Surprise 'Star Wars' Return: Ahmed Best Shocks Fans with a Jedi Role in 'The Mandalorian'

Zack Sharf Digital News Director One of the biggest announcements to emerge out of Star Wars Celebration was the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey in a new movie that will follow the events of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” which concluded the most recent Skywalker trilogy in 2019. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”) is directing the still-untitled Rey movie from a script by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”). Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said at the fan convention that Ridley’s new “Star Wars” movie will follow Rey as she builds a new Jedi Order, but the executive teased a bit more about the plot in an interview with IGN: “Star Wars” fans will pick up with Rey well over a decade after “The Rise of Skywalker.”

Star Wars Celebration is in full swing in London. Yesterday, we got some big updates about new films from James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and Daisy Ridley‘s return as Rey for the upcoming movie helmed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms.

David Tennant and Lars Mikkelsen have joined Lucasfilm’s upcoming Ahsoka series.

So many stars stepped out for the 2023 Star Wars Celebration!

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer The past, present and future of Star Wars was on ample display on Friday at the Star Wars Celebration fan convention, as Lucasfilm unveiled the most robust look yet at the company’s plans for the hallowed franchise. As studio chief Kathleen Kennedy revealed three new feature films and first looks at four upcoming TV series, Lucasfilm made clear it aims to test just how far it can stretch the Star Wars galaxy: creatively, logistically and even historically. Starting with “The Phantom Menace” and concluding with “The Rise of Skywalker,” the previous nine “Star Wars” movies have all taken place within a roughly 70-year timeline, straddling the climactic Battle of Yavin in “A New Hope” that has served as the official fulcrum point for the franchise for six decades. Every live-action and animated spinoff TV series has unfolded within that timeframe, including the shows launched on Disney+: “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Andor,” “The Bad Batch” and the upcoming shows “Ahsoka” and “Skeleton Crew.” (“Visions,” an animated anthology series launched in 2021, exists outside of Star Wars canon.)

Earlier today at the Star Wars Celebration in London, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy announced three upcoming “Star Wars” films: one from Dave Filoni, one from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and another from James Mangold. Filoni’s film wraps up several storylines from Disney+ shows, while Obaid-Chinoy’s follows up on Daisy Ridley‘s Rey as she builds a new Jedi Order.

While many fans are still waiting to see Lucasfilm develop live-action projects set during The Old Republic that explores things like the Sith Empire (long before the Rule of Two) and origins of the Jedi Order, there was a bit of a compromise with the publishing side creating The High Republic setting. It takes place between the Skywalker Saga and The Old Republic.

A while back there had been rumblings that Lucasfilm was looking to work with “Logan” director James Mangold on a possible film focused on Boba Fett, and while that ultimately never happened and he ended up tackling “Indiana Jones” for the studio instead with “Indiana Jones & The Dial of Destiny,” he’s officially joining the “Star Wars” franchise.

Disney+ has unveiled the first teaser trailer for the latest Star Wars spinoff series!

Recent reports from earlier in the year had revealed that the “Star Wars” film produced by Marvel Studios‘ Kevin Feige with Michael Waldron (“Loki,” “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness“) attached to write and director Patty Jenkins’ (“Wonder Woman“) own movie “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron” have been shelved for the foreseeable future.

While Lucasfilm was able to give some updates about a range of previously announced “Star Wars” projects at Star Wars Celebration this weekend in London, they’ve now added some new things into the mix as well. READ MORE: Shawn Levy To Direct A ‘Star Wars’ Film After His Work On ‘Deadpool 3’ & ‘Stranger Things’ One of the big feature film announcements made this morning included Dave Filoni being set to make his film debut with a new project set in the Mandoverse.

While a lot of the “Star Wars” television projects have been entry points to bring back established characters from canon to the small-screen or live-action, it’s also been exciting to see Lucasfilm developing a handful of possible original projects with “The Acolyte” and “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” giving room for creatives to develop their own corners of the universe. “Skeleton Crew” had been pitched to Lucasfilm as a take on the beloved Richard Donner-directed 80s adventure film “The Goonies,” but set within the “Star Wars” franchise giving the impression we’ll be seeing the show focus on space pirates that recently got highlighted on this season of “The Mandalorian.” READ MORE: ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’: David Lowery Directs An Episode Of The Upcoming ‘Star Wars’ Disney+ Series Jude Law (“Captain Marvel“) is leading the project and will be surrounded by a group of young actors, said to be around 10 years old (not all of those characters are expected to be human).

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” got its first look out of London’s Star Wars Celebration convention. The series, which focuses on a group of kids and is said to evoke classic Amblin films, stars Jude Law, who introduced his young castmates at the Celebration, including Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, and Robert Timothy Smith. The first footage from the series was also shown, including shots of the children on speeders, in school, on spaceships and a tease of a familiar villain from “The Mandalorian.” The clip ended with a first look at Law as a Jedi. The “Star Wars” spinoff was first announced at the 2022 Star Wars Celebration, held in Anaheim, Calif. Details are scarce for the show, other than the following description: “The show takes place during the post–’Return of the Jedi’ reconstruction that follows the fall of the Empire, the same as ‘The Mandalorian,’ but its plot remains a secret. It’s created and executive-produced by director Jon Watts and writer Chris Ford, who made ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ for Marvel. A casting notice was called for four children, around 11 to 12 years old. Inside Lucasfilm, the show is being described as a galactic version of classic Amblin coming-of-age adventure films of the ’80s.”

Lizzo officially exists within the Star Wars universe, and she couldn’t be happier about it.

The Mandalorian fans have been left baffled by the cameos of Jack Black and Lizzo in the latest episode of the Star Wars spin-off series.Released on Disney+ on Wednesday (April 5), the episode ‘Chapter 22: Guns for Hire’ saw the pair star as an eccentric couple.The pop singer and School Of Rock star appeared as The Duchess and Captain Bombardier respectively, two characters that Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Grogu and Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) encounter on their travels.The episode also featured Back To The Future star Christopher Lloyd, who played Commissioner Helgait.However, it was Black and Lizzo’s involvement that drew the biggest reaction from Star Wars fans, with many highlighting silliness of their scenes together.“What are Jack Black and Lizzo doing here?” tweeted one person alongside a skull emoji. While another wrote: “What is The Mandalorian even about anymore?”What is THE MANDALORIAN even about anymore https://t.co/1y4jQEb9b1— Zoë Rose Bryant (@ZoeRoseBryant) April 5, 2023Referring to a scene in which Lizzo’s character awards Grogu with a knighthood, another person tweeted: “Lizzo just knighted Baby Yoda aka Grogu.

Meet the two newest members of the Star Wars universe.

While “Solo: A Star Wars Story” isn’t one of the premier films in the franchise, most people can agree that Donald Glover’s performance as a young Lando Calrissian is pretty great. And there have been rumors about more Glover in the galaxy far, far away, but no confirmation that it’ll happen.

Jordan Moreau After directing the medieval fantasy film “The Green Knight” and the upcoming Disney remake “Peter Pan and Wendy,” filmmaker David Lowery is going to a galaxy far, far away. He is one of the directors on board for “Skeleton Crew,” the upcoming “Star Wars” series on Disney+ starring Jude Law, Variety has confirmed. Lowery joins “Skeleton Crew” alongside directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the recent Oscar winners for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” “Skeleton Crew” stars Jude Law and is created by Jon Watts, who directed all three of Tom Holland’s “Spider-Man” movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While “Skeleton Crew” story details are still under wraps, the Disney+ series will take place in the New Republic era, following the events of 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.” “The Mandalorian” team of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni serve as executive producers.

Last week, news broke that the Daniels, fresh off their victorious Oscars night for “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” would direct some episodes for the upcoming “Star Wars” Disney+ series “Skeleton Crew.” Now that duo is no longer the only A24-affiliated directors on that, ahem, crew. One Take News reports that David Lowery, who’s done three movies with A24, will direct an episode of the series.

 universe in a brand new role. In the latest season of Disney+'s , the actor appears in the Carl Weathers-directed fourth episode titled, «The Foundling.» Best plays Jedi Knight Kelleran Beq, aka the Sabered Hand, who shows up in the episode during a flashback to the events of . Kelleran appears just in time to rescue a young Grogu from falling to his death at the hands of clone troopers after the Sith kicked off Order 66, a top-secret order identifying all Jedi as traitors to the Galactic Republic and subject to execution by the Grand Army of the Republic.Armed with two lightsabers, Kelleran dispatches the troopers and escapes with Grogu to his ship where they blast out of Coruscant into hyperspace.