Star Wars Celebration 2023: Everything Announced So Far
From three new live-action Star Wars movies from James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy to Daisy Ridley’s return as Rey in a film set after The Rise of Skywalker to Ahsoka’s official trailer, Lucasfilm’s Studio Showcase at Star Wars Celebration 2023 was filled with a ton of exciting reveals from that galaxy far, far away.
The weekend isn’t over yet though, so IGN has gathered every news announcement in one place so you can keep track of it all, and we’ll continue to update this page with every fresh reveal from throughout the weekend.
Let us know your favorite announcement and which project you are most looking forward to in the comments below!
Lucasfilm Announces Three Live-Action Star Wars Movies From Directors Dave Filoni, James Mangold, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Star Wars fans have been waiting since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker for the franchise to return to the big screen, and Star Wars Celebration has finally confirmed that return will happen with three films directed by James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy.
James Mangold, the director of Logan and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, will create a film that “will go back to the dawn of the Jedi”.
Dave Filoni’s film will explore a more familiar era for Disney+ subscribers and “focus on the New Republic” Among many other things, Filoni was the creator of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, an executive producer, episodic director, and writer on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, and is the creator and executive producer on Ahsoka.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the Academy Award- and Emmy Award-winning director behind Ms. Marvel, Saving Face, and more will lead a film “set after the events of Rise of Skywalker” that will “feature Daisy Ridley back as Rey as she builds a new Jedi Order.”
Daisy Ridley Returning to Star Wars in Movie Set After Rise of Skywalker
As mentioned in the blurb above, Daisy Ridley will officially be returning to Star Wars as Rey in a new movie set 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the movie will see Rey will attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order as a Jedi Master.
“I’ve always been attracted to the hero’s journey and the fact that the world needs many more heroes,” said Sharmeen. And the excitement was almost too much for Ridley.
“My heart is pounding,” she said as she walked on stage to a screaming crowd at Star Wars Celebration. “I’m very thrilled to be continuing this journey.”
Kathleen Kennedy Says New Star Wars Films Are ‘Pretty Far Along’ in Development
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has said the three newly announced Star Wars films are “pretty far along” in development.
Speaking to IGN at Star Wars Celebration, Kennedy made clear that the new films from Dave Filoni, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and James Mangold aren’t just ideas being thrown around at Lucasfilm but have been in development for a considerable amount of time.
“We’re pretty far along,” Kennedy said. “These are things, as you can imagine, certainly looking at what Dave’s been doing with Ahsoka, that’ll be at least six, seven years building to what it is we’re going to be doing in a movie.
Star Wars Finally Looks Back to a Beloved Era as the Old Republic Returns to Canon
Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the most beloved eras in the extended universe, but it has been left largely untouched by Disney’s movies and television shows. That may be about to change, though, if a timeline shown during Star Wars Celebration is anything to go by.
Shortly before announcing several new Star Wars movies, LucasFilm studio head Kathleen Kennedy took the stage to share her vision for what Star Wars will look like in theaters.
That means “broadening the timeline,” Kennedy says, as an image appeared highlighting seven major eras, which includes The Old Republic.
Dave Filoni on Whether His Star Wars Movie Is Mandalorian Finale: ‘The Next Logical Step’
LucasFilm announced a new film by Dave Filoni, which many expect to be a grand finale for The Mandalorian. But will it? The answer is complicated.
Speaking with IGN in a new interview, Filoni said he thinks of the period where the movie is set as less of a “Mandalorian era” and more of a “New Republic period.”
“I don’t know if I’d call it [a finale]. I think of the time period now as the New Republic time period, and it’s something that has existed long before we were ever making the Mandalorian.
“The idea that after Return of the Jedi there was a New Republic, and that the heroes still had to defend that Republic from the remnant Empire is a very old idea that we brought into the first season of the Mandalorian. Because it’s what was always there.”
Ahsoka Gets Release Window and Trailer, Season 2 Teased
Star Wars: Ahsoka will officially be released on Disney+ in August 2023, and Star Wars Celebration released the official trailer for the much-anticipated series. Furthermore, a second season was hinted at.
“If this does well, maybe we’ll get a second season,” said star Rosario Dawson. “It’s up to y’all. I’m ready if you are.”
The trailer was as action-packed as you’d expect and also saw the return of Star Wars: Rebels characters including Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and Chopper. Mon Mothma was also shown.
While we didn’t get to see him in full, we did get our first glimpse of live-action Grand Admiral Thrawn. “I started hearing whispers about Thrawn’s return,” Ahsoka said. “as heir to the Empire.”
Rosario Dawson Teases the Search for Thrawn in Ahsoka
Speaking of the devil, one of the major plotlines of the live-action Ahsoka series will be the titular character’s hunt for Thrawn and star Rosario Dawson has teased what that journey might be.
During a dedicated Ahsoka panel, Dawson talked about the search and what’s driving Ahsoka so strongly in it. “Though she is not a Jedi, she has so much of that at heart for her. She’s driven by trying to do good,” Dawson said during the panel. “She sees a threat other people aren’t seeing.”
Thrawn is one of the most beloved Star Wars characters in the extended universe, and though he appeared in Rebels, this will arguably be his first appearance in a mainstream Star Wars show, and definitely his first in live-action.
Grand Admiral Thrawn Will Be Played by Rebels’ Lars Mikkelsen
Lucasfilm has finally revealed that Lars Mikkelsen will be playing the live-action version of Grand Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars: Ahsoka, the same actor who voiced the villain in Star Wars Rebels.
The arrival of Thrawn in live-action has been something fans have been waiting a very long time to see, and Star Wars Celebration 2023 finally gave them the answer as to who will be bringing the villain to life.
As far as we know so far, this is the only Rebels actor to make the jump to live-action, with other characters Hera Syndulla now being played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Sabine Wren being played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead Playing Live-Action Version of Beloved Star Wars Rebels Character in Ahsoka
Mary Elizabeth Winstead has finally revealed her role in Ahsoka, confirming she will play the live-action version of beloved Rebels character Hera Syndulla.
Winstead was also briefly shown in her full costume as Twi’lek, which can be viewed in the tweet below. We’ve known since May last year that Winstead would be joining the cast, though didn’t know who she’d be playing until now.
It does make sense, however, as fellow Rebels character Ezra Bridger was confirmed to be appearing in the show, played by Eman Esfandi.
Ahsoka Cast Explains How They Brought Beloved Rebels Characters to Live-Action
When Ahsoka arrives on Disney+ in August 2023, it will come complete with many character fans of the galaxy far, far away loved from Star Wars Rebels, including Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, and, obviously, Ahsoka Tano.
These characters originated in animation with different actresses and are now being brought to life in live-action by Mary Elizabeth-Winstead, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, and Rosario Dawson, respectively.
IGN had the chance to speak to all three of the actresses at Star Wars Celebration 2023, and they shared with us how they are bringing their characters to life in live-action.
Ahsoka Star Rosario Dawson Trained 14 Hours a Week to Recreate Animated Show Stunts
Ahsoka star Rosario Dawson trained for 14 hours a week to recreate the acrobatic combat style and stunts performed by the titular character in The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series.
Speaking to IGN at Star Wars Celebration, Dawson explained the challenges of taking a character that had once only existed in animated shows and bringing them to the live-action universe.
“I think there’s definitely difficulties there, even just for the entire stunt team watching the animation, because we’d be working off of just the most amazing feats that someone could draw or imagine,” she told IGN. “And then it was like, how do we actualize that in real life? And so the team of it was just really remarkable.”
Mon Mothma Actress Reacts to Ahsoka Trailer Appearance
Mon Mothma actress Genevieve O’Reilly sat down with IGN at Star Wars Celebration 2023 to discuss not only her exciting appearance in the Ahsoka trailer, but also how her character has grown through hardships in Andor’s first season.
Starting off with Ahsoka, we catch a glimpse of Mon Mothma in a hologram as Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka talks about the whispers of the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Mon Mothma has been a part of Star Wars since Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and now she’ll get a chance to stand in the spotlight once more and O’Reilly couldn’t be happier.