Return Of The Jedi Officially Getting New Sequel

There’s no doubt at this point that Return of the Jedi is one of the best films in the Star Wars franchise to date. Even if you prefer Empire Strikes Back or even something from another trilogy like Revenge of the Sith, the thrilling conclusion to the original trilogy has secured its place in film history.

Though the sequel trilogy obviously takes place after Return of the Jedi chronologically, it doesn’t really serve as a direct sequel for much of the viewing experience, apart from when Luke appears and Palpatine returns, somehow. That said, one very unexpected new release is set to take place immediately after, and it could give us a great look at an underappreciated era in Star Wars lore.

Star Wars Is Returning To The Sequel Era

What you might not have realized is that the events of Return of the Jedi take place over the course of about a week in the year 4 ABY in the lore. Coming out later this year, Star Wars: Galactic Racer is set at some point between the years 5-34 ABY, immediately following on from the film in the New Republic era.

The story follows the original character Shade on his journey to become an elite racing pilot, in the unsanctioned matches of the Galactic League. We don’t know exactly what the game will be like yet, but it seems they will lean into story elements a lot more heavily than players may have expected from what is, essentially, a racing game.

That could give us a great opportunity to learn more about the rise of the First Order, and the period between the end of Return of the Jedi and the start of The Force Awakens. Though it obviously didn’t go down super well for its execution, there were some interesting ideas in the sequel trilogy that are worth exploring further.

Don’t Expect Luke Skywalker To Show Up

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker holding a lightsaber in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Given that he was off doing quite a few important things in between the original and sequel trilogies, don’t expect Luke Skywalker to show up in this one. That said, there are a bunch of iconic characters who could appear in some form, depending on the story the developer decides to tell with the game.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is set to launch on October 6 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X, with more details coming about that over the next few months.