While it would be unfair to dismiss D23 as a disappointment, the event didn't quite manage to deliver what many fans hoped for. That was particularly the case with the Star Wars franchise, as Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy once again failed to share any significant updates on this Galaxy Far, Far Away's big screen future.
On the plus side, we did get some small screen updates, including a few minor details about Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts is taking charge of the Disney+ series, but how did he make the leap from the MCU to Star Wars?
Addressing fans on stage this past Saturday, executive producer Jon Favreau (The Mandalorian) recalled a conversation with Watts on the set of the latest Spider-Man movie that led to him being tapped to make Skeleton Crew. Favreau plays Happy Hogan in the web-spinner's franchise, and quickly realised the filmmaker would be a perfect fit for this corner of Star Wars storytelling.
"I’ve been lucky enough to be an actor in the three latest Spider-Man films," he started. "Kevin Feige’s back there going, ’Yeah, [the audience] likes Spider-Man. They like Spider-Man."
"But I was working with Jon Watts and I happened to mention to him the last time I was there that I’m working on [The Mandalorian], and how much fun it is, and would he ever want to collaborate, thinking maybe he might direct an episode or something. And he said, 'Oh, no, no. We have a really fully-formed idea for what we want to do.'"
While a first look at Jude Law in the series was revealed at D23, all Watts said about Skeleton Crew is that "It’s a show about a group of kids who get lost in the Star Wars Galaxy." We already knew that, of course, but can't wait to see what he delivers here, especially as the filmmaker chose the series over Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four reboot.
Are you excited to see what Watts does with this post-Return of the Jedi TV show?