling stories with broad appeal. Is anyone going to argue that The Book of Boba Fett was a rollicking success?

Filoni also seems very attached to the world he created with his animated Star Wars shows, to the point where it can drag down new series like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. Just speaking personally, while I loved the first season of The Mandalorian — the one that revolved around brand new characters doing brand new things — my interest started to wane when the show imported characters from The Clone Wars and Rebels, including Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan Kryze. I don’t think the show has hit the highs of that first season since.

What do you think? Is it a good thing that Dave Filoni is being put in charge of Star Wars, or does it make you nervous? Will Rey’s new Star Wars movie ever see the light of day?

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h/t The A.V. Club