The Top 5 Star Wars Announcements at D23

Following the mixed response to The Last Jedi and the relatively tepid reaction to Solo, Disney decided to take a step back and reevaluate its plans for future Star Wars movies. This change of heart was generally well-received, but that doesn’t mean that fans will be lacking in content, as multiple live-action and animated series set in a galaxy far, far away will be debuting and returning on the Disney+ streaming service in the coming months.

 

In fact, one of the biggest takeaways from this year’s D23 is how much amazing content is getting funneled into Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, and the Star Wars genre is no exception.   But whether it be a sure fire big screen blockbuster, revisiting long lost iconic characters or introducing an out-of-the-box reimagining, there seemed to be something to make every Star Wars fan happy.  Here are our top 5….

1. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Before we get to any of the Disney+ announcement from D23, we have to start with the most important trailer of all, which offers a new look at Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Rey has a red lightsaber, Darth Vader is back, and C-3PO might be evil — but keep in mind that virtually every trailer from this new trilogy has been purposely misleading. Nevertheless, Episode IX looks like it will be an exciting conclusion to the trilogy.

 

2.  The Mandalorian

With all of the streaming services already available, Disney might have a hard time convincing some consumers to shell out another $7 every month to watch their movies and shows. That said, they may have a trump card with The Mandalorian, which looks about as impressive as it possibly could in the first official trailer.

 

Jon Favreau’s pitch to Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy was for “a version of a show that took place after Return of the Jedi, after the revolution, after everybody’s done celebrating because the Empire is gone. And then chaos reigns because there’s no central government in the galaxy and so it degrades into a world where, like the old Samurai movies and the old Westerns, where the gunfighters are roaming and people are fighting for their own safety.”

 

3.  Star Wars: The Clone Wars

This prequel trilogy isn’t fondly remembered by most Star Wars fans, but it did provide the inspiration for The Clone Wars cartoon, which has become one of the more popular spinoff properties in franchise history. At D23, Kennedy announced that new episodes of The Clone Wars will debut on Disney+ on February 20th, 2020.

 

4.  Obi-Wan Kenobi Series on Disney+

The least surprising surprise of D23 was that Ewan McGregor is returning to play Obi-Wan Kenobi. The untitled series for Disney+ will take place eight years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, and we’ll finally get to see what exactly happened to the Jedi Master in the years before Luke Skywalker found him on Tatooine. Scripts for the shows have already been written, and the crew plans to begin shooting the show next year.

 

5.  Cassian Andor Series on Disney+

We already knew Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk would be reprising their roles as Cassian Andor and K-2SO from Rogue One, but we finally got to see the two actors on stage together at D23. Unfortunately, we didn’t really learn anything else about the show itself, but at least the actors seem to be getting along!

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