Disney and Lucasfilm have announced the future of the Star Wars franchise on both the big and small screen. The announcements were made during Disney’s Investors Day presentation earlier this week, and there is enough to keep fans busy for the next handful of year. The main star of the show, lately, has been The Mandalorian. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau introduced the world to a brand-new set of characters set in the Star Wars universe, which was considered to be a gamble before the show aired.
Thankfully, the gamble paid off. The Mandalorian has quickly become the Star Wars that fans have been waiting to see for decades, thanks to the creative minds of Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau. The small screen success has now added a ton of new Disney+ shows, while also going on to influence the future of the big screen projects after the Skywalker Saga wrapped up late last year.
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and her collaborators initially wanted to put out all of the Star Wars spin-offs on the big screen, while going on to break new ground after the sequel trilogy concluded. However, hardcore fans did not take to the most recent trilogy the way that Lucasfilm and Disney thought that they would. The Force Awakens made over $2 billion globally, but the next two installments could not keep up that kind of box office success over the next 4 years.
The release of Solo came less than sixth months after The Last Jedi and it looked like Star Wars fatigue had officially set in, which led Disney and Lucasfilm to rethink their release strategy. Solo was not the hit at the box office that many thought it would be, though many fans have come around to the movie in recent months, praising the performances from Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover as the young Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, respectively. From there, Disney and Lucasfilm pumped the breaks and many wondered what was going to be coming next.
Talk of The Mandalorian started shortly after that, though Star Wars fans were not sure what to expect. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau worked in secret, while Lucasfilm started to plot the next big screen work, which included a new trilogy from Rian Johnson, which unfortunately, was not brought up in the latest announcements. However, Kathleen Kennedy did bring up quite a bit of other projects to get very excited about, that stretch back to the familiar, and then far into the unknown. You can check out everything that was announced below.
The Mandalorian season 2 is will come to an end next week, so fans have been wondering about when and if a season 3 announcement was going to come. Disney has announced that the third season of the hit Disney+ series will premiere on Christmas Day, 2021, which means we’re a little over a year away from new adventures featuring Din Djarin and Grogu. As for what will happen, that is completely unclear at this moment.
Ahsoka Disney+ Series
Rumors surrounding Ahsoka Tano and The Mandalorian season 2 began in early 2020. It was rumored that Rosario Dawson was going to play the live-action version of the fan-favorite on the series, which was later proven to be true. Now, Dawson will star in her own Disney+ Ahsoka series, which will hopefully introduce live-action versions of Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra Bridger. The show will premiere in the winter 2021 and it will take place within The Mandalorian timeline.
Like the Ahsoka series, Rangers of the New Republic is a spin-off from The Mandalorian, which will also take place within the same timeline. Details are scarce, but we have been introduced to New Republic pilots like Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s Captain Carson Teva. It’s unclear if he’ll be featured in the show, which is expected to crossover with The Mandalorian and Ahsoka at some point down the line. It is also expected in late 2021.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series was first announced last year at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. Star Wars fans were ecstatic to learn that Ewan McGregor was returning to play the Jedi Master in a new show set 10 years after Revenge of the Sith. Kathleen Kennedy just announced that Hayden Christensen will be returning to the franchise as Darth Vader, which is something that fans have been waiting decades to see. Production is set to begin in March 2021 with a release date likely set for 2022.
Lando Disney+ Series
Everybody’s favorite space scoundrel now has his own Disney+ series. The new show is simply titled Lando at the moment and there really is not a lot of extra information at this time. Dear White People director Justin Simien is developing the mysterious new series, which, at this time, does not have a star. Lucasfilm and Disney have not revealed if Donald Glover will be reprising his young Lando role from Solo, or if Billy Dee Williams will be stepping back into a new set of capes.
Leslye Headland will helm The Acolyte Disney+ series, which is described as a “mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.” While the show will have a female protagonist, Headland has stated that it will not be “female-centric.” It will take place 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace and it will focus on new characters.
Andor Disney+ Series
The Rogue One Prequel Series is now officially titled Andor, and it is already in production. Diego Luna appeared in a sizzle reel to promote the series, which was first announced back in 2018. The upcoming Disney+ series is described as a “tense nail-biting spy thriller,” that will reunite Luna with Alan Tudyk. Andor also features Stellan Skarsgard, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma The show is expected to premiere at some point in 2022.
Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins is joining the Star Wars universe with Rogue Squadron. Details about the upcoming movie are nonexistent at the moment, but fans are already excited to see what Jenkins can bring to the table. The movie will be about X-Wing fighter pilots, but it is unclear where in the timeline this story will fit. Luckily, Jenkins, who has said that the movie is inspired by her fighter pilot father, doesn’t have to have it ready until December 25th, 2023.
Kathleen Kennedy also spoke about the untitled Taika Waititi Star Wars movie, which he is currently developing. The movie is being written by the Thor: Ragnarok director with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Not much else is known about the mystery project at this time, but it will likely take the December 25th, 2025 release slot. Waititi proved to be very valuable while making The Mandalorian and fans responded very well to his episodes, along with his take on IG-11.
Kathleen Kennedy took some time during the Investors Day presentation to discuss the intersection of animation and visual effects at Lucasfilm and the new doors that they’re opening. This epic journey will introduce us to new hero guided by our most iconic duo on a secret mission known only to them. What could possibly go wrong? R2-D2 and C-3PO are going to have their work cut out for them in the new Disney+ animated movie, which does not have a premiere date.
The Bad Batch animated series takes place after The Clone Wars finale, and it will premiere in 2021. The series follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch (first introduced in The Clone Wars) as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War. Members of Bad Batch – a unique squad of clones who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army – each possess a singular exceptional skill, which makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew. In the post-Clone War era, they will take on daring mercenary missions as they struggle to stay afloat and find new purpose. A trailer showed off Emperor Palpatine and it looks like an intriguing adventure.
Star Wars: Visions is an original series of animated short films, which celebrates the Star Wars galaxy through the lens of the world’s best Japanese anime creators. It’s all set to arrive on Disney+ in 2021. Visions will be made through different Japanese animation studios as an anthology made up of ten short films..
