With the recent Star Wars Celebration in London came a host of announcements for television and the big screen. There are now, reportedly, as many Star Wars productions in development as ones that have already been released.
Aside from the many major announcements over the past week, there are also several pending projects from recent years that have had little update, aside from the occasional cancellation. This begs the question; just how many Star Wars shows and movies are planned right now?
There are only a small handful of sure things, most of which are so close to airing as to already have trailers out such as Young Jedi Adventures coming on May the 4th as well as Ahsoka which will air later this year in August and consist of eight episodes. Aside from these original productions we can also count on season four of The Mandalorian and the second and final season of Andor sticking to their respective air dates, especially since both shows’ scripts have already been written. The same goes for season three of The Bad Batch which will also conclude after its third season.
In regards to everything else, let’s start with the most recent announcements to keep things fresh in people’s minds and then begin to excavate the recent past to determine just how many products we can expect and how likely they are to actually see a released date.
Visions volume 2
With a trailer airing at Celebration and multiple studios involved, this one is most certainly a sure thing. The follow up to the award-winning anthology season will see an international roster of animation studios having their take on the Star Wars universe in stories that are completely outside of the traditional canon. All nine episodes of Visions volume two will air on May the 4th on Disney +.
James Mangold movie
From the director of Logan and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny comes a film about the early origins of the Jedi order, taking place some 25,000 years before the time of the Empire, or rather “over a thousand generations” as Old Ben would put it. None of the three movies announced at Celebration have release dates so far, meaning that any one of these is probably still some years away.
Dave Filoni movie
Dave Filoni and his ever-expanding hat have been involved in more or less every Star Wars production for the last 15 years. He was one of the major creative forces behind The Clone Wars and Rebels and has directed live action episodes of Star Wars shows. Now he is moving on to the big screen with a film that will tie together the plots of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka during the time of the New Republic set in between episodes VI and VII.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy movie
The third of the new slate of films is from Ms. Marvel director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy whose film will have Rey attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker which is also a full 50 years after A New Hope, the furthest into the future that the current canon has yet seen.
The Acolyte
First announced back in 2020 along with a host of others that we’ll talk about shortly. The Acolyte will bring the High Republic era into the realm of live action for the first time. Set around 200 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga, the series from showrunner Leslye Headland will focus on the re-emergence of the dark side of the force as a golden age for the Republic comes to its inevitable end. Production on the series has officially commenced with a cast announced and a release window slated for next year. So far things are looking good for the new series but only time will tell.
Skeleton Crew
Announced over a year ago. Principle photography has reportedly already wrapped for Skeleton Crew from executive producers Jon Watts and Chris Ford. The series will star Jude Law and focus on a group of lost children and have a distinctly “Goonies” vibe according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. The show is said to air later this year but no release date has yet been given.
From here on out we venture into the world of speculation and conjecture, the foundations of Star Wars journalism. The following projects have all technically been green-lit by Lucasfilm but the passage of time and significance of more recent announcements means that the validity of any of that is in question. With that in mind, let’s have an even deeper look into the realm of possibility in the galaxy far, far away.
Rogue Squadron
The once hopeful high-speed thrill-ride from Patty Jenkins is increasingly looking like it won’t take off after all. After receiving a video introduction from Jenkins herself standing in front of a life-sized X-Wing fighter, expressing her personal enthusiasm for the project, there has been setback after setback. Originally meant for release this Christmas, the film was then pushed due to Jenkins’ other productions. Then in September last year, Rogue Squadron was taken off Disney’s release schedule all together despite Jenkins insisting she was still working on it, especially after the cancellation of Wonder Woman 3. Kathleen Kennedy recently stated that the project could still happen either as a film or a television series meaning that we shouldn’t expect to see a development any time soon.
Taika Waititi movie
Another strong maybe! Waititi previously directed the final episode of The Mandalorian season one. His planned film however has received close to no news since its announcement nearly three years ago. Kennedy stated at Celebration that “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.”
How far off ‘one day’ is, could be any number of years away meaning that we shouldn’t expect another update for a while to come.
Rian Johnson Trilogy
Another contentious one but a project that has thus far only been given a thumbs up from Lucasfilm. Both Johnson and Kennedy have repeatedly stated that the series is still planned and that the only barrier is when Johnson will have time in his schedule. This one was announced all the way back in 2017, before The Last Jedi was released. Kennedy remarked at Celebration that she and Johnson talk “all the time and stated to Variety that “we’re not actively involved in anything at the moment because he’s doing another one of the Glass Onion movies and then God knows what else.”
So, we can see that the enthusiasm is there but the time to act on it is not. Again, this one is probably another few years off still.
That about does it for the heavy hitters. There are release dates still slated for December 2025 and 2027 but with no directors attached meaning that any of the aforementioned projects could steal that slot. The final pieces of the Star Wars puzzle worth mentioning are that Dave Filoni has also announced a second season of Tales of the Jedi. The first season of 6 episodes was well received and Filoni stated that he enjoyed the project. Lucasfilm is also waiting for Donald Glover to have a spare moment for Lando and Ewan McGregor has expressed enthusiasm for a second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi which he also served as executive producer on. Nothing official from Lucasfilm on that front however.
Which Star Wars project are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments below! For all things Star Wars, keep reading on Dork Side of the Force!