As hard as it is to believe, Disney bought the Star Wars property from George Lucas more than a decade ago, an acquisition that helped the beloved franchise reach new heights (and a more aggressive release model). Since then, fans have seen a new trilogy, a pair of standalone films, and multiple Star Wars TV shows on Disney+ like The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Ahsoka, and numerous others.
Though it has been nearly a half-decade since the last time we saw the iconic opening crawl for a new movie with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, there are a few big-screen projects in the works over at Disney/Lucasfilm that will someday bring the franchise back to theaters. Below is a breakdown of all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows that we can expect at some point in the future, as well as some information on those unrealized projects that were suddenly silenced and why things simply didn’t work out.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 - Premiered February 21, 2024
Ever since its launch in 2021, Star Wars: The Bad Batch has been one of the best Disney+ shows available, but all good things have to come to an end. Back in April 2023, it was revealed that the animated series centering on Clone Force 99 would be getting a third and final season before the credits finally rolled for good. The 15-episode final chapter in the epic saga had a three-part premiere on February 21, 2024, and subsequent installments will become available for Disney+ subscribers before the series finale in May.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew - Disney+ - 2024
As revealed during the 2022 Star Wars Celebration, the highly-anticipated Star Wars: Skeleton Crew was on the way, welcoming Jude Law to the ranks of actors to appear in both Star Wars and Marvel. The Amblin-style series, which will take place between the fall of the Empire in The Return of the Jedi and the rise of the New Order in The Force Awakens, will center on a group of 10-year-old kids lost in the universe who are looking for a way back home. The series was originally penciled in for a 2023 release, but Disney+ announced in December of that year that it would arrive at some point in 2024, though no exact date (or window) was revealed.
Though we don’t know when the show will premiere, there will be some major talent behind the camera. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Daniels, the filmmaking duo behind the Academy Award-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, directed an episode, as did The Green Knight director David Lowery.
The Acolyte - Disney+ - 2024
Leslye Headland, the co-creator of the Emmy Award-winning Netflix series Russian Doll, will also be creating her very own Star Wars show, titled The Acolyte for Disney+ at some point in the future. According to a Variety report from April 2020, the show will be a female-centric series that takes place in a part of the Star Wars timeline that we have yet to see. It was further revealed in December 2020 that the show would welcome audiences into a galaxy filled with mystery and the emerging dark side. At this point, a lot of details have yet to be released, though in December 2021, Variety posted that Amandla Stenberg is reportedly being eyed for a mysterious role on the series. And, according to comments made by Headland in the June 2022 Vanity Fair Star Wars profile, the series will take place around 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
In November 2022, the official Star Wars website confirmed the cast would include Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman, and Carrie-Anne Moss. By Star Wars Celebration 2023, a handful of other cool tidbits were revealed, including that the show will include a Wookiee Jedi Master and will come out sometime in 2024. This was later confirmed by Disney+ in December 2023.
Andor Season 2 - Disney+ - TBD
The Andor Season 1 ending left things up in the air for Cassian and the Rebel Alliance, but we can expect that story to continue when the popular Disney+ original series returns. Though we know that showrunner Tony Gilroy and the cast will be returning at some point in the future, we don’t exactly know when that will be. Production kicked off in November 2022, according to Collider, but the shoot was put on hold several months later because of several issues, including an April 2023 landslide, per the BBC, and then later because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. However, series star Diego Luna took to Instagram in February 2024 to announce that he had finished filming the series.
Though we know what Andor Season 2 will cover, it’s not yet known when the show will make its return to Disney+. There was some talk of a 2024 premiere, but it’s hard to say as the show wasn’t included in a December 2023 Disney+ press release highlighting the originals that would premiere in the following year.
Ahsoka Season 2 - TBD
With all the cliffhangers in the Ahsoka Season 1 finale, fans were hopeful they would get some closure at some point in the future, and that very well may happen. In January 2024, Variety reported that the show’s second season was in development at Lucasfilm with Dave Filoni once again leading the charge. There hasn’t been much in terms of updates since then, but expect that to change in the coming months.
Tales From The Jedi Season 2 - TBD
Tales from the Jedi, the animated Star Wars series that focused on Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku during its first season on Disney+, will be returning to the platform at some point. During Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, Dave Filoni announced that the series would be returning but didn’t offer up any details about whose stories it will tell this time around.
The Mandalorian & Grogu - TBD
The two characters who kicked off the Disney+ Star Wars TV universe -- Mando and Baby Yoda -- will soon get their own big-screen project. In January 2024, it was announced that Lucasfilm was developing The Mandalorian & Grogu, a new film that will be directed by The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau. Right now, we're left with more questions than answers concerning the movie, but this could be the spark that reignites the franchise's cinematic output.
Untitled Rey Movie - TBD
Those who thought Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) story was over with the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ending should think again, as the character is getting her own movie. Originally, Lost and The Leftovers creator Damon Lindelof was writing a Star Wars movie with partner Justin Britt-Gibson, and Shareen Obaid-Chinoy, who directed several episodes of Mrs. Marvel, had been tapped to direct the mystery project. However, by March 2023, Lindelof and Britt-Gibson departed the project, and shortly thereafter, it was revealed that Peaky Blinders' Steven Knight had taken over scriptwriting duties.
Several weeks after that, it was announced at the Star Wars Celebration that this Star Wars movie will follow Daisy Ridley's Rey 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker as she rebuilds the New Jedi Order and confronts "the powers that rise to tear it down." There's been no word about if other familiar faces from the Sequel Trilogy will appear in this movie, or when the film will hit theaters.
Untitled Dave Filoni Movie - TBD
After being arguably the most influential figure in Star Wars television for years, the time has come for Dave Filoni to leave his mark on the franchise's cinematic realm. It was announced at Star Wars Celebration as part of the latest update on the franchise's movie plans that he will direct a feature that covers "the escalating war between the Imperial Remnant and the fledgling New Republic." In other words, it will close out the connective threads established in shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew, i.e. the stories taking place in the immediate years after Return of the Jedi. It's unclear if that also means those shows will end or if they'll keep going afterward, but Filoni will once again be joined by producer Jon Favreau.
Untitled James Mangold Movie
As if directing Swamp Thing for the new DC Universe wasn't enough to keep him busy, now Logan director James Mangold is lending his talents to the Star Wars franchise. Mangold already has some experience collaborating with Lucasfilm from directing Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and this time, he's been tapped to helm a movie about the dawn of the Jedi. It will take place roughly 25,000 years before any of the Star Wars stories that have been chronicled on film and television. The filmmaker described this project as a "Biblical epic" that takes a Ten Commandments-like approach to showing the origins of the Force.
In June 2023, Kathleen Kennedy told GamesRadar+ that Mangold’s project and the untitled Rey film will complement each other, despite taking place thousands of years apart from one another.
Taika Waititi Standalone Movie - TBD
After sitting behind the camera for the explosive The Mandalorian Season 1 finale, it seemed like a given that Academy Award-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi would one day be given his very own Star Wars movie. After months of rumors surrounding his involvement with the franchise, the news was confirmed in May 2020 when it was announced that Waititi would be making a standalone movie. There aren't a lot of details about the still-untitled project at this point, but the Jojo Rabbit director did say that he and 1917 writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns were in the process of penning the script in July 2020.
The untitled project was touched upon during Disney’s 2020 Investor call, during which Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy described it as “fresh, unexpected, and… unique.” Waititi had some fun regarding the mystery project on social media after the official Star Wars Twitter account provided a quick update on it, which pretty much ended with the Thor: Love and Thunder director jokingly saying he was angry about how much he was going to ruin the franchise.
Untitled Shawn Levy Star Wars Movie - TBD
Shawn Levy has done a little bit of everything over the years from comedies like Cheaper by the Dozen and Date Night to massive family films like the Night at the Museum film franchise. And the director/producer isn’t stopping with Deadpool 3, as he is in the process of developing his own Star Wars movie after his MCU debut and the completion of Stranger Things.
In November 2022, Deadline reported that Levy was in talks to helm a mystery project at some point in the future, though no other details were made available at the time.
A Droid Story - Disney+ - TBD
There's another upcoming Star Wars film project to note, but instead of heading to theaters, this animated feature will be exclusive to Disney+. According to what Disney announced on the December 2020 investor call, A Droid Story will be the product of a collaboration between Lucasfilm Animation and Industrial Light & Magic to tell the epic journey of a yet-to-be-revealed new droid who will be joined by C-3P0 and R2-D2. More details on this project will be released in the near future. There are still a lot of questions surrounding this special.
The Mandalorian Season 4 - Disney+ - TBD
In February 2023, showrunner Jon Favreau revealed that he'd finished writing all of the episodes for The Mandalorian Season 4 and that the next season would connect with Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew. Taking into account the Dave Filoni-helmed movie now in development, we are not fully sure when the next installment in the popular series will premiere or what kind of story it will tell once the show does return.
This also brings into question the status of The Book of Boba Fett, which hasn’t been officially announced at this point in time. It remains to be seen if we’ll see Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen’s characters again, but never say never with the Star Wars franchise.
Lando - Disney+ - TBD
Those holding out for a show based on the exploits of one of the galaxy’s coolest scoundrels are in for some good news and bad news. The good news first… Lando, which was first announced back in December 2020, is still in the works. However, it’s reportedly no longer a show, but a full-fledged movie. Okay, that’s two scoops of good news, don’t hate.
We’re starting to know more about Lando, including the fact that Donald Glover and his brother, Stephen, are behind the project, which was originally developed by Justin Simien. In September 2023, Variety reported that Stephen Glover addressed the change on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast but didn’t elaborate a whole lot due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which were in effect at the time.
Rian Johnson Trilogy - TBD
There was a great deal of backlash following the release of Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but the franchise is far from done with him. Prior to the release of Johnson's 2017 film, Lucasfilm announced that their collaboration with Johnson would continue with the development of an entire new trilogy of movies. Johnson was quick to shoot down rumors about the mysterious project in December 2019, and there hasn’t been much news on the project since. With Johnson projects like Poker Face Season 2 and Knives Out 3, it’s going to be some time before we have any major updates on this highly-anticipated project.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron - TBD
In December 2020, it was announced that Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins would be leading the charge on Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, an upcoming movie that will follow the famed group of X-Wing pilots featured in various Star Wars books and video games over the years, a group that until the big announcement, had yet to be featured in any film or television property in the franchise. There has been a ton of news about the project in the years since its announcement, including reports that the movie was put on indefinite hold. The news only got worse from there, as it was removed from the 2023 release schedule in September 2022. By March 2023, it was reported that Rogue Squadron was no longer in development, but then Kathleen Kennedy told IGN the following month that it could still be made, though perhaps as a series instead.
No Longer Happening
While there are a great number of Star Wars projects in the works, there are several others that have fallen by the wayside and cancelled. Here are the movies and shows that into that category.
Kevin Feige-Produced Standalone Movie
When it was first announced in September 2019, the untitled Kevin Feige-produced standalone film was one of the most anticipated projects in the galaxy far, far away. Sadly, it also appears to be a movie that is no longer happening.
In a February 2020 conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Endgame director Joe Russo said that Star Wars was Kevin Feige's first and true love, adding that Feige's vision for the franchise will be passionate, emotional, and unique. At one point, Loki’s Michael Waldron was tapped to work on the film’s script, which made the project seem like a promising upcoming release. However, both it and Rogue Squadron were said to no longer be moving forward on the same day.
Untitled J.D. Dillard Standalone Movie
J.D. Dillard, the filmmaker responsible for Devotion, and one-time receptionist at J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot, was selected to direct his own Star Wars movie penned by Luke Cage writer Matt Owens. The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter in February 2020, but few details were available at the time, which remained the case for a couple of years until the director told TheWrap in November 2022 that he was no longer involved with the project. Until there's an announcement saying otherwise, it doesn't look like this one's moving forward, either.
There are still a lot of unknown variables that could delay or force the cancellation of any of these other projects moving forward, so make sure to check back for all the latest here at CinemaBlend.
