When Disney+ first launched in 2019, it did so with the first episode of the first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian. Ever since, Star Wars has been a major reason fans have a Disney+ subscription, as the franchise has been growing on that platform rather than the big screen for the last several years.
The last couple of years have seen two new Star Wars series debut on Disney+ each year. 2022 gave us Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor. Last year we got Season 3 of The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. This year we have seen The Acolyte and the Skeleton Crew premiere will arrive before the year ends. However, a new report claims that Disney is looking to pull back on new Star Wars series as soon as next year.
Disney+ May Only Release One Star Wars Series In 2025 And Beyond
In a report from Daniel Richtman (via TheDirect) it’s claimed that Disney has made a decision to cut back on Star Wars on Disney+, and only release one new series per year. The second season of Andor is already slated to release in 2025, which would make that the only new Star Wars series to release if this turns out to be true. A second season of Ahsoka has been announced, but not dated.
While there’s no way to vet the sources for the report as they are anonymous, it wouldn’t be that shocking if the report is accurate. Bob Iger has publicly stated that he feels Disney overextended many of its franchises during the years Bob Chapek was CEO, and has been shifting Disney to a format of releasing less of everything, in hopes the studio achieves better quality by reducing quantity.
It Makes Sense Lucasfilm Is Shifting Away From DIsney+ Because Star Wars Is Going Back To Theaters
However, there’s another very simple reason that it makes sense to reduce Star Wars content on Disney+. Star Wars is going back to theaters. We know that The Mandalorian & Grogu is in production right now, set to be released in 2026. There are also two more untitled upcoming Star Wars movies set for later in 2026 and 2027.
With Star Wars making a renewed focus on the big screen, it would honestly be more surprising not to see the franchise pull back on the Disney+ original series. These shows can be as expensive as tentpole movies and with Lucasfilm now needing to pay for the films, the fact is they probably don’t have the budget to make one to two movies and two Disney+ original series in the same year.
So while we may see less of Star Wars on Disney+, we’re not going to be getting less Star Wars overall. We'll just be getting it in different places. And it will all end up on Disney+ eventually anyway.
