by Thinus Ferreira
Several new Star Wars teasers and trailers - and as a bonus, a new teaser from the upcoming Indiana Jones film with Harrison Ford - made their debut at Friday's Star Wars Celebration Europe in London thanks to Lucasfilm, including for new live-action series Ahsoka.
Star Wars: The Acolyte
The live-action series Star Wars: The Acolyte, currently filming in London, is set to debut sometime in 2024 on Disney+, and is set 100 years before Star Wars Episode 1.
The story takes place during the High Republic era of the Star Wars universe, during the height of the Republic era which was also known as the Golden Age of the ancient Jedi order.
With teaser material only shown to attendees, the series stars Amandla Stenberg and Lee Jung-jae, as well as Jodie Turner-Smith, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Dean-Charles Chapman, Charlie Barnett and Margarita Levieva.
Star Wars: The Acolyte has been created by Leslye Headland, who told Star Wars Celebration conventiongoers that this is the furthest back in time Star Wars is yet to do a live-action series.
"I really wanted to delve into the Star Wars universe and tell the story of this entire world that I love so much from the perspective of the villains, Headland said.
"The first thing that became apparent was that we're going to have to set this between the High Republic and the beginning of the prequels - not only because it's such an exciting part of the timeline, but also because this is when the bad guys are outnumbered. They are the underdogs."
Andor, season 2
Attendees also got a sneak peek of the second and final season of Andor with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) which will also make its debut on Disney+ in 2024.
The second season which will have 12 episodes will cover a period of four years, leading up to the period right before the Star Wars: Rogue One film.
Skeleton Crew
Star Wars Celebration also showed the first trailer for the upcoming series Skeleton Crew just to attendees at the get-together, introducing and following a group of rebellious kids traversing the Star Wars galaxy, with Jude Law playing a Jedi.
Aksoka
Rosario Dawson who plays the exiled Jedi Aksoha Tano appeared at Star Wars Celebration Europe and said that the series will make its debut on Disney+ in August this year.
The first teaser for Ahsoka was shown to attendees and this trailer was made available for a global audience. Mary Elizabeth Winstead also appeared on stage, who is portraying the Hera Syndulla character.
Also part of the cast is Ivanna Sakhno, Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Eman Esfandi as Ezra Bridger and Hayden Christensen who will return as Anakin Skywalker. Creator Dave Filoni is the writer and co-executive producer.
According to the show's official description, Ahsoka is "set after the fall of the Empire, and follows the former Jedi knight as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy".
Star Wars film: Daisy Ridley back as Rey
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced that Daisey Ridley will be back in a new Star Wars film as her Jedi character Rey for an as-yet-untitled film.
The film from a script by Steven Knight will follow the events after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as Rey establishes a new Jedi order, with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as director.
"I've spent the better part of my life by meeting real heroes who are overcoming oppressive regimes and battling impossible odds,” Obaid-Chinoy said.
"I think that’s the heart of Star Wars and that's why I'm attracted to the promise of a new Jedi order and I'm attracted to the idea of immersing myself in a Jedi Academy with a powerful Jedi Master."
Two further Star Wars films
Kathleen Kenndy also revealed that two further Star Wars films will be made, which will be directed by Dave Filoni and James Mangold.
Dave Filoni's Star Wars film of which no title was given, will be set during the New Public era and will "close out" the various converging stories being told in Disney+ series like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett.
James Mangold's Star Wars film, of which no title was given, "will go back to the dawn of the Jedi" order", set 25 000 years before any of the Star Wars stories already told.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Since it's also from Lucasfilm, Disney has debut the first trailer of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, coming to cinemas in June.
Harrison Ford reprises his role as the archaeology explorer-adventurer, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas and John Rhys-Davies part of the cast.
While conference attendees got to see six minutes of the upcoming film, global viewers at least get the latest trailer.
This time Indy is on the trail of an ancient device, chased by both himself and a villain portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen who remarks: "Hitler made mistakes and with this I will correct them all".
Harrison Ford who is 80, plays Indiana Jones at the age of 70, finding himself in a situation where he is being coaxed out of retirement for one last adventure. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg as the executive producers.
