The future of 'Star Wars': All the movies and TV shows in development right now
Between the Skywalker Saga-capping The Rise of Skywalker and the farewell seasons of The Clone Wars and Resistance, the Star Wars franchise has seen some high-profile endings recently. But George Lucas’s far, far away galaxy is on the verge of several new beginnings on the big screen and beyond. The franchise’s current owners at the Walt Disney Company have far-ranging plans for the next chapters in Star Wars lore, from new feature films to binge-worthy Disney+ series. Here’s a look at all of the different movies and TV shows currently in development.
The Mandalorian Season 2
Nobody puts Baby Yoda in a corner — not even a global pandemic. Season 2 of the hit Disney+ series wrapped filming on March 8, right before the coronavirus outbreak forced Hollywood into a near-total shutdown. Series cinematographer, Baz Idoine, posted the evidence on his own Instagram.
The sophomore season is set to premiere on Disney’s streaming service in October and will continue the Lone Wolf and Cub-style adventures of the titular bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) and his little green sidekick. Also returning are merc Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Mando’s “boss” Greef Karga (Carl Weathers, who also directs an episode this season) and Darksaber-swinging bad guy, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). But all eyes will be on the rumored live action debut of Clone Wars breakout character Ahsoka Tano, played by Rosario Dawson. Ahsoka’s creator — and returning Mandalorian director — Dave Filoni, has so far declined to confirm her appearance, but we’re pretty sure he’s orchestrated the cameo we’re looking for.
Untitled Taika Waititi feature film
Leave it to the Thor: Love & Thunder director to bring some thunder to the Star Wars universe. Following his directing (and voiceover) stint on Season 1 of The Mandalorian, Waititi will step into the director’s chair for a feature film, presumably after his second Thor adventure arrives in theaters in February 2022. He’ll also co-write the movie with 1917 scribe, Krysty Wilson-Cairns; we’ll have to wait and see whether this will be the first Star Wars movie to take place in a single take.
Untitled Cassian Andor television series
Diego Luna’s roguish Rogue One character returns for a prequel Disney+ series that focuses on his early years as a Rebel officer. Tony Gilroy — who oversaw the extensive reshoots on Gareth Edwards’s 2016 Dirty Dozen-inspired feature — is overseeing the show, which Star Wars visual effects artist, Neal Scanlan, promises will be a return to the gritty, serious storytelling of The Empire Strikes Back. “We’re going to see the hard edges again with Tony at the helm,” Scanlan told Yahoo Entertainment earlier this year. “It feels slightly less compromising and gritty in many ways. I look forward to being a part of the tapestry of that aspect of Star Wars.”
Untitled Kevin Feige feature film
What do you for a victory lap after orchestrating a 23-film Infinity Saga? Hitch a ride to Coruscant, of course! Marvel Studios mastermind, Kevin Feige, is in the midst of developing a Star Wars feature that could potentially launch an infinity of new adventures. "I love that world and I love the notion of exploring new people and new places in that universe,” the producer teased in an interview last year. As with his Marvel movies, Feige won’t step into the director’s chair for this inaugural Star Wars outing, but he’ll almost certainly recruit a rising filmmaking star with serious geek cred. Paging Lulu Wang?
Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi television series
Ewan McGregor blew the roof off last year’s Star Wars Celebration when he confirmed his long-rumored return to Obi-Wan’s Jedi robes for a Disney+ series that would take place during his long, long exile on Tatooine. Unfortunately, the stop-and-start pre-production process stopped again this past January when production was delayed indefinitely. In April, though, screenwriter Joby Harold was hired to kick-start the stalled project, which was rumored to involve an extended appearance by a young Luke Skywalker. McGregor is sticking with the series, as is director Deborah Chow, who helmed some of The Mandalorian’s most action-packed episodes.
Untitled Rian Johnson feature film trilogy
Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi functions as both the middle chapter in the Skywalker Saga sequel trilogy, as well as the writer/director’s own meta-commentary on the place of Star Wars in popular culture. “You’re in your little home with your family and your world is kind of small, and the real adventure is transitioning into adolescence and adulthood,” the writer/director told Yahoo Entertainment last year. “Along that journey, you’re going to have mentors, you’re going to have adversaries, you’re going to have adversaries that turn into mentors and vice versa. It’s going to be a complicated journey, and that’s what Star Wars is for me.” The Knives Out director is poised to continue exploring that “complicated journey” in his planned Star Wars trilogy, which Lucasfilm originally announced three years ago. While internet rumors routinely suggest that the trilogy is kaput — much like the now-defunct movies that would have been overseen by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss — Johnson confirmed as recently as January that he’s in active discussions with the studio.
Untitled Leslye Headland TV series
The Russian Doll co-creator will bring some of that show’s timey-wimey shenanigans to Star Wars via her just-announced Disney+ series. According to Deadline, Headland’s show will take place in an alternate timeline, and will be a martial arts-driven story centered around a female protagonist.
Untitled J.D. Dillard & Matt Owens project
Director J.D. Dillard and screenwriter Matt Owens have partnered up for a Star Wars project that could reportedly head to either theaters or Disney+. Dillard’s past credits include the Sundance hit, Sweetheart, while Owens has worked on such Marvel television series as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Luke Cage.
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