What Is The Next Star Wars Movie?
Rachel Hickman The Star Wars franchise has had a strong focus on live-action TV lately, but what is the next theatrical Star Wars film and when will it be released?
The Star Wars franchise saw a resurgence of live-action content with the sequel trilogy and two spinoff films, but with the Skywalker Saga concluded, some may wonder what the next live-action Star Wars film is. Commercially, the Star Wars sequel trilogy films are highly successful, as is the first spinoff film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Solo: A Star Wars Story, despite heartfelt performances and a generally positive reception, underperformed at the box office, which might have led Lucasfilm to reevaluate its previous model of one Star Wars film per year. Since the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the franchise has not completed any live-action films, but there are several in development, with two reportedly due for release in 2023.
The Star Wars franchise has found overwhelming success in its first live-action television series, The Mandalorian, which debuted shortly before the conclusion of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. In many ways, The Mandalorian is now the face of the Star Wars brand, with the spinoff series The Book of Boba Fett, the ongoing Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and upcoming properties like Andor, Ahsoka, and The Acolyte demonstrating that the franchise’s future appears to be primarily on the Disney+ streaming service. Despite this, the Star Wars franchise is still slated to release more theatrical films, with the upcoming Star Wars: Rogue Squadron movie by Patty Jenkins set to release in 2023 along with an untitled Star Wars film by Taika Waititi also in the works.
For a time, Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron was thought to be the next Star Wars movie, with plans to release the film in December of 2023, but Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed a change in plans in May 2022. Rogue Squadron is now on hold, allowing for further story development, while the Star Wars franchise’s next cinematic outing will be Taika Waititi’s untitled Star Wars film, which Kennedy states is set for a late 2023 release. In addition to Waititi’s film and Rogue Squadron, the Star Wars franchise is also developing the animated Star Wars: A Droid Story, a film by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, two unnamed Star Wars films set for release in 2025 and 2027, respectively, and Rian Jonson’s Star Wars trilogy, whose development is being put on hold indefinitely.
Everything We Know About Taika Waititi’s Star Wars Movie
Little is known about the upcoming Star Wars film by Taika Waititi, but the director’s signature style will likely result in a comedic film. In addition to the film’s late 2023 release window, a piece of concept art for the movie was revealed in December 2020, showing a colorful portion of space along with a diamond-shaped object. While the object’s meaning is unknown, it vaguely resembles the monolith of Mortis, shown in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 3. While likely a coincidence, the lore of Mortis hasn’t been greatly explored outside of The Clone Wars’ story arc, making it a potential setting for new stories with awe-inspiring visuals, given its dynamic and Force-influenced terrain.
Why Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Was Delayed
Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron is an exciting new project for the Star Wars franchise, based on comments by Jenkins. Drawing inspiration from various canon and Legends non-movie material, the film would center on the famous X-Wing starfighter squadron which, in canon, is named in honor of the Rebels who fought in the Battle of Scarif. In Legends, Rogue Squadron was the focus of three popular video games, the X-Wing novel series, and a series of comics, all of which could potentially be the basis of Jenkin’s movie, though interviews strongly suggest that they’d inspire the film rather than be adapted by it. The Rogue Squadron film is intended to be accessible to casual and hardcore Star Wars fans alike.
According to Jenkins, the Rogue Squadron film’s story was in development for some time by December 2020, and this appears to still be the case. Rogue Squadron’s indefinite delay is attributed to further story development, perhaps indicating that creating an all-around crowd-pleaser that caters to long-time and casual Star Wars fans is a tricky process. Despite this, Rogue Squadron may still be the next Star Wars movie to be released after Taika Waititi’s upcoming film.
Every Upcoming Star Wars Movie
- Untitled Taika Waititi Star Wars Film
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
- Star Wars: A Droid Story
- Untitled Kevin Feige Star Wars Film
- Untitled Star Wars Film (2025)
- Untitled Star Wars Film (2027)
- Untitled Rian Jonson Star Wars Trilogy
