When The Rise of Skywalker was released in theaters in 2019, it was the first time in over seven years that we didn’t know what the next Star Wars movie was going to be about. Ever since Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney in 2012, and we knew that there would be more Star Wars movies starting with Episode VII, we’ve always known what to expect from the next Star Wars movie.
But all that came to an end in 2019, with the release of The Rise of Skywalker seemingly closing out the story for Rey, Finn, Poe, Rose, and the rest of the new characters. Sure we knew that there were going to be more Star Wars movies released, the dates had already been announced, but for the first time in a long time we didn’t know what those movies were going to be about, or even in which era of Star Wars they would be set in.
Finally, on Dec. 10 of last year, it was announced, along with a whole slew of Star Wars Disney+ shows, that the next theatrically released Star Wars movie would be titled Rogue Squadron. While very little about the movie was revealed beyond the title, it was also announced that the movie would be directed by Patty Jenkins, best known for directing the two Wonder Woman movies. This makes Jenkins the first female ever to direct a Star Wars movie.
Patty Jenkins talks Rogue Squadron
As we inch closer to the Christmastime 2023 release date, a little bit more information has started to be revealed. Just recently, it was announced that the movie would be written by Matthew Robinson, whose movie, Love and Monsters, was released last year. Then, earlier this week, director Patty Jenkins spoke briefly with the Associated Press about the upcoming project:
"The Michael Stackpole books and the video games and all of the Rogue Squadron books, there’s an incredible history that’s really important to honor. And yet, it must be brought to a new age, because we have to tell a new story with it and so you’re trying to blend the best of everything and make it the great fighter-pilot movie, which I’ve always wanted to make, as well. It’s a big brew of things that you’re trying to put together and still try to keep a simple story"
What to expect from Rogue Squadron
Based on the interview, it sounds like the movie is likely drawing inspiration from both the Rogue Squadron video game trilogy for Nintendo 64 and Gamecube, as well as the series of X-Wing novels, the first of which was titled X-Wing: Rogue Squadron, and was written by Michael Stackpole.
While both of these properties are no longer considered canon and exist in the Legends timeline, it seems that Jenkins still wants to draw inspiration from them for her canon Rogue Squadron film. While the movie might not be directly adapting the stories told in either the books or the video games, it sounds like it will still be trying to capture the excitement of the aerial battles as described in the X-Wing series or to give audiences the same feeling of being able to get in the cockpit of an X-Wing and take on the Empire just like the video games.
Jenkins also seems to say that her movie will be the first Star Wars movie to be released after the completed Skywalker saga and will very much be the first of a new age of Star Wars films as the franchise expands into the future. Time will tell exactly what that outlook might mean for the movie itself, but it’s clear that Jenkins is very excited to get to play in the Star Wars universe.