May marked the 45th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise, which has seen many changes in 2022 alone. Obi-Wan Kenobi is back in a series on Disney Plus, the western about Dean Jarin and Grog gets an Emmy, and comedy director Taika Waititi is working on a new unknown project.
It was previously reported that December dates were reserved in the release schedule for new Star Wars movies – in 2022, 2024, and 2026. Officially, Lucasfilm has announced two projects, the Ryan Johnson and David Benioff trilogies with Dan Weiss. And in the fall of 2019, Disney Vice President Alan Horn speculated that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige will also direct one of the Star Wars movies.
Well, let’s take a closer look at what plans has Disney for the SW franchise and what projects fans will see shortly.
What projects does Disney plan to produce based on the Star Wars universe?
Disney is planning to release some interesting movies and series based on the SW universe. A new trilogy is also in development, but not much news about it yet. Nevertheless, here are the movies and series that may come out in the near future.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Disney announced the Rogue Squadron project (unrelated to the game series of the same name) in 2020 during the company’s investor presentation. This is where future projects in the universe are usually announced.
In a special teaser, “Wonder Woman” and “Wonder Woman: 1984” director Patty Jenkins revealed that her father was a U.S. Army pilot. After his death in the service, Jenkins wanted to dedicate “the best combat pilot movie of all time” to him. “Love and Monsters” writer Matthew Robinson joined the script, no other details about the film were announced.
Active production of the film was to begin in 2022. However, according to THR, filming in Scotland was postponed due to Jenkins’ busy schedule. According to another version, she had “creative differences” with the studio. For now, the director is busy with the “Wonder Woman” trilogy and other projects, but Disney and Lucasfilm haven’t given up on Rogue Squadron.
Star Wars: A Droid Story
An animated film about the legendary characters from the film trilogies – the navigator droid R2-D2 and the translator droid C-3PO – will be released immediately on Disney Plus. According to the story, the two droids will assist a third, some new model that fans of the universe aren’t yet familiar with.
Working on the animation studio Industrial Light & Magic, which has created visual effects for all films in the franchise, as well as blockbusters for Marvel and several parts of “Pirates of the Caribbean”.
In January 2022, regular C-3PO voice actor Anthony Daniels posted a photo of himself in a motion-capture suit on his Instagram account. So fans are speculating that Daniels will be the one to play and voice C-3PO in the cartoon.
Ryan Johnson’s new trilogy
American director Ryan Johnson directed the second film in the new Skywalker trilogy, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”. Shortly afterward, Lucasfilm announced that he would direct the next trilogy in the universe. However, the film that followed, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” ended very strangely and gave fans conflicting feelings.
The fact is that the first and third parts of the new Skywalker trilogy were directed by J.J. Abrams. In The Last Jedi, Johnson took the trilogy “in a different direction”, according to Abrams. In the third film, Abrams had to change and even roll back some of Johnson’s ideas.
Numerous retcons, inconsistencies, and a weak ending to the Skywalker saga brought the wrath of fans down on the filmmakers, and the future of the film trilogies came into question. Despite this, rumors of the next trilogy under Johnson’s direction continued to surface in the media.
A former Vanity Fair reporter confirmed that Johnson was working on Star Wars, most recently in February 2022. For now, the director is busy with the “Knives Out” trilogy, the second and third parts of which will be released on Netflix.
Taika Waititi’s movie
New Zealand director and screenwriter Taika Waititi’s project became known in 2020. He told Wired in an interview in 2021 that the story would be “very much in his vein”. Working alongside Taika on the movie is “1917” screenwriter Christy Wilson-Kearns, who has professed a huge love for Star Wars.
According to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Waititi is expected to bring humor and self-irony to the franchise – just as he did with the Scandinavian god franchise in “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) and “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022).
A movie about the Sith
In February 2021, Deadline revealed a secret Disney project: an untitled (so far) film set on the Sith planet Exegole. According to the plot of the new trilogy, the resurrected Emperor Palpatine was hiding in it. The publication’s sources didn’t specify when the events of the movie take place. It’s also not known whether it will be released on Disney Plus or in wide release.
The project features director Justin Dillard and one of the writers of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Matt Owens, but it’s not yet known in what capacity.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
The triumphant return of Obi-Wan Kenobi, mentor, and friend of Anakin Skywalker, already took place on Disney Plus in May. British actor Ewan McGregor reprises the role after the trilogy of prequels. Director Deborah Chow was invited to direct Obi-Wan, as Lucasfilm praised her work on several episodes of “The Mandalorian”.
The Mandalorian: Season 3
“The Mandalorian” has become the most popular series in the SW universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In two seasons it earned 14 technical Emmy awards, excellent reviews from critics, and several spin-offs. No official release date for the third season has yet been announced, but insiders are predicting Christmas (i.e., December) 2022.
After the end of the “Book of Boba Fett” spin-off, Dean Jarin will most likely continue his adventures with Grogue. The third season’s plot will also include some ideas from the “Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic” series, which was frozen – presumably due to the firing of actress Gina Carano. Joining the cast of the new episodes is the legendary Christopher Lloyd – Dr. Emmett Brown from “Back to the Future”.
Andor
After the success of the feature movie “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”, Disney launched a prequel about one of the movie’s characters: professional spy Cassian Andor, played by Mexican actor Diego Luna. In April 2022, the operator of the series, Antonio Goldman, told a Brazilian TV channel that three seasons were planned. The second will begin filming in the summer of 2022.
“Andor” is described as a sharp spy thriller about Cassian’s missions five years before “Rogue One” In addition to Luna, Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard (“Dune”) plays in the series. According to rumors, Obi-Wan Kenobi may also appear in the show.
Ahsoka
The second “Mandalorian” spin-off after “The Book of Boba Fett” focuses on Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan, who many know from the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated series. In “Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett”, the American actress Rosario Dawson plays her.
As repeatedly reported in the media, the plot most likely revolves around Ahsoka’s hunt for Galactic Empire Grand Admiral Thrawn. This is how Ahsoka hopes to find the Jedi Ezra Bridger, who disappeared years ago. Australian Natasha Liu Bordizzo will play Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ray Stevenson have as yet unknown roles in the series.
