'Wonder Woman' director Patty Jenkins just announced she's helming a new 'Star Wars' movie, and people are crying
- "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins is directing an upcoming "Star Wars" movie called "Rogue Squadron."
- In her video announcement of the news, Jenkins told an emotional story about her own father's experience in the military and how that inspired her to make a movie about fighter-pilots.
- Many people responded to the video with literal tears and plenty of excitement.
- The movie is expected to premiere in December 2023.
Among the slew of new movies and TV shows announced by Disney on Thursday, one had people feeling extra emotional. "Rogue Squadron," a new live-action "Star Wars" movie, will be directed by Patty Jenkins and is set to premiere in 2023.
Jenkins helmed the 2017 blockbuster hit "Wonder Woman," which was the first major studio movie about a female superhero, and one the highest-grossing films of the 21st century.
In a new teaser for "Rogue Squadron," Jenkins explains what drew her to the project as she rollerblades up to a car on a tarmac.
"I love to move fast, and speed of any kind," Jenkins said. "I think that's because I grew up the daughter of a great fighter pilot, and every day I would wake up and go outside and look up and see my father and his squadron taking off in their F4s, roaring across the sky."
"It was the most thrilling thing I've experienced in my entire life," Jenkins continued. "So when he lost his life in service to this country, it ignited a desire in me to turn all of that tragedy and thrill into one day making the greatest fighter-pilot movie of all time."
"But try as I might and look as I did, I couldn't find the right story," Jenkins said in the video. "I kept looking and looking, but I just couldn't find the right one. Until now. Now I found a movie about two things I love, so I'm going to see you very soon."
Then Jenkins puts on a Rebel pilot helmet, and walks away from the camera, revealing that she's changed into the iconic orange jumpsuit any "Star Wars" fan will recognize. In the background, you can also see an X-wing ship.
Between the story Jenkins told about her personal connection to the fighter-pilot storyline, and the thrill of having a powerhouse woman director helming a "Star Wars" movie, people were literally crying over the announcement.
"Well consider me emotionally manipulated," one Redditor wrote in response to the video announcement.
"I always admire directors whose motivations for doing certain projects come from very deeply personal places and this is no exception," another Redditor responded.
"I'm not crying, you're crying," one fan commented on the teaser after IGN shared it on YouTube.
The original Twitter video reached one million views in just an hour as people happily shared the news. Few additional details are known about the story "Rogue Squadron" will tell.
Disney said the movie will follow "a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy," according to a report on Thursday's event from i09.
"Rogue Squadron" is set to premiere in December 2023.