'We're in a Completely Different Era of Star Wars Now' — Lucasfilm Boss Dave Filoni Says The Mandalorian and Grogu Doesn't Carry the Burden Episode VII Did

With The Mandalorian And Grogu astir upon us, Star Wars fans are acceptable for the archetypal mainline movie successful the franchise since Episode IX, The Rise of Skywalker, came retired successful December 2019. It’s a agelong clip coming, and launches into a antithetic world… possibly adjacent a antithetic postulation compared to the erstwhile acceptable of films. But it besides launches without the value of anticipation that comes with introducing a caller Star Wars trilogy — and that’s to its benefit, Lucasfilm co-CEO Dave Filoni has said.

The Mandalorian And Grogu, owed retired connected May 22, is 1 of lone 2 Star Wars movies with confirmed merchandise dates (Ryan Gosling's Star Wars: Starfighter arrives connected May 28, 2027). While determination is simply a agelong database of Star Wars movies announced, determination is important uncertainty that galore of them, if any, volition really beryllium released.

Even the Dave Filoni New Republic team-up movie that was announced is uncertain. Outgoing Lucasfilm brag Kathleen Kennedy made nary notation of the Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Boba Fett crossover movie erstwhile revealing her exit successful January, though it's apt her successor, Filoni himself, volition beryllium the 1 to springiness an update connected this arsenic its destiny apt rests connected the show of The Mandalorian and Grogu this year.

Either way, The Mandalorian And Grogu feels similar the commencement of a caller epoch of Star Wars, and that’s however Filoni himself made it dependable successful a caller interrogation with Empire. “Episode VII was a wholly antithetic entity,” helium said. “I had dreams of Episode VII since I came retired of Return Of The Jedi. You were like, ‘After VI comes VII! Where’s VII?’ We’re successful a wholly antithetic epoch of Star Wars now.”

As such, The Mandalorian And Grogu is escaped to be, simply, “a large celebration” of its 2 main characters, alternatively than person to contend with introducing a caller trilogy of Star Wars movies. Star Wars: Starfighter, from the sounds of things, volition bask akin state erstwhile it comes retired adjacent year.

Related, Kathleen Kennedy besides failed to notation the previously-announced standalone movie acceptable to diagnostic Rey Skywalker successful her exit interview. The project, revealed by Kennedy with fanfare astatine Star Wars Celebration 2023, was planned to diagnostic the instrumentality of Daisy Ridley arsenic Rey Skywalker, and uncover however the quality starts a caller epoch of the Jedi Order.

Kennedy announced the task on-stage alongside Ridley and manager Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who was confirmed to beryllium helming the project. But successful the years since — arsenic with truthful galore different Star Wars movies — small much has been said.

"We're beauteous acold along," Kennedy said of the slate of Star Wars films announced backmost successful 2023. "These are things, arsenic you tin imagine, surely looking astatine what Dave [Filoni]'s been doing with Ahsoka, that'll beryllium astatine slightest six, 7 years gathering to what it is we're going to beryllium doing successful a movie. As [for the task being made by] Sharmeen, we've been moving connected that for a mates years already."

Discussing the standalone Rey movie's crippled successful much detail, Kennedy described it arsenic acceptable 15 years aft Rise of Skywalker. "We're post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are successful disarray, and there's a batch of treatment astir who are the Jedi, what are they doing, what's the authorities of the galaxy?" Kennedy teased. "[Rey is] attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order based connected the books, based connected what she promised Luke."

Of course, this isn't the lone task expected to diagnostic Rey successful the future. Lucasfilm is besides incubating a caller trilogy of movies from Simon Kinberg, the manager down the widely-panned X-Men movie Dark Phoenix and 2022 spy enactment flop The 355.

"[Kinberg] wrote thing that we work successful August, and it was precise good, but not there," Kennedy told Deadline. "We've beauteous overmuch upended the story, and past spent a large woody of clip connected the treatment, which helium finished virtually astir 4 weeks ago. And it's a precise elaborate treatment, similar 70 pages. And truthful helium is expected to springiness america thing successful March."

Once again, Kennedy referred to Kinberg's task arsenic a "trilogy," though it inactive seems far, acold away.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].