She would become the new Jedi heroine. Luke Skywalker’s apprentice and heiress. The new star of the Star Wars series. The new trilogy landed on Rey’s shoulders, and most importantly, the first at Disney. But for actress Daisy Ridley, like her predecessors Mark Hamill and Hayden Christensen, it hasn’t been an easy road. A certain sector of the internet began to criticize that it was a Mary Sue [término utilizado para las mujeres que tienen cualquier poder injustificable en la ficción]. She responded after months of persistent comments on the networks: “It’s a sexist comment. Luke was never told.” His film career never really took off after his last film in 2019 (which was also the last for the saga). It’s time to go home. And upset those fans again.
None of that was felt, however, as the room of 5,000 erupted in euphoria, lightsabers raised, as she emerged from behind the curtains and heralded her as the “Next Generation Jedi Master.” It was this Friday at the Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London, a great fan event that Disney invited EL PAÍS to. “It must be King,” a follower could be heard shouting from the audience. Ridley left excitedly without holding back her smile and turned to the applause to the bars she had created for her character John Williams. He couldn’t say or do much more, but he’d returned home, to London (where he was born) and to Star Wars, which had brought back previously despised characters like Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) after years of sedentary life life on a farm. As soon as you enter, you always have a seat at these conventions. This is what the independent protagonists of the three new films and their three new directors have to learn.
Rey Skywalker will be the protagonist of one of the three new Star Wars films who, like the head of the franchise, Kathleen Kennedy, will travel to the past, present and future of the saga at the orders of George Lucas. With The Last Jedi, the saga will embark on a path it has never taken before: the creation of a new Jedi order 15 years after the third trilogy and the death of the evil Kylo Ren. Rey will be the teacher of a new group of Padawan children in the newly created academy. Now for the first time in the film saga without Han Solo, Luke or Leia.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars.
This next film will also mark the time to give space to new voices. Pakistani Sarmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who won a double Oscar for her documentaries Saving Face and A Girl in the River, will be the first female director of a Star Wars film. This project is a big challenge for a filmmaker who has already been flirting with Disney thanks to her work on the Ms. Marvel superhero series. An opening in the face of attacks by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis amid a social and economic war with Disney for his anti-“revival culture” speech benefiting a Republican primary.
James Mangold, responsible for Logan and the fifth part of Indiana Jones (who is also in London to tutor a Harrison Ford who is on the brink of death with every new chase unless he is directly digitally rejuvenated), has more experience with projects of this size. He will be in charge of the second film, which will explore the distant past of this universe far, far away, that Awakening of the Jedi that until now has only been explored in books and comics. Mangold says his goal is to create something biblical, akin to the 10 Commandments, that explores the mythology and origins of this world. 25,000 years before the first film. Literally: a long, long time ago.
The third film will be an expansion of the Disney+ universe, with the team behind The Mandalorian, Dave Filoni (Latter Days Architect) and Jon Favreau, taking the reins of a chapter that will culminate the great battle they have with the characters von develop the series, cartoons and live action that they also presented at the convention. His time, The New Republic, will also shape the Ahsoka series, which brings Rosario Dawson’s Jedi and the characters from the Rebels animated series back to Disney+ this August; and Skeleton Crew, starring Jude Law as a Jedi from the past who joins a team of children in a series described as a return to the ’80s style of Spielberg’s Amblyn and the Goonies. Spider-Man director Jon Watts is taking the reins, although it will also mark the first premiere of Daniels (Everything at once anywhere) since winning the Oscars. Minari’s director, Lee Isaac Chung, is in charge of another chapter. Because in 2023, winning an Oscar is the best formula for staging a Star Wars series.
The moment to rethink strategy on TV
These series and films, as well as the new season of Andor starring Diego Luna, which is currently being filmed in Valencia, will also be accompanied by The Acolyte, another series that revisits the unexplored distant past. The Rise of the High Republic, whose references are Kurosawa’s samurai films, notably Yojimbo and The Hidden Fortress, but also King Hu’s Touch of Zen and the films of the Hong Kong brand Shaw Brothers. “It’s a cross between Frozen and Kill Bill,” announces creator Leslye Headland, feeling like one more in those kinds of celebrations: “Star Wars made me go beyond high school. I started writing fanfiction in this world. And now I’m in a dream.” Among his Jedi/Samurai he has signed a Carrie Anne-Moss returning in slow motion from The Matrix, Spaniard Dafne Keen, Manny Jacinto, Lee Jung-jae (The Squid Game) and Jodie Turner-Smith, each with a lightsaber in the first preview.
Lots of projects, although it’s time to rethink and start over. When Disney bought Star Wars, there was a promise: make one movie a year. That was the case from 2015 to 2019. Then came the direct series on Disney+ and the success of The Mandalorian activated the assembly line typical of Fordism. Fueled by the iconicity of Mando and Baby Yoda (or Din and Grogu), 2022 featured chapters from three different series: The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Andor. And when the last one (the one with the best reviews and possibly multiple Emmy nominations) came out, audiences were a bit jaded and didn’t know what to expect. But something is changing. There have been no films since 2019, and CEO Bob Iger’s mission in his new leg at Disney is clear: less content and more choice. It applies to the entire company. From streaming to their offices and of course their big brands too. And above all to the Qalaxis created by George Lucas, which have been looking for their way for a long time. During this time they have ruled out films for Kevin Feige (head of Marvel), Damon Lindelof (creator of Lost and The Leftovers), Patty Jenkins (director of Wonder Woman) or David Benioff and Dan Weiss (promoters of Game of Thrones). And the announced Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) was suspiciously absent from the convention. The three new films will attempt to lead the way with journeys into uncharted territory and the return of iconic characters. But the aim is not to exhaust a brand that has already proven itself not always infallible. We’ll see if the last jedi is powerful enough to do it.
A fan dressed as Ahsoka at the entrance to the ‘Star Wars Celebration’.TOLGA AKMEN (EFE)
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