All the New Star Wars Movies and TV Shows in the Works
Updated: Jan. 25, 2024
Star Wars has captivated audiences on screens big and small since it sprang forth from the vivid imagination of George Lucas in the 1970s. Even though the original Skywalker storyline wrapped up with the ninth film in 2019, Disney and Lucasfilm are cranking out new movies and TV series at warp speed. Read what's in store for the space opera's next act. (Be warned: This post contains spoilers.)
The original Skywalker saga has come to a close and fans were forced to say goodbye to galactic heroes and villains (and some of the actors who portrayed them) they had grown up with. But with two new Star Wars movies in development by big-name behind-the-scenes talent, the critical acclaim and immense popularity of the western-esque Mandalorian, and almost a dozen series set in the galaxy far, far away in the pop culture pipeline, it’s safe to say The Force is most definitely awake. The next Star Wars movies and shows have got everything from droid adventures and spinoffs featuring classic characters like Lando and Boba Fett to cartoons and anime anthologies. Or as Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy proclaimed at December’s Walt Disney Company Investor Day: “We have a vast and expansive mythology spanning over 25,000 years with each era being a rich resource for storytelling. There’s truly a new Star Wars story for everyone.”
While the first new project—an animated series spun off from The Clone Wars animated series—will debut this Star Wars Day (aka May the 4th Be With You Day), most are at least a year or two—or five—out. The upside is this gives you ample time to watch the existing Star Wars movies in order, evaluate fan theories online, and maybe even read some of the novels, many of which offer deeper insight into the characters, battles, and Republic history that will feature in the new tales.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Status: Debuts May 4, 2020
Where to see: Disney+
We know how diehards will be celebrating Star Wars Day this year as Disney and Lucasfilm plan to use the holiday to debut this animated Clone Wars spinoff about an elite group of unorthodox soldiers known as Clone Force 99. The unit of clones is genetically unique from the other members of the army in that each possesses a separate and different skill or specialized physiology. When used in tandem, Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, and Echo are basically unstoppable. But they’re also now order-less and rudderless in the post-war era and the Bad Batch must find new purpose. They’ll take on mercenary missions in this cartoon, which is executive produced by Dave Filoni who worked on both The Mandalorian and The Clone Wars. Subsequent episodes after the pilot will upload to the streamer on Fridays. You can also mark the holiday with these May the 4th be with you memes.
The Book of Boba Fett
Status: Coming December 2021
Where to see: Disney+
Ironically, the last “coming soon” Star Wars project announced is likely to be the first to hit screens. Expected long before the next Star Wars movie, this stand-alone TV series will continue the journey of the most famous bounty hunter in history. The titular character, first introduced in 1980’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (which is often ranked as the best Star Wars movie of all time), will be played by Temuera Morrison, the New Zealander who played him in The Mandalorian. Morrison also played his father Jango Fett, the genetic blueprint for the Republic’s clone army, in 2002’s Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones. (Jango requested one unaltered clone to raise as a son who would go on to follow in his father’s professional footsteps.) A fan favorite despite freezing Han Solo in carbonite, Boba hadn’t been seen or heard from in almost two IRL decades. His return was teased in The Mandalorian Season 1 and he had a cameo in the season premiere. In the sixth episode (Chapter 14: “The Tragedy”), Boba returned speaking softly and carrying some big sticks to demand his armor be returned. As he was in that episode, he will be joined in the new Star Wars TV series by his right-hand woman Fennec Shand (played again by Ming-Na Wen). The mini-clip that followed The Mandalorian finale and announced the series saw Fett and Shand pay a deadly visit to another blast from the past, Bib Fortuna, who apparently had taken over his former boss Jabba the Hutt’s job and palace.
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The Mandalorian Season 3
Status: Coming possibly December 2021 but likely 2022 after the T.B.O.B.F. season
Where to see: Disney+
Showrunner/director Jon Favreau clarified on Good Morning America the Monday after the Season 2 finale aired that the Boba Fett project was not a substitute for Season 3 but that the next chapter in Mando’s story will be filmed and aired quickly after T.B.O.B.F. and will be “back with the main character that we all know and love.” We don’t know much about where the story is headed, although we do know Gina Carano (former Rebel Alliance soldier Cara Dune) will not be a part of it. Fans of Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, are concerned he might be out too, given that Mando fulfilled his quest to find him a Jedi trainer—and since creating a young Luke Skywalker/Mark Hamill is difficult and pricey, it isn’t likely we will flash to their training that often. But if we do, will Grogu be learning alongside a very young Ben Solo/future baddie Kylo Ren? Maybe this season will be more about Bo-Katan, getting revenge for Mandalore, and her desire to get the Darksaber off Mando. And Moff Gideon is still in the picture and wasting the supreme talent of actor Giancarlo Esposito in a jail cell seems like a bad plan.
Andor
Status: In production; coming in 2022
Where to see: Disney+
Described by Disney as a “tense nail-biting spy thriller,” Andor was created by Tony Gilroy, the director of Michael Clayton and the screenwriter of several Jason Bourne films. He also wrote the screenplay for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story so it isn’t shocking that this series is centered around the rebel spy from that 2016 film, Cassian Andor. Diego Luna will reprise his role and will be joined by a mostly new cast—also not shocking given how the R1 mission played out—that includes Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, and Kyle Soller. Genevieve O’Reilly is back as Mon Mothma.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Status: Filming spring 2021
Where to see: Disney+
Kennedy has already dubbed this much-anticipated TV series “the rematch of the century” as it reunites Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, last seen on screen together as the titular hero and his apprentice turned arch-enemy (not to mention one of the most iconic villains of all time) Darth Vader. Kenobi sparred with Anakin Skywalker in a lava-laden duel on Mustafar in 2005’s Revenge of the Sith as Kenobi expressed his extreme disappointment that the Chosen One went to the Dark Side and Skywalker raged on about how much he hated his master. Kenobi left as his legless student smoldered but everyone knows he didn’t die there. The new show begins ten years after the showdown, with Vader consumed with hunting down his foe and finishing him. It will be helmed by Deborah Chow, who directed several episodes of The Mandalorian. McGregor has been involved since the beginning, telling Good Morning America that the initial “scripts are really good” and that despite a lot of time passing since he played the role, he’ll just need to “put the cloak back on and [he’ll] be there.” Christensen’s involvement came much later but that doesn’t mean he’s less excited. “Anakin and Obi-Wan weren’t on the greatest of terms when we last saw them…It will be interesting to see what an amazing director like Deborah has in store for us,” he said in a statement. “It feels good to be back.”
Rogue Squadron
Status: Coming Christmas 2023
Where to see: Theaters
Kennedy announced the next new Star Wars movie would be directed by Patty Jenkins of Wonder Woman fame. She also reported that the new “boundary-pushing, high-speed” saga would move the timeline into a future era of the galaxy far, far away and would introduce the next generation of starfighters as the pilots earn their wings and keep interstellar peace.
Star Wars: Ahsoka
Status: Pre-production; release date unknown
Where to see: Disney+
Fans knew something was up when a name actor like Rosario Dawson was cast as the live-action version of the badass Jedi first seen in The Clone Wars cartoon—especially as the former Disney CEO Bob Iger had already, months earlier, revealed plans to spin off multiple characters from The Mandalorian. But the official green light was announced in December 2020 just after Ahsoka Tano met up with Baby Yoda and Mando in the 13th chapter on Corvus. It’s also official that her show will take place in the same timeframe as The Mandalorian and will be produced by Filoni, who will also write it, and Favreau. Beyond that, not much is circulating about the plot. But it’s likely safe to assume that the big bad of her spinoff will be the blue-skinned Imperial leader Grand Admiral Thrawn, as she inquired about his whereabouts in her battle with Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth. It also makes sense that her Rebels cartoon coworker Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian warrior and revolutionary leader, will pop up. Maybe they’ll continue their search for missing Padawan Ezra Bridger. The premiere date has not been set but filming is most likely to follow T.B.O.B.F. and The Mandalorian S3. Logistically, the earliest feasible date would be the first quarter of 2022 but it wouldn’t be surprising if it was much later.
Rangers of the New Republic
Status: Announced
Where to see: Disney+
Rangers of the New Republic will also be set within the same timeline as The Mandalorian and also be created and produced by Filoni and Favreau. Disney declared on Investor Day that it would be live-action and “will intersect with future stories and culminate into a climactic story event.” Carano’s character was a ranger. Timothy Olyphant was a self-appointed marshal on Tatooine who we wouldn’t mind seeing get a promotion. And for those who wish to see more of Tatooine, why not plan a family vacation to Tunisia or Death Valley where some of the sandy planet scenes from the original trilogy and the prequels were shot? There are lots of other Star Wars filming locations that you can visit in real life if desert destinations don’t do it for you.
Star Wars: Visions
Status: Announced
Where to see: Disney+
Star Wars is a global phenomenon spanning decades, but much of it has been the singular invention of one American male mastermind George Lucas who then inspired other mostly White, mostly American men including Ron Howard, Rian Johnson, and J.J. Abrams to advance the world. This anthology calls on the talents of visionary (hence the title) Japanese anime creators and studios to use their different cultural perspectives to create ten short animated films set somewhere in the Star Wars universe.
Unnamed new Star Wars movie
Status: In development
Where to see: Theaters
The second new Star Wars movie in the works will be in the hands of Taika Waititi, the director/writer who won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 2020 for Jojo Rabbit and who directed the “Redemption” episode of The Mandalorian. He also provided the voice to that show’s beloved IG-11 droid. He has further Disney connections as an actor/director in Marvel’s Thor franchise. Kennedy said at the Investor Day event, “Taika’s approach to Star Wars will be fresh, unexpected, and…unique. His enormous talent and sense of humor will ensure that audiences are in for an unforgettable ride.” Since he’s known for his wicked and offbeat sense of humor, it’s also sure to be even more hilarious than these corny Star Wars jokes.
Lando
Status: Pre-production; release date unknown
Where to see: Disney+
Smooth-talking scoundrel Lando Calrissian will finally be the center of the main story in more than just his own mind. Justin Simien, the creator of the critically acclaimed Dear White People and self-proclaimed Star Wars mega-fan, is in the early stages of developing a limited series about Han Solo’s money-hungry friend who famously (albeit reluctantly) betrayed him, first introduced in Empire and played by Billy Dee Williams. He redeemed himself in Return of the Jedi and was part of General Leia’s Resistance in the final films of the Skywalker saga. The character was also played with equal charm by Donald Glover in the 2018 prequel Solo. With Williams turning 84 in April, it’s unlikely the series would cover a strict elder Lando storyline. But Glover might be hesitant to return because Solo didn’t do so hot at the box office. Disney has yet to confirm rumors that either might appear, but a month before the Mouse House tweeted about the miniseries last December, Glover tweeted the same cryptic sentence twice: “there is a lot (of magic) comin, yall thought i was hot in 2018.” Star Wars fans have dissected it furiously, noting that he deliberately used the word “magic,” which is often linked to Disney, and that 2018 was when Solo hit theaters. They even theorized that the repeated sentences could stand for his repeat performance, or maybe it was repeated twice because this would be his second time slipping into Lando’s cape.
The Acolyte
Status: Pre-production; release date unknown
Where to see: Disney+
Bringing a smart female voice to the Star Wars–verse is Leslye Headland, the Emmy Award–nominated creator of Netflix’s dark comedy series Russian Doll. She’s set to create what is being labeled by Disney 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.” If you know a lot about the High Republic era, you might do well on Star Wars trivia. If not, you might want to brush up on Star Wars facts first.
Star Wars: A Droid Story
Status: Pre-production; release date unknown
Where to see: Disney+
Teamwork makes the dream work. Just ask Han and Chewbacca, Princess Leia and Luke, C-3PO and R2-D2, Finn and Poe Dameron…etc. In the end, even former enemies Rey and Kylo Ren had to join forces (pun intended!) to take down Emperor Palpatine. For this new project, the Lucasfilm Animation department and the Lucasfilm visual effects side, Industrial Light & Magic, will collaborate on a new Star Wars movie for the small screen. The epic journey will introduce a new robot hero to the canon and it will somehow be guided by the aforementioned droid duo. (Perhaps as the narrators recalling the tale?)
While you’re waiting for all these new Star Wars movies and shows, why not watch the existing Star Wars movies in order?
Sources:
- D23, the Official Disney Fan Site: Every Disney+ Announcement and More From the Disney Investor Day
- IGN: “Star Wars: Andor – Official First Look Trailer (2022) Diego Luna”
- Twitter: @themandalorian · Dec 10, 2020
Originally Published: March 23, 2021
