This past May at the Star Wars Celebration, we learned that the future of the franchise now has a clear direction, with three new feature films currently slated for release. The most surprising of those films had to be the announcement that Daisy Ridley was returning as Rey for her own movie, to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, which will pick up her story 15 years after the events in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. That project, like the others, is being mostly kept under wraps, with only some scant details as to what the overall plan is. But, in a recent interview with Total Film, Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy did offer some very intriguing hints at the future of the galaxy. One of those was that Rey’s story will be directly connected to the upcoming James Mangold-directed epic that will peer deep into the ancient past of the Force.

“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,” Kennedy told Total Film. “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.”

Yet while Kennedy and the rest of the Star Wars Galaxy Brain Trust will be pushing the franchise forward, Rey’s story will connect directly to James Mangold’s upcoming film, which will be exploring events in ancient galactic history. We learned in The Rise of Skywalker that Rey was the granddaughter of the villain Emperor Palpatine, making her lineage with the Force a deep, complex, and lasting one. Mangold’s feature will take us back to the Force’s very beginnings, which, Kennedy says, compliments Rey’s story.

“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,” Kennedy told Total Film. “Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have begun with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool.”

As for now, the next chapter in the overarching Star Wars saga will happen on the small screen as Ahsoka premieres on Disney+ on August 23.

For a closer look at where things currently stand in the Star Wars slate, both on Disney+ and on the big screen, click here.

For more on all things Star Wars, check out these stories:

A New “Star Wars” Movie is Part of Disney’s Upcoming, Reshuffled Film Slate

James Mangold’s Upcoming “Star Wars” Film has a Thrilling Premise

New “Ahsoka” Images Reveal the First “Star Wars” Series to Leap From Animation Into Live-Action

Daisy Ridley Will Return as Rey in First “Star Wars” Film Since “The Rise of Skywalker”

Featured image: Rey (Daisy Ridley) in STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. Courtesy Lucasfilm/Walt Disney Studios.