Summary

• The upcoming Star Wars film "Heir to the Empire" will explore the battle between Thrawn and the New Republic, making the canceled TV show "Rangers of the New Republic" important to its story.
• The role of "Rangers of the New Republic" will be replaced by storylines in "The Mandalorian" season 4 and "Ahsoka" season 2, which will focus on Imperial threats and Imperial sympathizers within the New Republic.
• The return of Star Wars to theaters allows for a multimedia franchise where the films and TV shows can directly influence each other, offering a unique storytelling method in the Star Wars universe.

The premise of one upcoming Star Wars movie makes replacing a canceled Lucasfilm TV show even more vital. In April 2023, Lucasfilm announced three upcoming Star Wars movies at Star Wars Celebration. These three movies are set to herald the franchise's return to the big screen after a hiatus has occurred since 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. During this time, the franchise's success has been largely found on TV, with a handful of upcoming Star Wars TV shows set to continue this.
However, in returning to theaters, Star Wars will once again become a multimedia franchise alongside the various books, comics, and video games also being produced. Lucasfilm's return to theaters allows for a storytelling method that has rarely been used in Star Wars in that the studio's upcoming films and TV projects can directly influence one another. One way in which this will happen is through the exploration of the New Republic era of the Star Wars timeline, with one feature film announced at SWCE 2023 making the replacement of a canceled New Republic TV show all the more important.

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