LucasFilm Panel Recap at Star Wars Celebration - 'The Mandalorian,' 'Obi-Wan Kenobi,' and More
Image courtesy of Disney.
The annual Star Wars Celebration convention kicked off in Anaheim, California today and hit the ground running with major announcements, teasers, and reveals. LucasFilm hosted their panel this morning and shed light on upcoming projects such as The Mandalorian Season 3, the fifth instalment of the Indiana Jones series, and the new STAR WARS series from Spider-Man director Jon Watts. Read below for all the exciting details, and check out our coverage on the Star Wars: Andor series that was also announced.
The panel kicked off with a nostalgic video that included an In Memoriam for beloved artists such as Carrie Fisher, Jeremy Bulloch, and Peter Mayhew. The beginning of the panel, moderated by actress Yvette Nicole Brown, kicked off with a live choir performing “Duel of the Fates” leading into actors Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen arriving on-stage in promotion of their new Disney+ series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, which begins streaming tomorrow, May 27th, 2022.
The duo were met to uproarious and continued applause, and both actors stated how happy they were to be back playing their characters and how much they had grown to love the fan-divisive prequels over the years. McGregor teased that fans will get to see Obi-Wan going to a “darker, more broken place” and that convention attendees would get the screen the first two episodes of the series later tonight ahead of its streaming debut. From there, the panel moved on to its coverage of the upcoming Star Wars: Andor series (again, covered in detail here) which is set as the prequel to the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Image courtesy of Disney.
Director Ron Howard then arrived on stage to discuss the new Willow series, a television adaptation of his film of the same name. Howard was joined on stage by screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan, who worked with Howard on Solo: A Star Wars Story, and had told him during filming how he had interest in expanding and continuing the story of WILLOW. Cast members old and new, including titular star Warwick Davis, eventually joined the filmmakers on stage and shared in the excitement of bringing the story back to life. A teaser was shown to the audience and it was announced that the series will debut on Disney+ on November 30th, 2022.
Directors Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni then hit the stage to tease some of their upcoming projects, such as the Rosario Dawson-led Ahsoka series and season three of The Mandalorian. Filoni states that he believes the Ahsoka series is “going great” and that they cannot be joined by Dawson as she is currently filming the series, which they announced is expected to debut in 2023. Actress Katee Sackhoff then arrived in announcement that she would be returning as Bo-Katan in season three of The Mandalorian. A teaser clip was then shown to the audience, which featured The Mandalorian (played by fan-favorite Pedro Pascal) going back to Mandlore “. . . so that I may be forgiven for my transgressions." The third season will also debut in 2023.
Image courtesy of Disney.
Next up was director Jon Watts, who has most recently received acclaim for directing all three films in the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man franchise. Watts was on stage to announce his new STAR WARS series that he created with fellow Spider-Man: Homecoming writer Christopher Ford, titled Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. The show will also debut in 2023 and will star Jude Law. It follows a group of four ten-year old kids who get lost in the STAR WARS universe. Watts emphasized that it is not a “kids show” despite starring child actors, and revealed that it will be set in the same time period as The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka.
Image courtesy of Disney.
Brown then returned to the stage to introduce legendary composer John Williams, who just recently turned ninety-years old. President of LucasFilm, Kathleen Kennedy, rhapsodized about Williams and his immeasurable contributions, telling the audience that, “John’s music has defined every character that we know.” Williams then conducted the brand-new theme to the OBI-WAN KENOBI series and then teased to the audience that he had something else for them that was unrelated to STAR WARS. Shortly after, he began conducting the theme to INDIANA JONES and was joined on-stage by star Harrison Ford. Following in Kennedy’s footsteps, Ford also gushed about Williams citing his warmth, generosity, and gentleness as a man. Ford also quipped about how Williams’ famous themes follow him around everywhere and that he doesn’t mind it, even in unique situations: “I told John backstage that music follows me everywhere I go and you know what, I'm happy about it. That music was playing in the operating room when I had my last colonoscopy. I passed!” Ford then announced that the fifth instalment of INDIANA JONES was nearly completed and that he is, “really proud of the movie we made.” The film, helmed by Logan director James Mangold, will debut on June 30th, 2023. The panel concluding with an impromptu (and three-months belated) singing of “Happy Birthday” to Williams from the audience.