You may have noticed Gizmodo Australia this past week was a certain shade of Star Wars. With the help of our colleagues in the U.S., we were bringing you a tonne of announcements made during the Star Wars Celebration 2022, as they happened.
There was a lot, and perhaps even some things you missed. So, to make it a little easier, here’s a summary of everything that was announced during Star Wars Celebration 2022 in Anaheim.
Everything announced at Star Wars Celebration 2022
Let’s start your Monday off with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
We have to assume you’ve already started watching Obi-Wan Kenobi, but just in case you haven’t, no spoilers. We didn’t get anything new on Obi-Wan during Star Wars Celebration, but episodes one and two dropped on Friday.
Here’s everything we know about the show, spoiler-free, and here’s our thoughts on the first two episodes (heaps of spoilers).
Mandalorian
Ever since the Mandalorian acquired the Darksaber from Moff Gideon, another showdown was inevitable. Bo-Katan Kryze believed she was destined to take possession of the saber but, alas, she didn’t. And in the third season of The Mandalorian, it’s going to be an issue. “You didn’t think you’d get rid of me that easy, did you?” actress Katee Sackhoff said as she took the stage at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim. “I may have some unfinished business.”
The Mandalorian and Grogu continue their journey in Season 3 of #TheMandalorian, streaming February 2023 on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/GXPfUIugNp
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 26, 2022
Season three is nearly upon us.
Read more about the Mandalorian season three over here.
Tales of the Jedi
Tales of the Jedi’s mysterious arrival on the schedule of Star Wars Celebrations had fans all over speculating what the animated series could be. It will be a six-part short animated series developed by Dave Filoni with Lucasfilm animation, and co-written in part with The Clone Wars scribe Charles Murray. The series is just six episodes long, split into two, three-episode anthologies: one that follows Ahsoka Tano across various points of her life, from her birth to her exploits after the rise of the Empire and perhaps beyond, while the other will depict a young Count Dooku, master to Padawan Qui-Gon Jinn (played in part by both a returning Liam Neeson, as well as Neeson’s son), before his exit from the Jedi Order and his fall to the Dark side.
Read more about Tales of the Jedi over here.
Andor
At the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, Lucasfilm showed off the first teaser trailer for Andor. We’re so absolutely excited for it. The next Disney+ upcoming series is set for release August 31, and while it’s unmistakably Star Wars, Andor looks like something quite new. It’s not just the growing Rebellion versus the Empire — this time the war is very, very personal.
If you haven’t seen the teaser, check it out below:
Read more about Andor over here.
Star Wars: Ahsoka
Few Star Wars characters have had quite the evolution like Ahsoka Tano. Famously debuting as Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the character slowly came into her own over the course of the show’s eventual seven-season run, serving as its ostensible protagonist. But now, Ahsoka’s headlining her own show, and the first footage from Star Wars Celebration gave us an idea of what to expect.
Star Wars: Ahsoka will hit Disney+ in 2023.
Read more about Star Wars: Ahsoka over here.
Star Wars Visions
The animated side of Star Wars has served as home to some of the franchise’s most interesting works. When Star Wars Visions was released last year, it offered us different glimpses of George Lucas’ science fantasy world, through the eyes of powerhouses in Japanese animation such as Studio Trigger, Science SARU and Kinema Citrus. It was also pretty freaking sweet, which is why it’s an extremely good thing that it’s coming back for a second season.
#StarWarsVisions returns. Volume 2 streaming Spring 2023, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/zCAlj8lBiv
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 29, 2022
Read more about Star Wars Visions over here.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Lucasfilm and Disney+ released the trailer for the second season of the hit animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch. It continues the tale of a band of “defective” Galactic Army clones that are on a journey to be more than obsolete as the Empire grows.
Here’s a trailer:
Read more about Star Wars: The Bad Batch over here.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
It feels like so long ago, but it’s only been three years since Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order arrived to near critical acclaim and even bigger sales. Now thanks to Star Wars Celebration — at least tangentially, since this news was dropped independent of any panel or event at the actual convention — we now know that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a real thing hitting next year.
Experience the next chapter of Cal Kestis’ journey. #StarWarsJediSurvivor – Coming 2023. pic.twitter.com/ti5KIPSph5
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 27, 2022
Read more about Star Wars Jedi: Survivor over here.
Light and Magic
The legacy created by George Lucas is the focus of an upcoming six-part documentary series coming to Disney+ called Light & Magic. Directed by legendary screenwriter and director Lawrence Kasdan, the series will be out July 27. At Star Wars Celebration, Kasdan as well as several of the people who took part in the documentary — Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Ron Howard, Joe Johnston, Rose Duignan, and Lynwen Brennan — took the stage to show the first clips from the project, and to talk about making films at ILM in the Star Wars universe.
Read more about Light and Magic over here.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
We already knew Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts was working on an “Amblin-style” Star Wars series for Disney+. Now we have more details, including a title — Star Wars: Skeleton Crew — and its headlining star: Jude Law.
Read more about Star Wars: Skeleton Crew over here.
Star Wars: The High Republic
With the second phase of The High Republic — titled Quest of the Jedi — on the way to take readers even further back into the period centuries before the events of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Celebration has been the first time the publishing initiative’s authors have been able to see first-hand the warm reaction to their work in this new era of the galaxy far, far away.
Check out Gizmodo’s interview with the author team over here.
A few more Star Wars Celebration gems
- The stars of Attack of the Clones talk international travel, severed heads and farting. Oh, and the fact it’s now 20. Read more over here.
- How do you convince consumers that a $3,500 OLED TV is worth the upgrade? That’s easy. You tie it to one of the most popular film franchises of all time with one of the most rabid fan bases and voila: you get LG’s new impossible to resist(ance) Star Wars-themed TV packed full of exclusive content. Read more over here.
- I know we already covered Obi-Wan in this list, but we’ve got an interview with Deborah Chow that we think fans such as yourself would like to have a read of. You can catch that interview over here.
- The Andor teaser gave us an exciting glimpse into the future of the franchise, by way of its past. One element of that is Andor’s score, composed by Nicholas Britell (Succession). From the chilling ringing of bells rhythmically rooting its story origins, to the propulsive beats that backdrop our first glimpses at the show’s characters on their missions, an urgency builds on sound alone crescendo-ing into an orchestral call for rebellion. Read about that over here.
- In celebration of 45 years of Star Wars, we also put together a list of our favourite memories. Read about them over here.
It wasn’t just a Star Wars celebration
It wasn’t just Star Wars fans that were getting the scoop last week during the Anaheim celebration. Here’s what else we got.
Willow
Audiences were shown a trailer for the upcoming Disney+ TV continuation of the beloved 1988 fantasy movie starring Warwick Davis, Willow, and now, you can watch it, too:
Warwick Davis reprises his role as the titular Willow, a sorcerer who (in the original) sought to protect the prophesied child destined to become empress. In this epic trailer featuring a fantastically magical Warwick Davis and a new plucky group of rag-tag adventurers as they attempt to restore balance to their world. It is now confirmed that this is not an adaption or a remake, but a continuation of the original Willow film, starring the same character.
The Willow series will follow a new character, Princess Kit (played by Ruby Cruz) as she attempts to rescue her twin brother.
Forget what you know, or think you know, and meet the young(er) cast of Willow, an Original Series streaming on @DisneyPlus in 2022. #DisneyPlusDay pic.twitter.com/e83UZ67tCd
— Willow (@WillowOfficial) November 12, 2021
Read more about Willow over here.
Indiana Jones 5
It wouldn’t be a Star Wars celebration without…Indiana Jones?
While Star Wars Celebration may be focused on all things from George Lucas’ sci-fi franchise, Lucasfilm’s also using the annual convention to highlight other franchises it owns. After what feels like an eternity, we finally got a tiny first look at Indiana Jones 5, with a picture that gives the impression this’ll be the closing chapter for the character.
In 2023, Harrison Ford returns as the legendary #IndianaJones. Check out this first look of the new James Mangold-directed film. pic.twitter.com/ALs82tsmXw
— Indiana Jones (@IndianaJones) May 26, 2022
Look for Indiana Jones 5 to hit theatres on June 30, 2023.
Read more about Indiana Jones 5 over here.
And there you have it, everything announced during the Star Wars Celebration! That should keep you busy for a little while. Happy Monday!