Finally, a Jedi-focused show

Star Wars has a bright future. I couldn’t have said that a week ago.

But then Star Wars Celebration happened, and Kathleen Kennedy (LucasFilm President) gave me new reasons to hope. I suppose we should talk about the Ahsoka trailer first. The show will debut in August. Here’s the thing; I like Jedi. Many fans prefer stories that emphasize the seedy underbelly of the Star Wars galaxy, hence the popularity of Andor.

They want to see the espionage and the political struggles. But I watch Star Wars for the sci-fi fantasy. I want to see space wizards twirling through the air like ballerinas, throwing force lightning, and pulling ships out of the sky.

And it looks like Ahsoka will give me everything I desire. After regaling us with stories about bounty hunters bringing justice to lawless lands, former crime bosses attempting to reclaim what they lost, and tortured spies looking for a just cause, Disney has finally decided to gift us a Jedi-focused show.

Did you notice the tone? It was so much darker than I expected. And the orchestral theme was incredible. Naturally, Ahsoka has a lot of heavy lifting to do. Ahsoka Tano is not a new character. Many of you saw her for the first time in The Mandalorian Season 2, but she actually made her first appearance in The Clone Wars, an animated series.

Dave Filoni spent years and multiple seasons turning her into one of the most important characters in Star Wars. Admittedly, she is a little controversial. Some people think Filoni is obsessed with Ahsoka, which is why she occasionally feels overexposed.

Here’s the problem. Most of the characters you saw in the Ahsoka trailer came from the animated Star Wars series. If you have seen Star Wars: Rebels, you are already intimately familiar with Grand Admiral Thrawn and Sabine.

But some of us never watched Rebels, let alone The Clone Wars. If you think Ahsoka intends to retell the stories from the animated shows, think again.

It is a sequel to Star Wars: Rebels. But how can they follow up on the stories from Rebels without confusing casual audiences? This is where problems arise. But I assume Filoni considered that challenge and identified an adequate solution.

We know now that LucasFilm plans to interconnect all the Disney+ Star Wars shows, including The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, and Skeleton Crew, before closing out this entire saga via an Avengers-style live- action film, which has me excited.

James Mangold will join Filoni to oversee another film, one that tells the story of the first Jedi to wield the Force. The only questionable announcement to emerge from Star Wars Celebration is Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s movie, which is a sequel to The Rise of Skywalker.

The film will follow Daisy Ridley’s Rey as she attempts to rebuild the New Jedi order fifteen years later. Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) will write the script. The internet is going to explode. Many Star Wars fans hate the Daisy Ridley trilogy with a
passion.

And after the critical backlash against The Rise of Skywalker, most of us expected Disney to bury those movies; to act like they did not exist.

A sequel to The Rise of Skywalker is as unexpected as they come. Also, Rey is incredibly controversial. Some people act like she killed their loved ones. She fills them with unbridled rage, which is odd.

I don’t know why LucasFilm has decided to ignite that fire. But for now, I’ll hope for the best. It honestly feels like Star Wars is finally getting back on track, even though the latest season of The Mandalorian is a snore-fest.

katmic200@gmail.com