"Star Wars" Celebration 2023 is in full force, with news coming left and right about the future of the "Star Wars" franchise on TV and film. It is truly a bonanza of news from the galaxy far, far away. You want new shows? They have new shows for you. You want "Mandalorian" spoilers? There is a big one. But they saved the best and biggest news for the big screen. After years of speculation, endless teasing, begging, wishes to genies (but that may be just me), "Star Wars" is finally going back to a long time ago … in a galaxy far, far away.

By a long time ago I mean none other than the time of the Old Republic. During the Lucasfilm studio showcase panel, Kathleen Kennedy revealed the next set of "Star Wars" movies that may or may not actually be made (but we desperately hope they do). Key among them is a movie to be directed by James Mangold, who is busy handling the next and final "Indiana Jones" movie. His "Star Wars" project also has a very familiar title, "Dawn of the Jedi."

A Surprise Announcement

"Dawn of the Jedi" is going to be set in the time of the Old Republic, an era rich in stories but one that hasn't really been explored in the new "Star Wars" canon. Mangold took the stage to talk a bit about the film and tease the first live-action Old Republic project. According to the director, he was inspired by biblical epics like "Ben-Hur" and wants to tell an epic story inspired by Roman times about how the Force was discovered and first used.

The title "Dawn of the Jedi" is fascinating, because it is the title of a rather fantastic line of comic books which took place 26000 years before the movies, and chronicled the story of how an ancient alien race discovered the Force and became hugely advanced because of it — until problems rose and dark Jedi started popping up. The comic mini-series is great, with proto-lightsabers, and the Rakatan Empire causing all sorts of problems. It is unlikely the movie will adapt the comic that faithfully, but if they take enough inspiration from them, we are in for a magical time. The time of the Jedi is over, the age of the Je'daii has come.

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