The cinematic side of Star Wars has been a bit of a mess for a while now. Since the release of Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, there have been numerous Star Wars films that have entered development and subsequently fallen apart. The Rogue Squadron film that Patty Jenkins was set to direct has been canceled, as has the trilogy of films from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Beyond that, projects like Taika Waititi’s movie, a film produced by Marvel Studio’s Kevin Feige and written by Michael Waldron, a trilogy from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson and more have fallen by the wayside and are unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Even before all that, though, the Star Wars films under Disney were in a tough spot. The sequel trilogy was a mixed bag that divided the fan base and the standalone Han Solo movie was a financial disaster (even if the movie itself wasn’t that bad). The only real, unwavering success was 2016’s Rogue One, which has since spawned the acclaimed prequel series Andor.
The sequel trilogy was far from what Star Wars fans had always dreamed that Episodes VII, VIII, and IX would be. While there are definitely great things to come out of those films, many fans were disappointed that the series never really explored the aftermath of the original trilogy in detail on film. By the time the story of Episode VII – The Force Awakens begins, it has been 30 years since the end of Return of the Jedi, and the whole galaxy seems to have been completely reset. Well, with Dave Filoni’s newly announced Star Wars film, fans could finally get the solid and direct follow-up to Return of the Jedi that they’ve always wanted. Here’s how:
The Aftermath of Return of the Jedi
While Filoni’s Star Wars film will not be an episodic chapter of the Skywalker Saga, it can be expected that it will pick up and build upon a lot of the same characters and story threads. The film is being described as the culmination of all Filoni’s work, especially the live-action shows set within the "Mandoverse” corner of the galaxy, which is the collection of series that are set post-Return of the Jedi.
This includes The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, the upcoming Skeleton Crew and whatever else should come from that era before the release of Filoni’s film. The Mandoverse shows have already done an excellent job of detailing the state of the Star Wars galaxy after the original trilogy, as they’ve depicted the foundations of the New Republic, the establishment of Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy, the quiet movements of the Imperial remnants and more.
It's safe to assume that, as Filoni’s live-action shows have established all of this groundwork, all of these things will be key factors within his new film. The 30-year gap between The Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens leaves a lot of open questions and room to work with.
Things were not just smooth sailing for the galaxy’s heroes during that period. Filoni has been establishing that in his live-action series, and will likely be diving more directly into it with this new live-action film. The New Republic will be coming into direct conflict with the remnants of the Empire that still exist in the galaxy, led by figures such as Moff Gideon and Grand Admiral Thrawn.
The Return of Luke, Leia and Han?
It has not been revealed who the main characters of Filoni’s film will be, but there are a few educated guesses that fans can make. Considering the movie is being pitched as a finale of sorts to all of the Mandoverse shows on Disney+, it can be assumed that Din Djarin, Ahsoka Tano, and their adjacent characters will be central to the story. However, the biggest question mark surrounding the film is if and how it will incorporate the characters of Luke, Leia, and Han. While there’s always a possibility that the heroes of the original trilogy will not be in the film, that seems unlikely for a number of reasons.
Firstly, is the fact that Luke has already been brought into the Mandoverse on two occasions; those being the second season finale of The Mandalorian and a crossover episode of The Book of Boba Fett. Considering Luke has already been established as a key player in that manner, it would be strange if the character didn't factor into this film whatsoever.
On top of that, Filoni is known for providing Star Wars lovers with the kind of fan service they love, both because it generates a lot of conversation and because Filoni himself is a die-hard Star Wars fan that wants to see those exciting things happen. So, a proper reunion of Luke, Leia, and Han in this film seems somewhat inevitable.
What makes this kind of fan-service work with Filoni’s Star Wars is that it (almost) always makes sense within the confines of the story being told. That would certainly be the case with bringing Luke, Leia and Han into this film. If there was some kind of massive threat to the galaxy, such as, say, an emerging remnant of the Empire led by Grand Admiral Thrawn, it’s hard to imagine that the galaxy’s biggest heroes would not become involved with the fight against it.
Bringing the core Star Wars trio back for this film (even just in supporting roles) would make sense within the overall story, and it would drive immense interest in the movie from both fans and casual viewers. It’s hard to imagine Lucasfilm not going down that road.
Thrawn and Heir to the Empire
While no real plot details about Filoni’s film have been revealed, it’s pretty easy at this point to see that it will be some sort of adaptation of the Heir to the Empire novel and the Thrawn Trilogy that it exists within. That book and its two sequels were published in the early ‘90s, and they essentially served as the written versions of Star Wars: Episodes VII, VIII and IX before the movies were produced.
That trilogy is set about five years after The Return of the Jedi, which coincidentally is the same period that The Mandalorian and its related shows occupy, and the books depict a war between the New Republic and a collection of remnant Imperial forces led by Grand Admiral Thrawn. The trilogy was de-canonized when Disney bought Lucasfilm in the early 2010s, but the books are still considered to be some of the best and most influential Star Wars stories ever created.
The overall narratives and plot threads of nearly all of Filoni’s Star Wars shows have pointed toward an adaptation of Heir to the Empire for a while now. The central villain, Thrawn, was introduced in Filoni's animated Star Wars Rebels series way back in 2016. The character was the key antagonist in the last two seasons of that show, which ends with him disappearing into the deepest reaches of the galaxy.
Now, the character is being set up for a grand re-entrance into the Star Wars universe. After being name-dropped by Ahsoka in the second season of The Mandalorian, his presence has continued to grow in the show’s third season, and he will make his live-action debut in the Ahsoka series later this year, where he will be played by Lars Mikkelsen. While there’s always a chance Thrawn’s threat is entirely dealt with in that show, he’s such a major character that it seems unlikely he will be delegated to a minor role like that. Thrawn is about to be making waves throughout every corner of the Mandoverse.
In addition to all of that, we believe Filoni’s movie will be an adaptation of the Thrawn Trilogy simply because the cowboy hat-wearing creative has all but confirmed it himself, without actually saying it directly. In various interviews since his film was announced, Filoni has stated that long-time fans already know what happens after Return of the Jedi and that he’s excited to get to tell that story. When speaking with Collider, he stated that “If you grew up when I did, you’re aware of the post-Return of the Jedi era … There are just things in Star Wars that we all seem to know if we’ve been around it a long time.” He then later added that “One of the things I told [Jon Favreau] early on was, ‘Well, I have this epilogue in Star Wars: Rebels that’s kind of dealing with that time period [after Return of the Jedi]’, which you’ve seen at the end with Sabine and Ahsoka going off.
So, a lot of those threads start to come together, and then I looked at the bigger body of work that’s been done and what’s relevant, and a story will emerge out of that.” While Filoni has been careful not to explicitly confirm that his film will tackle the Heir to the Empire story with Thrawn as the central villain, any long-time Star Wars fan will tell you that the Thrawn Trilogy is *the* story post-Return of the Jedi. Filoni knows that, Filoni is already building to that, and Filoni is the perfect creative voice to tell that story in live-action.