What are the three new ‘Star Wars’ movies about?

‘Star Wars’ fans were treated to some good news from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy on Friday, as she announced three new films are in the works.

The announcement came during the Lucasfilm Studio Showcase Panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, with those in attendance at the Celebration Stage responding with excited applause.

What are the three new ‘Star Wars’ movies about?

James Mangold (‘Logan’, ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’) will direct one of the films, which will go back to the dawn of the Jedi.

Another project will be helmed by Dave Filoni (’The Mandalorian’, ‘Ahsoka’), and will focus on the New Republic, and look to bring an end to the interconnected stories being told in ‘The Mandalorian’, ‘The Book of Boba Fett’, ‘Ahsoka’ and other Disney+ series.

As for the the third project, it will be directed by Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (’Ms. Marvel’, ‘Saving Face’).

The film will be set after the events of the 2019 film ‘Rise of Skywalker’. It’s noteworthy because it will see the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey, and will focus on her trying to build a new Jedi Order.

Ridley previously played Rey in in ‘The Force Awakens’, ‘The Last Jedi’ and ‘The Rise of Skywalker’.

First new ‘Star Wars’ films since 2019

The announcement means the movies will be the first feature films in the universe since 2019′s ‘The Rise of Skywalker’.

Since then, Disney and Lucasfilm have focused on live-action television series for Disney+ due to the poor critical and financial performance of the film.

The film earned just over $1 billion at the box office against a reported budget between $275-416 million. It currently holds a critic score of 52 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to an 86 percent audience score.

In total, the sequel trilogy grossed close to $4.5 billion at the worldwide box office, with 2015′s ‘The Force Awakens’ currently sitting as the fifth-highest grossing film of all time.