Nearly one full year ago at Disney’s Investor Day presentation, it was announced that Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins was jumping into the Star Wars universe to direct Rogue Squadron, the space opera franchise’s next theatrical movie. As things stand now, Rogue Squadron is still technically slotted for a December 22, 2023 release. However, word’s just come in that production on the movie has been indefinitely delayed.
This update comes from THR, with the outlet sharing that despite Patty Jenkins and writer Matthew Robinson having developed Rogue Squadron for over a year with the goal of getting cameras rolling by 2022, Jenkins’ busy schedule has resulted in this not being a realistic option. Rogue Squadron was supposed to have begun preproduction by this year, but now the next Star Wars feature has been taken off the production schedule, with the new plan being for Jenkins to return to it once her other professional obligations are fulfilled.
As such, even though Rogue Squadron is still holding onto its late 2023 release date, it’s not unreasonable to assume it could be pushed back to 2024 or beyond. It also wasn’t clarified specifically what Patty Jenkins currently has on her plate that prevented her from focusing on Rogue Squadron. That said, we already knew that the filmmaker has two movies in the works with Gal Gadot: Wonder Woman 3 and Cleopatra. Regarding the former, THR’s sources noted that while originally Wonder Woman 3 was originally supposed to follow Rogue Squadron, now it’s possible it could arrive beforehand.
Rogue Squadron was supposed to be the first Star Wars movie following 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, which concluded the Skywalker Saga. Star Wars fans certainly won’t be lacking for live-action stories anytime soon thanks to Disney+ shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi. That said, because Rogue Squadron’s shoot has been postponed, it’s unclear if one of the other Star Wars movies in development could now serve as the first post-Skywalker Saga theatrical tale instead, such as the one Thor: Love and Thunder’s Taika Waititi is directing and co-writing with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, or maybe the one that Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige is producing from a script written by Loki’s Michael Waldron.
In any case, Star Wars fans can take comfort knowing that Rogue Squadron hasn’t been scrapped entirely, it’ll just be a longer wait to see it in its completed form. Naturally we’ll keep you updated on the project’s progress as more details come in. For now, be sure to look through our upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows guide to catch up on what the galaxy far, far away has in the works. You can also stream plenty of Star Wars content over on Disney+.
