New year, new me; that's what the Star Wars franchise is hoping to achieve this year as it heads back to the big screen. The stories set in that galaxy so far, far away haven't all been resonating with audiences in the same way that they once did as Disney and Lucasfilm look to figure out how to turn it back into the phenomenon that it was.
This might be the year it accomplishes that, as there are two big releases set for this year. The Mandalorian and Grogu looks to bring the biggest success story of the Disney Plus era to movie theaters this summer, while Ahsoka is seemingly set to return for its second season at some point this year too. Best of both worlds to kick off the new Star Wars era, right?
Well, there might be a bit of a problem there.
Disney leaves Ahsoka season 2 off release slate in 2026 preview kit
Disney recently released a new 2026 preview kit to the media, including all of the major titles we can expect from this year's release slate. On there was the likes of Marvel's Daredevil: Born Again, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, X-Men '97, Avengers: Doomsday, The Punisher Special Presentation, and of course, The Mandalorian and Grogu. What wasn't there was Ahsoka season 2. Naturally, this has led to concern among fans that the show's sophomore season won't actually be coming out this year after all.
The first season of Ahsoka streamed on Disney Plus back in 2023. A spinoff of The Mandalorian, the series starred Rosario Dawson as Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano in what was one of the biggest fan-castings-turned-reality in recent memory. Dawson had first appeared in The Mandalorian, which marked the live-action debut of a character who fans have adored since her first appearance in animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and she has been nothing short of spectacular in the role. It was no surprise that Ahsoka was promptly renewed for a second season.
As we've seen with big-budget streaming shows, getting those new seasons to the screen can take a number of years - and that has certainly been the case with Ahsoka season 2. The show filmed its second season all throughout 2025, wrapping in October. Given the amount of special effects that would be required to bring any Star Wars property to life, an early 2026 release date is automatically ruled out. But could that also end up factoring into why it has been mysteriously left off Disney's 2026 release calendar? As it only wrapped at the end of last year, the level of post-production that a project like this might require could result in it getting pushed to 2027.
Then again, some fans have since reported seeing Ahsoka season 2 listed under Disney Plus' new "Coming in 2026" category, while others have noted that it's not on theirs (perhaps suggesting that it has been pulled from there too). And that takes us right back to square one, wondering as to whether new episodes of Ahsoka Tano's story will release this year or not.
There has been some speculation that Disney and Lucasfilm's decision to return Star Wars to the big screen has hindered the momentum that the "Mando-Verse" projects have built up on the small screen. Although not every Star Wars show on Disney Plus has been a resounding success, most of the ones associated with the Mandalorian saga have enjoyed strong runs. Ahsoka was indeed one of those success stories, so it would be a shame to see its momentum hindered by the decision to bring The Mandalorian and Grogu to movie theaters instead.
We'll have to wait and see how it pans out for Ahsoka season 2, but I doubt we'll see it before the summer as Disney Plus has a number of high-profile releases to focus on in the first half of the year and it's unlikely that they would want that to clash with The Mandalorian and Grogu's theatrical release. In this era of scaling back, placing two Star Wars titles closer together simply wouldn't make sense - so that all but guarantees a late/fall 2026 release (if it is indeed still on the release slate for the year).