Yahoo News Star Wars might have revived the Skywalker Saga with new Rey movie
Star Wars always delivers major announcements at Star Wars Celebration and as exciting as Lars Mikkelsen returning as Thrawn, Andor season two's release date and Ahsoka's first trailer were, there was definitely one announcement that stood out over all others.
We've waited for a while for any concrete news of Star Wars returning to the big screen and we got not one, not two, but three movies confirmed to be in the works. And one of those movies is bringing back Daisy Ridley's Rey in the biggest surprise of the weekend.
The three movies will take place during three distinct time periods. James Mangold's movie will head back to the dawn of the Jedi, while Dave Filoni will bring together the various storylines from The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and other Disney+ series.
Perhaps the most intriguing (and unexpected) is Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's movie, written by Peaky Blinders boss Steven Knight, which will take place around 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker. It will see Rey return as she attempts to build a new Jedi Order.
"We're post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray. There's a lot of discussion around, 'Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What's the state of the galaxy?'," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told IGN.
"[Rey is] attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order, based on the books, based on what she promised Luke, so that's where we're going."
That's about all we know so far about the new movie, but there is already some confusion about it. The Rise of Skywalker was said to be the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, yet this new movie might suggest that the saga was just taking a little nap.
At the core of the Skywalker Saga was, of course, the Skywalker family and mainly Luke, Leia and their dear old dad Anakin, aka Darth Vader. They're all now technically out of the picture, although Luke did appear as a Force ghost to Rey in The Rise of Skywalker.
And, sure, Rey is technically a Palpatine, but the divisive – and supposedly final – outing of the Skywalker Saga saw her adopt the Skywalker name. So Rey returning means the new movie will still be about a Skywalker, like all other movies of the Skywalker Saga, unless she's had a change of heart.
Right now, it can't help feeling like Star Wars has taken a step back by moving forwards. As shown by Mangold's movie, the franchise can literally go anywhere in the timeline for a new movie or, as the Disney+ shows have proved, explore the same era as the Skywalker Saga without any direct connection to those characters.
By setting the new movie relatively soon after the Skywalker Saga had wrapped up, it's inevitable that there will be canon complications. Fans will ask for the likes of Finn and Poe if John Boyega and Oscar Isaac don't return, while they'll expect Force ghosts from Luke and potentially even Kylo Ren/Ben Solo.
It'll feel like a continuation of the Skywalker Saga rather than its own thing. Heading 100 years (or more) into the future would have allowed exploration of the impact of the sequel trilogy without being directly connected, even if it would mean the sequel trilogy stars wouldn't return.
Nostalgia is a powerful thing in cinema right now, so it does make sense that Lucasfilm don't want to leave the Skywalker Saga behind. But whether they needed to revive it so soon after it supposedly ended remains to be seen.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the entire Skywalker Saga is available on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K now, as well as on Disney+.
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