Disney is in the process of reconstructing the Star Wars universe in the image of its crown jewel, Marvel. While there’s been a steady flow of Skywalker-adjacent content over the past seven years since The Force Awakens dropped, the results have been mixed, and there’s no real sense of direction, no thread that ties everything together.
Unfortunately, the suits at Lucasfilm also have a history of hiring exciting new directors, and then firing them once they actually try and take the franchise in an exciting new direction. RIP to Colin Trevorrow’s Rise of Skywalker, Lord and Miller’s Solo, and Game of Thrones creators Benioff and Weiss’ trilogy.
But after focusing most of its output on its interconnected galaxies via Disney+ with shows like The Mandalorian, Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi, it looks like heading back to a galaxy that we know and love, one far, far away, is back on the cards. At their annual Star Wars Celebration event, LucasFilm announced three new feature films on the cards with big-name directors like James Mangold on board.
Here's everything coming up in the extended Star Wars universe!
ANNOUNCED MOVIES
Daisy Ridley's return in new Star Wars movie
Release date: TBC
One of the big announcements to come out of Star Wars Celebration was the news that Daisy Ridley's Rey will be making her return to the galaxies. We last saw Rey on Tatooine, burying Luke and Leia's lightsabers and taking on the last name of Skywalker when pressed by someone on the planet. The ending left enough ambiguity to continue Rey's story if there was ever the need to and now seems to be that time.
It seems like Ridley needed a good few years away from the burning hot lens of the Star Wars fandom after remaining consistently shtum about any plans to re-don the drapery, but she finally took to the stage to announce her excitement at coming back. "My heart is pounding," she said to the crowd, adding "I'm very thrilled to be continuing this journey."
The film will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, whose last work with Disney was as a director for their Marvel series Ms. Marvel. She said about Rey's next outing: “I've always been attracted to the hero's journey and the fact that the world needs many more heroes”. As for the plot? Things are being kept under wraps, but we do know there will be a time jump of 15 years after the events of Rise of Skywalker with Rey setting up a new Jedi Order. For the first time in thousands of years, there are no warring political regimes, but that doesn't mean there's necessarily peace across the galaxies.
James Mangold's Star Wars movie
Release date: TBC
Fresh off of directing the fifth Indiana Jones film, James Mangold will be making a trip to a galaxy far, far away (although sans Harrison Ford, probably Ford's relief). Not much is known about Mangold's foray into the Star Wars fold, just that his film will focus on the “dawn of the Jedi” and the early days of the force.
While plot details remain thin, that hasn't stopped Mangold from going deep on his inspirations for his take. He said: “It takes place 25,000 years before Episode IV, and it’s about the discovery of the Force. I told Kathy [Kennedy] I wanted to make a kind of Bible movie, a kind of Ten Commandments of Star Wars – kind of a Cecil B DeMille film about the arrival of the Force, and that’s what I’ve been pecking away at between press events. That’s the idea", he told Empire. He also added, “It’s a movie that both connects to the worlds we know, but is also far enough away from it that I think there’s a lot of opportunities to tell a story freely, also…and not be so incredibly tied in by the knots and different story strands that are already in place.” Sounds like he's covering all his bases to avoid the Rian Johnson-style backlash of it all!
Dave Filoni's Star Wars film
Rounding out the trilogy of new films announced is one from Dave Filoni, co-creator of The Mandalorian. Nestled in between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens in the Star Wars timeline, it's said the film will be a cinematic event tied to The Mandalorian about the “escalating war between the Imperial remnant and the New Republic.” With The Mandalorian's third season still going on, it might be a while before we see how this film materialises.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Release date: TBC
Unlike most of her new peers at Lucasfilms, Patty Jenkins was pinched from the less successful DC Extended Universe in 2020 – having impressed audiences and critics alike with her take on Wonder Woman. When the film was announced Jenkins set her stall out, saying she wanted to make the “greatest fighter pilot movie ever” (Who wants to break the news about Top Gun: Maverick…?). The official synopsis reads: "The story will introduce 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." I mean, yeah, it does sound pretty much exactly like intergalactic Top Gun.
However, at Star Wars Celebration, LucasFilm's Kathleen Kennedy said the idea is still in the works but might end up as a series on Disney+, adding “whether it’s a movie or it ends up in the series space, that’s definitely something.” After the unceremonious canning of Jenkins from the new DC Studios line-up, languishing in Star Wars development hell might be another too-soon L to take.
Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie
Release date: TBC
There is very little known about Waititi’s upcoming film, other than that it’s happening and that he's taken it upon himself to pen the script. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirmed the project is still underway at Star Wars Celebration, saying “Taika is still working away. He’s writing the script himself. He doesn’t really want to bring others into that process and I don’t blame him. He has a very, very unique voice. So we want to protect that and that’s what he’s doing. But we’re going to make that one day.”
Kevin Feige’s Star Wars movie
Release date: TBC
Feige has enlisted Rick & Morty, Loki and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness screenwriter Michael Waldron for his entry to the Star Wars canon. While everyone ran away with the idea of Marvel's head honcho getting his mitts on the Millennium Falcon, Kathleen Kennedy has firmly reiterated that nothing solid is in the works with Fiege. “Well, Kevin Feige’s project was something announced in the press or, I suppose, fandom, but nothing ever got developed". She added, “We never discussed an idea. As everyone knows, Kevin is a huge “Star Wars” fan, and if he did come up with something, I would be all ears, but that’s never really happened. So, it’s not really an abandoned project: it just didn’t happen.” Considering Marvel already has its phase 5 and 6 to contend with, it might be a while before Fiege gets some off time for a pop across the galaxy.
UPCOMING TV
Ahsoka
Release date: August 2023
A fan fave from the animated series The Clone Wars, Ahsoka Tano made her live-action debut in The Mandalorian series 2, as played by the great Rosario Dawson. Soon after her first episode, it was announced that she would get her own standalone series, which should go some way to explaining how she ended up in Baby Yoda’s orbit in the first place. Hayden Christensen is reportedly involved in this one, too, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead has joined the cast in a top-secret role. It was confirmed at the D23 Expo that Ahsoka is set to drop on Disney+ in 2023. It'll follow the titular former Jedi Knight in the wake of the Empire's destruction, as she investigates “an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy,” per the synopsis.
Fans at Star Wars Celebration were treated to the first exclusive trailer of Ahsoka, but we'll have to wait a while before the LucasFilm overlords send it our way. Still, reports from the crowd mention two new to-franchise villains Baylon and Shin who wield brand-new orange lightsabers. It's never too late to rebrand!
Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3
Release date: 4 January 2024
After The Bad Batch season two launched earlier this year, a third and final season was announced as part of Star Wars Celebration. Speaking at a panel, the creators revealed an exclusive trailer that dives further into the world of the heroic Clone Force 99. Last season ended somewhat on a cliffhanger with the death of group member Tech and the capture of Omega, leaving room for rescue and a final mission for the Force.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Release date: TBC
After doing an impressive job with all three Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, director Jon Watts has been handed a Star Wars series of his very own, which is reportedly a mystery set around the same time as The Mandalorian (in between Revenge of the Sith and the fall of the Empire). At the D23 Expo, Disney gave us something in the way of detail: it's called Skeleton Crew, and it'll tell the story of “four kids who find themselves lost in the vastness of the galaxy to find their way home." Oh, and Jude Law is gonna star. Presumably not as one of the four aforementioned children.
The Acolyte
Release date: 2024
Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland is working on a “female-centric” series. "The Acolyte is a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era," which is some distance from the timeline they're currently focusing on. By the sounds of things, its success could have a major impact on the future of the franchise. “We are moving into a new era with what [showrunner] Leslye Headland is doing,” Kennedy said. “There are certainly reflections of things that people are going to recognise, and it will have connectivity in Star Wars. But this will be a whole new [era] of storytelling if we determine—like we did with The Mandalorian—that it works and that there’s interest. I think there will be.”
