D23 Star Wars News: 'Rise of Skywalker' New Footage, Future Films and More

From now until the end of the year, details about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will come in fits and spurts, until, sometime around November when there will be more TV spots and trailers and interviews than anyone can deal with. But, until then, the last big info dump of all things Star Wars will be the Disney convention, the D23 Expo, held this year in Anaheim from August 23-August 25.

Disney will likely drop a ton of new info about Pixar and Marvel at this convention, too, but based on past expos, there ‘s a good reason to believe a lot of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker info will flood hyperspace at the end of August. Here’s a breakdown of what to look forward to, from new Episode IX footage to the future of the cinematic universe.

Rise of Skywalker Footage

In years past, new footage of an upcoming Star Wars film has been shown to people in attendance of D23. In 2017, this meant some of the first footage ever of Laura Dern as Admiral Holdo, as well as an insanely cool behind-the-scenes video.

The footage might not hit the internet right away, but a behind-the-scenes video seems almost guaranteed. And in the meantime, you can count on at least a few of the lucky people who attend D23 to spill the beans on Reddit and Twitter.

Rise of Skywalker Art and Posters

Back in 2015, before the release of The Force Awakens, one of the coolest reveals from D23 that year was a special limited edition poster featuring Han Solo, Finn, and Rey. The art was created by Drew Struzan, a poster-artist who did all the theatrical posters for the prequel trilogy as well as the special-edition re-release of the classic trilogy. There’s no guarantee that a new poster like this will drop for The Rise of Skywalker, but because the upcoming film is the end of Skywalker saga, it seems like some very special art will drop around this time.

Revised Line-Up of New Star Wars Films Post 2022

As of right now, the schedule of Star Wars movies after the Benioff and Weiss Star Wars movie is a little unclear. It stands to reason that maybe Disney will reveal a new line-up of movies at D23, and perhaps even drop some titles! After all, nobody really knows what’s going on with Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy, which means D23 is the perfect place to finally reveal what’s going on with that long-discussed projected.

Trailers and Info For Star Wars TV Shows

Considering the new Star Wars TV show The Mandalorian debuts on Disney+ on November 12, a full month before The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters, it stands to reason the series will drop a bunch of new footage. Previously, the only footage shown for The Mandalorian was back in April at Star Wars Celebration and, to date, none of that footage has made it online. That may all change after D23 though! Plus, almost nothing has been revealed about the Cassian Andor TV series, either, so, it seems likely that an update for that series is also coming.

Galaxy’s Edge Updates

Because one big attraction for Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge — Rise of the Resistance — was pushed back to 2020, it seems likely there will be some updates about what new Star Wars additions are coming to Galaxy’s Edge at both Disneyland and Disney World.

MAYBE Classic Trilogy Re-Release

This one is a long-shot, but since there’s a big gap between the end of The Rise of Skywalker and the next big Star Wars film in 2022, some fans think that it’s not entirely crazy to think a theatrical rerelease of unaltered versions of the classic trilogy might happen. In June of this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apparently screened a 1981 unaltered version of A New Hope. So, it’s possible! It’s actually been since 1997 since there’s been a theatrical rerelease of the original Star Wars films, so maybe…it’s time?

*D23 begins on August 23.