Star Wars Episode VII: The Last Jedi is coming to cinemas on December 15, the second chapter of the “Sequel Trilogy” for the sprawling space opera franchise by Lucasfilm under Disney. The final chapter, Episode IX, will not be until 2019, with a Han Solo prequel slated for 2018.
Even as these films are being churned out, merchandise is following in their wake, such as LEGO Star Wars’ expansive variety of models and minifigures in stores. Well, they’re about to increase further.
When Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy hinted at more Star Wars movies days earlier, fans assumed they would be in the vein of 2016’s Rogue One or next year’s Solo. But it turns out that they’re actually formulating another film trilogy with the help of Last Jedi director Rian Johnson.
This new trilogy will break the mold by focusing on entirely new characters, unlike Episodes I-IX, which always focused on a member of the Skywalker family. Johnson is expected to write and direct the first film of this planned trilogy, and be the producer on the other two. Here’s the announcement as shared over at the Star Wars Show.
In addition to this reveal, Disney CEO Bob Iger also made noise when he announced the development of a live-action Star Wars TV series for 2019. This is said to be a re-pitch of an earlier live-action series proposal by Lucasfilm long before Disney’s acquisition. The planned Star Wars: Underground was never produced due to impossible budget constraints, but might be possible now with the House of Mouse. Check out this visual from the original Underground pitch. It could finally be realized, and it will be on streaming.
All these developments could easily mean that more LEGO Star Wars sets may be in the works. It’ll be quite the wait, but LEGO Star Wars fans sure knows its worth it.