Just one year ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu, which will be the next Star Wars movie, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy ᴀssures audiences that there’s much more to come from The Mandalorian‘s era, also known as the New Republic era. While the New Republic era is nothing new to Star Wars itself, The Mandalorian was the first canon enтιтy to bring it to life on the small screen, and now it’s about to do the same on the big screen. According to Kennedy, this is only the first step.

Speaking to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Kennedy reveals that Lucasfilm has “other development going on in that space” while discussing the New Republic era, specifically the upcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu movie. She goes on to say that this era is one “we’re pretty much focused on right now at the moment,” because they “have a pretty good sense of where that’s going.” The reason for this confident push into the New Republic era comes entirely from The Mandalorian itself.

“It feels so good to be able to move into a Mandalorian movie,” Kennedy says, “as we’re coming off of three seasons of a very successful show.” She accredits their confidence in its success to the audience they built with The Mandalorian TV show, particularly the younger audience. Kennedy hopes that, in inviting these new audience members into the galaxy with The Mandalorian TV show, the movie will “become their Star Wars“ – thus making the New Republic era as powerful as a key Star Wars trilogy era.

What The New Republic’s Expansive Future Means For Star Wars

There’s A Better Chance For Character & Story Development

This is thrilling news for Star Wars, as it proves that the franchise is ready to continue digging its heels into a specific era, and hopefully also continue developing its beloved characters even more in the process. Of course, it comes with its own unique challenges, too; it’s hard to do prolific work in the New Republic era without acknowledging the original trilogy heroes, who Lucasfilm seems quite reluctant to include and recast. Nevertheless, these new developments are an exciting step forward for the franchise.

The New Republic Era Is Becoming One Of Star Wars’ Biggest Yet

There Are Endless Possibilities

The mᴀssive success of The Mandalorian during season 1 should have been an indicator of just how big its era in the Star Wars timeline would become, but it’s still a shocking thrill to see just how much it’s expanding. Despite not having a Star Wars trilogy attached, at least not yet, the New Republic era has become a central focus for the franchise. It seems that the possibilities for it are endless, and Star Wars is ready to explore each one of those possibilities.

Of course, there is the danger of oversaturation here as well. There’s already a type of exhaustion some parts of the Star Wars fandom have with The Mandalorian and its spin-offs, so the franchise will have to play their cards just right. For those who do thoroughly enjoy the stories of Din Djarin, Grogu, Ahsoka Tano, and more, there’s no need to worry. The New Republic’s era of storytelling in Star Wars is only just getting started.

Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline