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Three New Star Wars Movies Announced, Including the Return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey

In a bid to reinvigorate the Star Wars film franchise, Lucasfilm has announced three new movies, as well as the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey. The news came during the Star Wars Celebration event in London on Friday, where Ridley made a surprise appearance alongside Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

The movies don’t appear to be a classic Star Wars trilogy, as each is set in a different time period. Coming from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel), the Rey-centered feature will pick up 15 years after Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. Ridley’s fan-favorite character will be found coming into her role as a Jedi Master working to rebuild the Jedi order.

The script comes from Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), who took over screenwriting duties from Damon Lindelof (HBO’s Watchmen) and Justin Britt-Gibson (Counterpart) after the pair left the project in February. By taking on the project, Obaid-Chinoy will become the first woman and first person of color to helm a Star Wars feature film.

As for the other two new movies, they’ll be directed by Dave Filoni and James Mangold (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny). Filoni is one of the creative forces behind the “Mandoverse,” having writing, directing, and executive producing credits on The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and the upcoming Ahsoka. His movie will be set in that same New Republic era and serve as the climax of those three series.

Mangold’s film, meanwhile, will take place prior to the events of even Episode I. Described as a “Biblical epic,” the movie will reveal the origins of the Force. “Where did the Force come from, when did we discover it, when did we learn how to use it?” Mangold said during Star Wars Celebration (via The Hollywood Reporter).

No timeline for any of the projects’ releases has been revealed.

The announcement of these three new Star Wars films comes after the franchise has spent recent years focused mainly on Disney+ series. Movies from Rian Johnson, a trilogy from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, a Kevin Feige-produced project, and Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron all stalled out in production and have been shelved.

Taika Waititi is still developing a movie in which he’s set to star and also direct, and Shawn Levy is attached to a separate movie he’ll tackle after Deadpool 3 and Netflix’s All the Light We Cannot See (via Variety).

Beyond these three movies, other upcoming Star Wars projects include the live-action series Ahsoka with Rosario Dawson, Jude Law’s Skeleton Crew, the Amandla Stenberg- and Lee Jung-jae-led The Acolyte, and a second and final season of Andor. Donald Glover also recently revealed he’s in talks to reprise his role as a young Lando Calrission from Solo: A Star Wars Story.