Star Wars is dead…long live Star Wars! And honestly, I have no clue how or where to begin this ginormous, overwhelming drop of news about the future of Star Wars, as there are nearly 10 new series announced for Disney+ and a new movie from Patty Jenkins called Rogue Squadron all set to hit our collective eyeballs in the next few years! I am absolutely thrilled at all this content coming, though a little anxious about it being too much, but let’s not worry about that and unpack all the new series and movie announced today at the Disney Investors Call.
— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) December 10, 2020
Let’s begin with the next theatrical movie: Rogue Squadron, directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984) and set for Christmas 2023. According to the press release, Rogue Squadron 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.” In the video above, and in the press release, Jenkins reveals a rather touching story about her father and her connection to fighter pilots, meaning this will be a personal, emotional film with the promise of it being the best fighter pilot movie ever, which I believe she can deliver! It’s amazing to think we’re finally getting the first woman to direct a Star Wars feature film, because as great as it’s been to have Deborah Chow and Bryce Dallas Howard directing on The Mandalorian, it was about time for a woman behind a Star Wars film too, and who better than Patty Jenkins! She even got the architect of the Rogue Squadron novels’ support, Michael A. Stackpole, a series of novels our writer Chris is revisiting at this moment! As for when Rogue Squadron will take place in the timeline, the line, “future era of the galaxy,” makes me believe this will be set post-The Rise of Skywalker, so I’ll be curious to learn what threats await the New (New?) Republic, and if any recognizable faces from the sequel trilogy make appearances: Poe Dameron makes the most sense, but a fleeting glimpse of Rey wouldn’t be bad either! We’ll have more as it comes in, but I won’t expect any real new details for awhile with all the upcoming TV series to focus on, but it’s just great to know what’s to come. And with it coming out in 2023, we might all be safe to go to the theaters again!
Taika Waititi’s film is in development, which we first learned about in May, and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy seems to hint it’ll bring all the director’s funny and unique styles to the project. It’s co-written with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, but no release date as of yet. This was the image included with the quick discussion on his film so, take what you will from its…distinctive look.
No update on the Rian Johnson Trilogy, but it’s out there, somewhere!
And now…an overload of TV series to come on Disney+!!! We’ll start with the new shows first and work our way back to the new details on shows we already knew about.
Lando system? No it’s a Lando series! That’s right, Lando aka Landonis Balthazar Calrissian, the smoothest smuggler in all the galaxy, gets his own series simply titled: Lando! It’s being labeled an “event” series, so I imagine it won’t be more than a season, but I’ll be curious…is it a continuation of Lando’s new story after The Rise of Skywalker or picking up after the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story, meaning they truly are working on a continuation of the standalone film but in a unique, multi-series way. It’s being developed by Justin Simien, who created the dazzling, witty, and relevant series Dear White People, so either Billy Dee Williams or Donald Glover (or both, if they play around with timelines like Last Shot) will be in good hands!
With less than a month until The High Republic’s release, the upcoming publishing initiative spanning comics and novels, could there really be anything else to get us even more pumped for its launch? The answer is yes, and the answer is The Acolyte, Leslye Headland’s (Russian Doll) female-centric show we learned about back in May!! There was just the rumor about an animated series set in the timeline, which seems to still be in-development, but holy cow, what a cool way to add excitement for the initiative with Headland’s show! Described as a, “…mystery-thriller that will take the audience into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.” The Sith aren’t even a glimpse, as far as we know, in the story of The High Republic, and with this taking place towards the end of the era, and therefore closer to the prequel trilogy, I wouldn’t be surprised these “emerging dark side powers” could be our first hints of the long-term planning of the Sith leading into the films we already know! I’ll be curious to see when/if/how the books and comics of The High Republic tie-in to this upcoming show, and what elements make it into the show, but I hope this doesn’t overstep publishing’s chance to shine with their big initiative. No release date announced but consider this the show I’m most excited for; check out our The High Republic hub for content about the initiative, like our look at the Easter Eggs hiding in the current canon.
One of the most unique announcements comes with Visions, “…a series of animated short films celebrating Star Wars through the lens of the world’s best anime creators.” It sounds like it’ll be 10 short films, with many coming from leading Japanese anime studios, which is such an awesome way to broaden the diversity behind the scenes for Star Wars as a whole. What these Visions will be about, and look like, definitely is something I’m really looking forward to uncovering! This reminds me a little bit of The Animatrix, and while that was maybe a little too wild thanks to the possibilities with its subject matter, I do hope these try to push the boundaries of Star Wars!
Ahsoka! After her live-action debut in The Mandalorian earlier this month, Ahsoka Tano gets her own limited series, of course written and developed by Dave Filoni! Of course I’m so excited for this, as it means more Ahsoka, but as we went over in her Mandalorian episode, the allegations against Rosario Dawson unfortunately taint this news and the character’s legacy; why this couldn’t be animation is beyond me, but it shows Lucasfilm isn’t listening to fans or concerned much with anything against its actors. Regardless, with this being set during the timeline of The Mandalorian, I’ll be curious if this will continue the thread from the Star Wars Rebels epilogue, that Ahsoka was clearly working on asking the Magistrate about Grand Admiral Thrawn, or if this will build into that storyline coming in an animated show. The only hint, to me at least, this might not be the Ahsoka/Sabine go looking for Ezra show, is due to the title card reflecting the look of the World Between Worlds, the mysterious place Ezra saved Ahsoka in, so this might take us through her time between being saved by Ezra and showing up on Lothal. Or not…we’ll just have to wait for more details!
More The Mandalorian tie-ins coming! It seems it is the anchor for more new content, like the upcoming Rangers of the New Republic! Developed by Filoni and Jon Favreau, Rangers ” …will intersect with future stories and culminate into a climactic story event,” and as for what the event will be…I imagine we’re building to a live-action TV show/movie series on Disney+ that will bring us a canon version of the Thrawn Trilogy, so to speak! That’s complete conjecture at this point, but Thrawn’s name showing up in Mandalorian, it being developed by those involved in said show, and it culminating into some type of story event, means we’re all building towards…something big for Star Wars TV. As for who is in Rangers, I’m placing my bets on at least Captain Teva, who has appeared in a few episodes of The Mandalorian (who saved Din from the spiders and even tried to recruit Cara Dune), but the possibility for a bunch of new characters is the most exciting aspect. I just really, really hope Cara Dune isn’t in it, but if she is, hopefully they recast after Gina Carano’s dangerous behavior online (also something I discussed in her last big episode). Both Dawson and Carano’s mentions mean it’s important to remind fans who care about Trans rights to donate to the fundraiser put together by fans trying to combat the two actresses’ involvements with something positive.
Alright, the last of the new projects: A Droid Story. Billed as a team-up between Lucasfilm Animation and Industrial Light & Magic, so maybe a hybrid live-action/animated or stop-motion show, the “…epic journey will introduce us to a new hero, guided by legendary duo R2-D2 and C-3PO.” Are they ‘retiring’ Artoo and Threepio, and BB-8 and this new droid will be the duo focused in upcoming movies/tv shows/books/comics and more? Will it be the companion to the next set of heroes? Is it a special, like a one-off moment? There’s just far too much speculation with the vagueness of the show’s description, but like all the others above, I’m eager to learn more at the very least. You can see the adventures’ title card in the bottom left of image at the top of this article.
Okay, now that we’ve explored the new and unknown shows announced…let’s dive into the new details released for shows we already knew about!
The official title for the Cassian Andor show is…Andor! It already began filming a few weeks ago, with the above sizzle reel providing a glimpse behind-the-scenes of all the work going into the shows, from movie-sized sets and special effects with creatures and droids, and all the excited Diego Luna one can handle (which there’s even enough of)! Andor isn’t out until 2022, but it looks like we know why it might take longer than The Mandalorian, considering it’s going the more traditional route with filming than using the Volume. Alongside mentioning cast members already confirmed, a few new names are revealed in the press release, “Stellan Skarsgard, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma.” There have been rumors about Adria Arjona (Good Omens), but now she’s confirmed, while Denise Gough is new, as is Fiona Shaw, an actress I’m really happy is in the show thanks to her roles in shows like Killing Eve and True Blood.
Given all the other titles, it’s no surprise the final title for the Obi-Wan Kenobi show is…Obi-Wan Kenobi, but these don’t need to be flashy, especially when it comes to Obi-Wan! Beyond releasing in 2022, the big news is confirmation of Hayden Christensen’s involvement, as he returns to play Anak….Darth Vader!! Kennedy calls it the “rematch of the century,” and while that might bring tons of confusion since it seems unlikely Vader and Obi-Wan saw each other between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, I imagine this show will be quite psychologically focused, so it’ll likely be Kenobi’s own mind conjuring up Vader to haunt him. Or not, because I don’t think many of us would mind if they found a way to make it work. Either way, I’m damn happy Christensen is back and Deborah Chow is in charge; Too bad they didn’t go with Hello There…
Alright, one last show to discuss: The Bad Batch. I’ve had a tepid response to the it’s announcement but, like all things Star Wars, I awaited more details and footage before I made any final judgement. Well, thanks to the trailer above, I take back my lack of excitement! One of the biggest reasons I’ve changed my mind: Fennec Shand is set to be involved, having just had a glorious resurrection in The Mandalorian! We still need more details about the story, because going on mercenary missions doesn’t seem to completely explain all the glorious animation on show in the trailer, but giving Shand her time to shine is a huge plus in my book!
I feel like I just ran a full marathon putting this article together; there’s just so much content to cover in this big news dump! I’m really glad I don’t cover entertainment news in general, as all the Marvel and Fox content Disney announced is staggering large (Y: The Last Man show is still happening! Alien coming to TV! All the new Marvel shows/movies!), while Lucasfilm even has their own non-Star Wars stuff to talk about, like the next Indiana Jones film, the Willow show, and an original film called Children of Blood & Bone. In the end, if all this content feels overwhelming, and believe me, thinking of trying to review of all of this is giving me anxiety (we’re always looking for new writers!), just know you don’t have to see it all to still be a Star Wars fan, so breathe, relax, and choose what you want to enjoy. I still have my fingers crossed for Doctor Aphra to show up in one of these, somehow/somewhere!
And then head back to the Manor to see our coverage on all the above (wish us luck)!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.