Kathleen Kennedy explains why the Rey and James Mangold Star Wars movies are linked

Some of the most exciting news stories to arrive from Star Wars Celebration 2023 were the reveals that Daisy Ridley's Rey will be returning in a new movie set after The Rise of Skywalker – and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold will be helming his own Star Wars movie about the origins of the Force. 

Rey's movie is set to focus on the rebuilding of the Jedi Order, but, of course, she won't be the first to try and restore the Jedi to their former glory. As we've seen across the Disney Plus TV shows and The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker did his best to build his own Jedi academy, though ultimately his efforts were destroyed by Kylo Ren. 

Considering that history, how will Rey's Star Wars movie break new ground, then? "I think what's always great about Star Wars is it's a big galaxy, and we're coming off what was a major war with the First Order," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy tells GamesRadar+, while discussing Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. "And now, Rey has made a promise to Luke and that's really the core of where we're going and what this story will be. And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter." 

As for Mangold's movie, that film will take us back a long way on the Star Wars timeline to the Force's very beginnings. Kennedy tells us that this has been a major consideration for some time. "That's come up a lot, from the moment I stepped in and George brought me into the company, there's been a lot of interest in that," she explains. 

While Rey's movie is all about the future, Mangold's will look to the distant past; but, according to Kennedy, the two share surprising connective tissue. "It was something that Jim [Mangold] immediately sparked to, and I think it's a really nice compliment to what we're doing with moving into the future with Rey, and then understanding a bit more of where this all came from," she explains. "Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have began with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool." 

Next up on the Star Wars release slate is Ahsoka, which hits Disney Plus this August 23. You can get ready with our guide on what to watch before Ahsoka, or check out all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows for everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store. Watch out for more from our Indiana Jones 5 interviews coming soon, too.