The ‘Star Wars’ timeline has always been notable for its omissions. Back in the nineties, when the expanded universe (now dubbed the Legends continuity) was in full swing, writers were barred from telling stories in the prequel era until the release of ‘The Phantom Menace’ at the end of the decade. Similarly, the second inter-trilogy era (that is, the time between ‘Return of the Jedi’ and ‘The Force Awakens’) has remained largely unexplored. While a variety of novels and comics have filled in some of the backstory, they have generally not gone into as much depth as might have been expected, presumably preferring to let the sequel trilogy lead the way and fill in the gaps after the fact.
That, however, is set to change as the beloved space opera expands its television presence. First, there was the recent announcement of ‘Star Wars: Resistance‘. The latest effort from ‘Star Wars’ animation guru Dave Filoni, the show will be set in the years leading up to ‘The Force Awakens’. There’s also the upcoming live-action series, which is a nut the franchise has been trying to crack since 2005. This latest attempt, helmed by Jon Favreau, is planned to launch alongside Disney’s planned streaming service sometime next year. And now we know that while ‘Resistance’ fills in the pre-‘Force Awakens’ timeline from one end, Favreau’s will be filling it in from the other.
Speaking at the world premiere of ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’, Favreau confirmed to Nerdist writer Dan Casey that his ‘Star Wars’ series will take place between the original and sequel trilogies. Specifically, it will be set seven years after ‘Return of the Jedi’. This places it after the stories chronicling what could be considered the immediate aftermath of ‘Return of the Jedi’ and the subsequent fall of the Empire. During this time, the New Republic is still establishing itself as a galactic power, even as a group of Imperial holdouts in the Unknown Regions consolidate their forces into what will become the First Order. Suffice to say, it should provide fertile storytelling ground.
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