Star Wars fans certainly haven’t been lacking for on-screen content in recent years thanks to what’s viewable with a Disney+ subscription. From The Mandalorian to Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Star Wars franchise has been thriving in the live-action TV realm, and animation fans have also continued to be covered with offerings like The Bad Batch and Visions. Conversely, we’re now coming up on three full years since the last Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker, opened in theaters, and apparently the wait for Rogue Squadron and other movies set in a galaxy far, far away will be even longer.
Officially speaking, Rogue Squadron, which is being directed by Wonder Woman’s Patty Jenkins, is still slated for a December 2023 release. However, in his What I’m Hearing newsletter for Puck, former THR editor Matthew Belloni shared that no Star Wars movies are expected to come out until 2024 at the earliest. If this is true, then while Disney hasn’t said anything to the public yet, evidently Rogue Squadron won’t be hitting its target date after all.
According to Matthew Belloni, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy “isn’t ready to pull the trigger on any of the Star Wars films in development,” including the rumored project being shepherded by Lost and Watchmen’s Damon Lindelof. As such, while there may be some exciting Star Wars news announced at D23 this weekend, it appears as there won’t be any movie-related news dropped. This means that given how long it takes to develop these massive movies, it’ll be at least a six-year period between The Rise of Skywalker and whatever Star Wars cinematic tale is released next, if not longer.
Back in November 2021, it was reported that Rogue Squadron’s production had been delayed due to Patty Jenkins’ other professional obligations. The following March though, someone on Twitter shared that they’d learned that Michael A. Stackpole, who wrote the X-Wing novels set post-Return of the Jedi in the Legends continuity, had met with Jenkins, indicating that Rogue Squadron is still on the way, it’s just taking longer to put together than initially expected. At this point, it seems like only a matter of time until Disney announces that Rogue Squadron has been delayed either to a new release date or indefinitely.
Additionally, Taika Waititi is set to direct a Star Wars movie that he’s co-writing with Krysty Wilson-Cairns; Waititi previously directed The Mandalorian Season 1 finale and voiced IG-11 that same season. While we’ve also heard about projects like a Rian Johnson-helmed trilogy and a movie being worked on by director J.D. Dillard and writer Matt Owens, given the lack of updates on them, one could surmise they’ve either been shelved or are in a state of deep carbon freeze. So while the stream of Star Wars stories made for Disney+ is still flowing strongly, those of you looking forward to another theatrical experience in this sci-fi world will have to continue being patient for the next few years.
Meanwhile, the next live-action Star Wars series on the docket is Andor, which premieres September 21 on Disney+. It’s also been announced that Eman Esfandi has been tapped to play Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka, which drops sometime in 2023.
