Well, well, well. How Star Wars has changed…

It’s no secret that The Walt Disney Company’s Star Wars movies are not universally liked. The divisive sequel trilogy that began in 2015 and ended four years later in 2019 caused such a rift in the fandom that it took Pedro Pascal and a little green child to mend the fissure. Despite the polarizing nature of Disney’s take on the Star Wars galaxy, the House of Mouse is moving forward with a handful of new films, and one will bring audiences back to the post-Galactic Empire and First Order eras, with Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker and the New Jedi Order.
Daisy Ridley was one of the Star Wars franchise’s new stars. Along with the likes of John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), and Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Ridley first arrived as Rey in the galaxy far, far away in J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars: Episode IV — The Force Awakens (2015), before starring in Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017) from director Rian Johnson, and Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019), also by Abrams.

The divisiveness of The Rise of Skywalker and Lucasfilm’s attempt at course-correcting the franchise following the backlash from The Last Jedi led to a loss in reliability, and in the five years since the 2019 movie, no new film has been released on the big screen. A number of projects, like Kevin Feige’s and Patty Jenkins’ are seemingly dead, while others, like Taika Waititi’s, hang in limbo.
However, at the 2023 Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced three new feature films. One from James Mangold exploring the origins of the Force itself. Another deals with the Mando-Verse and the battle against Grand Admiral Thrawn in the New Republic Era, with Dave Filoni directing. The final project comes from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and will star Daisy Ridley as the franchise’s new Jedi Master as she rebuilds the Jedi Order.

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Loosely titled Star Wars: New Jedi Order, the film is being kept tightly under wraps. Recently, Ridley told Deadline that new characters would be present in this upcoming venture but that she doesn’t know about familiar faces. In a separate interview, Ridley told Den of Geek that her Jedi Master will be different from the one that taught Rey in the sequel trilogy.
When asked if her Jedi Master is different from Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Ridley said, “I would say, from what I understand, yes. Short answer.” The portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the sequel trilogy was another contentious part of Disney films, and it seems the Mouse House is moving past the iconic Jedi character to establish a new legacy hero for the franchise, effectively replacing Hamill’s character as Master in this new era.

Mark Hamill first appeared as Tatooine farmboy turned Jedi Master in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (1977), and after starring in the other two original trilogy movies (Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983)), went on to appear in the sequel trilogy, as well as make surprise appearances through deep fake technology in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett on Disney+.
Since the finale of the sequel trilogy, Disney has been back peddling through the franchise to plant the seeds of what fans encountered in the last third of The Rise of Skywalker. With Palpatine back and through the use of cloning, media like the canon comics and TV shows like The Bad Batch have been sewing seeds retroactively in order to satisfy their conclusion.

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Before Daisy Ridley returns as Rey Skywalker, the British actress will appear in Magpie (2024), Young Woman and the Sea (2024), Cleaner (TBD), and We Bury the Dead (TBD).
As for the Star Wars franchise, next to release on the big screen will be The Mandalorian & Grogu. The surprise announcement was made at the end of last year and will see Jon Favreau return to the characters he created to bring a whole new Star Wars story to audiences.
Are you looking forward to seeing Luke Skywalker’s replacement teach the new Jedi Order? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!