Easter weekend will likely lead to some big announcements for Star Wars. In London, the Star Wars Celebration three-day convention will no doubt see several new projects announced, and potentially trailers for upcoming Disney Plus projects like Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte.
Indications from Variety are that Disney and Lucasfilm are keen to unveil something big, which is presumed to be the next theatrical Star Wars release. But, as fans have come to expect, there’s been a mild sense of chaos behind the scenes, with Damon Lindelof and writer Justin Britt-Gibson dropping out days after submitting a script.
However, it already seems that Lucasfilm has tapped an impressive replacement.
‘Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight signs up to write ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ sequel
We’re very curious as to what was so objectionable about Lindelof and Britt-Gibson’s script, though for now it’s the latest addition to the teetering pile of unproduced Star Wars projects. Even so, the project still has a director in Ms. Marvel‘s Sharmeed Obaid-Chinoy, and a fixed release date of December 19, 2025.
Variety revealed that Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is on board and working on a script. Knight is an experienced writer, responsible for the screenplays for impressive movies like Closed Circuit, Dirty Pretty Things, Locke and Eastern Promises. His writing philosophy seems roughly in line with Andor‘s Tony Gilroy, so we’re hopeful he can provide a similarly mature and thoughtful take on a galaxy far, far away.
As with any Star Wars movie announcement, we won’t start getting hyped until the movie is in theaters. Fans have been burnt many times on big announcements that come to nothing, so for now let’s keep our excitement restrained until we know Lucasfilm likes the script and is officially moving forward.
Ahmed Best expresses his heartfelt gratitude for his big ‘The Mandalorian’ comeback
We imagine Ahmed Best cracked open the champagne when he was cast in The Phantom Menace. Hype levels were off the charts for George Lucas’ long-awaited prequel, and Best had landed a key role as the movie’s comic relief, figuring he’d follow in the footsteps of Anthony Daniels and become a beloved fan icon.
Best’s dream turned into a nightmare soon after release, with Jar Jar Binks considered one of the worst things in the history of Star Wars. A few miserable years followed, with Best being abused by fans, receiving no support from Lucasfilm, and eventually revealing he even contemplated taking his own life.
So it’s heartwarming to see him make a surprise return as supremely badass Jedi Kelleran Beq in the latest episode of The Mandalorian, reprising his role from online game show Jedi Temple Challenge. Best posted a picture from the gym expressing his gratitude, and admitted it’s going to take some time to process:
“Gratitude! Good to be back. There is so much to say and share. It’s going to take a couple of days. But, for now, I’ll just say thank you to all that have held me up and made me better.”
We last saw Beq leaping into hyperspace with Grogu, so fingers crossed we see more of him in future flashbacks. In the meantime, we can raise a toast to Best. Sure, Jar Jar was awful, but there’s not an actor on Earth who could have made that character tolerable.
Fans still want resolution on the shocking ‘Solo’ post-credits scene
Jaws hit the floor at the ending of Solo: A Star Wars Story as, in the credits scene, Darth Maul was revealed to be the true leader of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. This was the first time The Phantom Menace villain had been seen in live-action since he was bisected by Obi-Wan, and though he’d since appeared in the CG shows, his resurrection was a huge surprise.
This was clearly setting up a Solo sequel, but after the movie underperformed at the box office, those plans were shelved. These days, Lucasfilm pretty much behaves like the movie never happened, but fans still want answers and are now calling for a Disney Plus show starring Ray Park as Maul and Emilia Clarke as Qi’ra.
Some still want this loose end resolved, though to be fair, just as many seem to consider it too late. After all, Darth Maul’s story was already conclusively resolved in Star Wars Rebels, and the comic books have revealed that by the time of the original trilogy, Qi’ra had assumed full control of the Crimson Dawn.
Beyond that, The Book of Boba Fett may indicate that Disney and Lucasfilm aren’t particularly eager to explore the drug-running, extortion, and slave-trading of a crime syndicate, with Fett’s tenure as Mos Espa’s crime boss being notably light on… crimes.
That said, Star Wars is always eager to provide answers to questions, so perhaps one day we’ll finally see Maul as a fearsome crime boss, and Solo will get some kind of narrative resolution.
That’s a wrap for today’s news, so here’s hoping we get some more indications on where The Mandalorian is going soon, and a long-awaited update on the many Star Wars Disney Plus shows due this year.
Published: Mar 23, 2023 10:00 pm