'LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy' creators talk legacy in the 25th anniversary film at D23

LOS ANGELES -- The screenwriters behind the upcoming film, "LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy," are sharing share what it's like to use the LEGO format to unlock the galactic storytelling secrets of their newest sci-fi action-adventure.

Known for penning hits like "Detective Pikachu" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem," writer-director duo Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit stepped onto ABC's On The Red Carpet Storytellers Spotlight stage at D23 to chat with Nzinga Blake, an executive producer with ABC Owned Television Stations.

In this newest iteration of the franchise, Samit and Hernandez told Blake that the galaxy will fall apart and rebuild, bringing together characters that span 12 live-action films. Exciting character additions include Darth Jar Jar, a character that combines Darth Vadar and Jar Jar Binks, and Ewok Bounty Hunters, a play on the classic, sentient furred bipeds native to the moon of Endor.

"It's an honor, really," said Hernandez, "To be entrusted with something like Star Wars and to be entrusted with LEGO as well. And we take that responsibility really seriously."

In this effort, the pair will also be helming the film releasing during the 25th anniversary of the LEGO Star Wars Franchise. Both Samit and Hernandez looked to take full advantage of the LEGO format to reimagine Star Wars in a way befitting the iconic toy.

"There was a feeling like, 'We should really blow it out, we should try to do something special for the anniversary,'" Samit said. "And so they came to us and said, 'What can we do to really expand the possibilities of what LEGO Star Wars can be?'"

The writing duo decided the best course of action was to lean into the eclectic, transformative way people have played with LEGO for decades.

"The way people play with them, they have their big bin of LEGOs, they dump it on the floor, it all gets mixed up, and you're not doing the exact story from the movies," Samit told Blake. "You're making your own thing up. Good guys are bad guys, bad guys are good guys. So we were like, 'What if we could bring that to the screen and create a Star Wars that feels like the way we all play with Star Wars?'"

On The Red Carpet's Storytellers Spotlight Creator Conversations was a daily offering that shined a spotlight on creators across film, television, theater, music, and Walt Disney Imagineering. These intimate conversations delved into their journeys as storytellers, exploring how their own fandom has shaped their creative paths within the Walt Disney Company.

"LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy" premieres Sept. 13 on Disney+.

Watch the video player above for our full Storytellers Spotlight interview with Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit.

Andres Rovira and Jason Honeycutt contributed to this report.