Popverse's top stories of the day

• Disney & Lucasfilm are quietly planning a 50th anniversary Star Wars movie that's focused on all-new characters
• MEMBERS ONLY: Follow along live to the Mandalorian & Grogu movie panel from Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025!
• WATCH NOW: The gentleman villain Mads Mikkelsen tells us how he balances being charming and despicable in our favorite movies & TV series

For those of us who grew up smashing Star Wars action figures into each other while pretending that we were really inventing the “what happens next” in the Star Wars Saga… well, prepare to be even more jealous of the people who get to actually get to come up with that for real in planning the next Star Wars movies.

Talking during the Mandalorian & Grogu panel at Star Wars Celebration Japan, series creators Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau talked about their writing process. Favreau said that the approach was to be inspired by what inspired George Lucas when he originally came up with the franchise back in the 1970s. “That was Flash Gordon, that was war films, that was samurai films by Akira Kurasawa,” he said. Filoni, however, spoke from the fanboy heart.

“We have a bunch of action figures and we fight it out,” he told the crowd. “I’m usually the bad guys and Jon is usually the good guys.”

Firstly: I am assuming that he’s joking, but I am also not sure if he is joking. Secondly: I no longer think that I have my dream job anymore, because I think Dave Filoni just accidentally invented my new dream job. Imagine writing via action figure fights! Who wouldn’t want to do that?!?

It wasn’t all fun and action figure talk, though; fans at the panel also had the chance to see the first footage from the movie.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu will be in theaters May 22, 2026.

Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to:

• Upcoming movies
• Upcoming TV shows
• Upcoming comics
• Upcoming games
• Upcoming fiction books
• Upcoming comic conventions