When Star Wars creator George Lucas sold his space opera franchise to The Walt Disney Company in 2012, Star Wars fans weren’t sure exactly what would happen to beloved characters like Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and Han Solo (Harrison Ford).

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Disney’s Star Wars sequel trilogy proved to be divisive, with many moviegoers unhappy with the fates of the original trilogy’s core trio and the general lack of direction the three films — Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015), Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017), and Episode IX – The Rise of Skwyalker (2019) — seemed to have.
American Graffiti (1973) director Lucas has publicly acknowledged that he expected to have more say in the Star Wars sequels — which were directed by JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson, and Abrams again — and in the development of new characters like Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).

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Lucas has also shared that he had already begun writing his sequel trilogy, which would have seen Princess Leia emerge as the “Chosen One” and had Darth Maul’s apprentice, Darth Talon, as its villain.
Rumors of Lucas’s official return to the Star Wars universe have swirled online in recent years. These intensified after he was seen on the set of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s hit Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, and IMDb included his name on the writing credits for the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) prequel show, Andor (2022).

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A new report indicates that Lucas may be bankrolling an upcoming Star Wars trilogy, effectively taking back much of the creative control he lost when sitting Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy was in charge of the Star Wars galaxy.
It is important to note that this information remains entirely unconfirmed by either The Walt Disney Company or Lucasfilm. Furthermore, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek recently announced that Kennedy’s tenure with Disney would continue, at least for the foreseeable future.

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However, given Lucas’s comments about desiring “more say” in the sequels and his involvement in The Mandalorian, it would not be shocking to see at least some truth to this new rumor.
The report did not indicate the plot of the purported new Star Wars trilogy.

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In addition to nearly a dozen Star Wars shows currently in development for the Disney+ streaming platform, several confirmed Star Wars feature films are coming down the pipeline. Patty Jenkins’s Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (2023) is set to be the next movie installment in the Star Wars story.

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In addition, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is working on a project with Loki writer Michael Waldron, while Thor franchise director Taika Waititi is already scouting filming locations for his upcoming Star Wars movie.
The only known trilogy in the works is Rian Johnson’s. Still, it is unknown whether Lucas’s reported project would be connected to an existing project or be entirely different.

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For now, you can catch up on Lucas’s six Skywalker Saga films from the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy — Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) — on Disney+ anytime.

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What do you think? Do you expect science fiction guru George Lucas’s return to the Star Wars franchise to be imminent?