At Star Wars Celebration, we learned that Dave Filoni will orchestrate the escalating war between the Imperial Remnant and the fledgling New Republic in a new movie. Alongside producer Jon Favreau, they will bring together many of the threads of Disney+'s original series in a cinematic event.
Many fans have wondered if it's meant to serve as a conclusion to The Mandalorian-era of storytelling, and Filoni weighed in on whether that's the case during a recent interview with IGN.
"I don't know if I'd call it that as such," he responded when asked if the movie serves as a finale. "I think of the time period now, the New Republic time period, and it's something that has existed long before we were ever making 'The Mandalorian.'"
"The idea that after 'Return of the Jedi', there was a new republic and the heroes still had to defend that republic from the remnant empire, is a very old idea that we brought into the first season of 'The Mandalorian' because it's what was always there."
Favreau has made it clear he has no end in sight for The Mandalorian, so we shouldn't be surprised that the series is likely to continue after this untitled project.
If we had to hazard a guess, this Star Wars movie will primarily revolve around the battle against the "Heir to the Empire" Grand Admiral Thrawn. Serving as an Episode 6.5 of sorts, we're sure it will be an epic story that, rather than concluding this New Republic period of storytelling, simply sets the stage for even more stories.
After all, there's a huge gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens!
It's unclear when Filoni's movie will be released in theaters, though the project revolving around Daisy Ridley's Rey is expected to be up first and is currently eyeing a December 2025 release.