There is nothing better as a Star Wars fan than to know a new Star Wars something is on the way. So lately, we have been getting our fill of news on upcoming shows and movies. The most recent has been the announcement of the Mandalorian and Grogu movie, along with Ahsoka season 2 and Mandalorian season 4.
However, we also have to be cautious with our excitement. There have been a lot of announcements of movies to be made over the last few years, but they never made it past the announcement stage. Remember the Kevin Feige and Patty Jenkins movie announcements? Of course, we do. Many of us fans were excited to think that the guy responsible for bringing some direction to the MCU would get a crack at the galaxy far, far away. But both of the movies from Feige and Jenkins never saw the light of day after the announcements were made.
Of course, as Benjamin Franklin once said,” Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” But these announcements are pretty solid. The difference between the movies that Feige and Jenkins were tied to is that they were made during the first Lucasfilm regime change, where although Kathleen Kennedy was defacto in charge, there was not really anyone steering the ship. We could have a whole discussion here about the sequel trilogy and the issues around the structure and storytelling between JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson, but that’s a discussion for another article.
Welcome in Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, or as I prefer to call them, The Holy Filoni (hallowed be thy name) and his favorite Favreau. Together, they have brought calmness and direction to the Star Wars universe. Starting with the Mandalorian, they introduced new characters and stories into the lore that would begin to cement the footing of the storytelling we saw moving forward. They gracefully brought characters such as Ahsoka into the fold during season 2 of The Mandalorian and eventually into her own show alongside the rest of the cast of Star Wars Rebels.
Dave Filoni is now the Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm and is in charge of story continuity. For those frothing at the mouth, Kathleen Kennedy is still at Lucasfilm. She’s not going anywhere anytime soon. With the Holy Filoni in creative control, though, we have one vision for the stories, and they all have to meet somewhere. And that's the thing with a Filoni story. He will build the groundwork. The foundation will be solid. But you will have to give him the grace and allowance of time to make it all come to fruition. This is not Burger King; you cannot have it your way.
With the announcement of the Mando movie, we had a subtle announcement assuring us of season 2 for Ahsoka and the continuation of the Mandalorian story with its own season 4. This movie is apparently titled “Mandalorian and Grogu” because “Mandalorian and Me” was already taken? Here’s to hoping that they come up with a better name for this movie before it's released in theaters.
So why is it important to include Ahsoka season 2 and Mandalorian season 4 in this announcement? For one, we have A LOT of story to build to get to the rumored Mando-Verse movie where the good guys battle Grand Admiral Thrawn and what's left of the Empire after the fall of Emperor Palpatine.
At the conclusion of Ahsoka Season 1 and Mando Season 3, here is where we stand.
We have Ahsoka and Sabine still on Peridea in Ahsoka, while Ezra is now with the New Republic. We have Bo Katan trying to figure out how to lead the tribes of Mandalore against what’s left of Moff Gideon's armies and his clones (I'm sure the clones in the tubes we saw will come up later). We have Hera Syndulla frustrated and moving away from the New Republic, perhaps. We have Zeb off training fighter pilots and yet to make an appearance other than a cameo at the end of the last Mandalorian season. We have Grand Admiral Thrawn returning to the original galaxy and needing to reestablish himself, not to mention that he made an agreement with Nightsisters … what did he agree to? Only time will be able to flush out of these stories.
We will need the seasons of Ahsoka and the Mandalorian, and even the poorly named Grogu and Me movie to establish the baseline for the Mando-Verse movie that moves us into and ties into the sequel trilogy while at the same time setting up for the upcoming Rey Jedi Order movie and others.
How other shows such as Skeleton Crew, The Acolyte, and the James Mangold movie all fit in is unclear. We can look forward to them eagerly to see where and how they fit into the established Canon.
Star Wars fans need to hold on tight. The next few years should have a lot of content thrown our way. We should have Star Wars up to the brim of the cup. And as long as the stories are good and make sense, as they have since the Holy Filoni has been in charge, then we should be ok.
And before you complain about season 3 of The Mandalorian, wait to see what season 3 set up for both Ahsoka in seasons 1 and 2, but then also season 4 in The Mandalorian. Filoni plays the long game in his story writing style. For an example of this, please see Star Wars Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. In both Clone Wars and Rebels, we had to patiently wait and get through season 1 to see the story start to take shape and how it tied into other Star Wars properties. Ahsoka and The Mandalorian are no different.
The future of Star Wars is bright. So bright that the Holy Filoni wears a wide-brim hat.
