Star Wars: The Movies in development
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace but it also makes the series 47 years of age and in that time, we got a fairly random selection of movies.
Yes production was very different in 1977 when the series kicked off and while the original trilogy finished up in 1983, there would be around 16 years before the next original movie. The Prequel trilogy saw another six years of content, but then it would be another decade until the next live action movie, which saw three numbered titles and the two stand alone films, so far. Just in case you have forgotten here is a list of all the movies released, in release order.
Star Wars - 1977
Star Wars Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back - 1980
Star Wars Episode VI – Return of the Jedi - 1983
Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace - 1999
Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones - 2002
Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith - 2005
The Clone Wars - 2008
Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens - 2015
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - 2016
Star Wars Episode VIII – The Last Jedi - 2017
Solo: A Star Wars Story - 2018
Star Wars Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker - 2019
Of course, there were some stand alone movies released in the 1980’s with Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure in 1984 and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor in 1985. Depending on where you live, they were either aired on TV or screened in cinemas and while neither were smash hits, they have their fans.
So what about all the movies that are yet to be released, what is going on with them. We have scoured the internet for rumours, leaks, speculation and of course, official news in order to sort out what is going on with all still happening productions. Something we will do is tag each prospective movie with the era we either know or believe them to be in. The Star Wars eras are going to be more important once The Acolyte releases, more on that in our Star Wars: The TV Shows in development feature.
Below are the eras of Star Wars:
Dawn Of The Jedi - The discovery of the Force
The Old Republic - Started roughly 25,000 years BBY and fell around 4000 years before the same battle
The High Republic - Started around 500 years BBY and its peak was about 100 years BBY
Fall of the Jedi - This period covers the Prequel Trilogy (Phantom Menace, Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith)
Reign of the Empire - This period covers the time between Episode 3 and Episode 4 (Star Wars Rebels, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order)
Age of Rebellion - This is the original trilogy (A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi)
The New Republic - This is set after the events of Episode 6 and before Episode 7 (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka)
Rise of the First Order - This period covers the Sequel Trilogy (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, Rise of Skywalker)
New Jedi Order - Events post Rise of Skywalker
If you wonder what BBY stands for that is ‘Before the Battle of Yavin’, the battle at the end of the original movie.
Here are the movies in order of their expected release, while names are not known for most, we are just going to flag the Director for those ones, but let’s begin with the named movies.
The Mandalorian & Grogu
Release Date: May 21, 2026 | Era: The New Republic
This is currently the only movie officially in production from Lucasfilm, with its announcement in January 2024 and then just a few weeks ago, the movie got its actual release date. Right now details are scarce, we know that the series creator Jon Favreau is writing and directing the movie and that it will star the Mandalorian Din Djarin and Grogu, but that is quite literally everything. There is a piece of concept art, which is nice, but there is nothing about the story, setting or anything else.
Rogue Squadron
Release Date: Unknown | Era: Unknown
Perhaps the movie with the most ups and downs possible, outside of Star Tours of course, the movie was first revealed in December 2020 and then was put on hold and then reports surfaced of its longer delay. Director Patty Jenkins was set to film Wonder Woman 3, but when that fell through, reports surfaced that she was back on board for this. The movie was originally due for a 2023 release, but then in 2022 those reports surfaced, however things could be looking up.
In March 2024, reports again surfaced that Jenkins had struck a new deal with Lucasfilm and was actively writing the script. If those reports are true, I wouldn’t expect to see the movie until 2027 at the earliest, depending on how quickly a script gets completed and along with all the other pre-production aspects.
When the film was first announced, we got this little blurb about the story:
It will introduce a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy.
Now there is no way of knowing if that would still be the case, or if something has changed. It is possible that some of the countless comic stories might be adapted, though given Disney’s instance on rejecting everything not Lucasfilm created, that is unlikely.
Lando
Release Date: Unknown | Era: Age of Rebellion
After Solo: A Star Wars Story failed to launch into hyperspace in 2016, the solo spin off movies seemed dead. The long rumoured Obi-Wan movie was revealed to be a Disney+ show and the rumoured Darth Vader movie never happened. A few years after the movie, December 2020 to be exact, it was revealed that Lando Calrissian would be back on the screens in a Disney+ series and would be again played by Donald Glover, but since then news was non-existent.
Fast forward to September 2023 and Stephen Glover, brother to Donald and writer/producer revealed that the show would not be happening and instead it would be a movie. On the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, he said the following:
“It’s not even a show. The idea right now is to do a movie. … Right now because of the strike, it’s like [a game of] telephone.
Now there has been no official confirmation on the status of the movie, if it even is a movie. I would like to imagine that they are happy to make a movie, but honestly who knows. Pretty much everything announced in December 2020 has been delayed publicly or gone silent in the background.
A Droid Story
Release Date: Unknown | Era: The New Republic
Perhaps one of the oddest ones here, at least with a name, this movie was announced in December 2020, then just mere months later in February 2021, we got one final tidbit of detail and since then it has been radio silence. The movie was revealed to be a CGI movie by Lucasfilm Animation and Industrial Light & Magic, with the below plot setup released.
This epic journey will introduce us to a new hero guided by our most iconic duo on a secret mission known only to them. What could possibly go wrong?
The movie was meant to go to Disney+ and as the service was haemorrhaging money for a while, it is possible that it was cancelled, but there has been no public word on that. For now we can enjoy a logo, as that is all we have seen released. If you want to watch C-3PO and R2-D2 get into trouble, there is always Star Wars: Droids, which is where Boba Fett made his debut.
Now we are getting into the list of films that have been announced as happening, but there are no real details beyond that.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy film
Release Date: Unknown | Era: New Jedi Order
One of the three films announced in April 2023, the only concrete details we know about this movie are that it will take place roughly 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and will see Daisy Ridley return as Rey, who will be attempting to build up a new Jedi Order. Additional casting, production start or anything of actual value are unknown and likely will be until they deem it worth releasing news.
James Mangold film
Release Date: Unknown | Era: Dawn of the Jedi
Another film revealed to be happening in April 2023 was from the then Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold. At the time we learnt that it would be set in the earliest time period and be connected with the beginning of the Jedi. In the past 12 months, there was very little happening around the movie, likely due to Indy 5, but recently there have been rumours swirling.
It has been reported that Beau Willimon, a writer from Andor, has been brought on to co-write the script alongside Mangold. The other rumour is that the movie is going to be called Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, if true hopefully the movie doesn’t follow the Planet of the Apes naming trajectory, as I am not sure War of the Jedi would be fun to see. If the name Dawn of the Jedi sounds familiar to you, that is because there was a comic run called that, which as you might have guessed told the origins of the Jedi, however that was pre-Disney so is now no longer considered canon.
With Mangold also tapped to direct Swamp Thing for DC, as part of their third attempt at a movie universe, depending on which one is further along or contracts, it could be quite some time until we see this movie.
Dave Filoni film
Release Date: Unknown | Era: The New Republic/Rise of the First Order
The third of the April 2023 reveals, Dave Filoni is a name that should be familiar to most Star Wars fans, well at least those of the TV watching audience. When it was announced we got told that it would connect The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and other Disney+ shows, but given the new Mandolorian and Grogu movie, there is no word if that is still the case.
The most interesting part of the comment about the other Disney+ shows is that the only one that might fit that same time period is Skeleton Crew, we have more in our Star Wars: The TV Shows in development feature. If that is the case and it brings the four shows together, it could be a big deal, but it could also be a gateway into other shows that might not be ready to make their debut on their. The problem is that as Filoni is also working on Season 2 of Ahsoka, the odds of this one moving ahead anytime soon are slim.
Taika Waititi film
Release Date: Unknown | Era: Unknown
It was exactly 4 years ago today, the date of this features publishing, when we learnt that Taika Waititi was going to direct a Star Wars movie, this was before we heard him in The Mandalorian and saw his direction of the final episode of the first season. However once the announcement was made, the man went on to write and direct both Thor: Love and Thunder and Next Goal Wins, both good movies, but decidedly not Star Wars.
There were reports in mid 2022 that the movie would move away from the currently out movies, instead forging its own path within a new part of the timeline. In April 2023 Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy talked about a lot of Star Wars news and said the following.
Taika is still working away, he’s writing the script himself. He doesn’t really want to bring others into that process and I don’t blame him. He has a very, very unique voice. So we want to protect that and that’s what he’s doing. But we’re going to make that one day.
It wouldn’t be until September 2023 when Waititi himself made a joke about his script
“Unlike me, let’s hope [Shawn] manages to finish a script for [Star Wars]”
That line was said whilst he was presenting an award to Shawn Levy, which sort of confirms that Levy is making a movie as well, more on him below. After those comments were made, Waititi did confirm writing would commence again after the 2023 Writers Strike ended, but there has been no words on the status since then.
The following are rumours, with no official confirmation that things are happening.
Shawn Levy film
Release Date: Unknown | Era: Unknown
Perhaps the most unknown, as there was never any formal announcement of any project from Lucasfilm that Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy was working on Star Wars. Reports surfaced in November 2022 that he was going to launch into hyperspace, but he would need to get the then titled Deadpool 3 out the door, then work on a little show called Stranger Things.
The first actual confirmation, if you can call it that, came above when Taika Waititi made the comment about Levy writing a film. Beyond that though there is still no confirmation on what the movie might be, its setting or even if it is actually happening.
Rian Johnson film
Release Date: Unknown | Era: Unknown
There isn’t a lot known about this film or films, as they were announced back in 2018 and since then it has been radio silence. The reports were that they were going to be 3 films, as it was a new trilogy and that they would focus on all-new characters, possibly in another era. However in 2022, reports surfaced that nothing would be happening on these films until the final Knives Out movie was released, after the first two Knives Out and Glass Onion.
In 2023 a report came out where Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the following about Rian’s trilogy.
Rian and I talk all the time, he is unbelievably busy. So we’re not actively involved in anything at the moment because he’s doing another one of the ‘Glass Onion’ movies and then God knows what else. But he really wants to step back into the space. It’s a big commitment of time, so that’s really on him.
That confirms the 2022 report, but also confirms that there is nothing in any stage of development and likely won’t be for a few years.
So there we go, all the details we could find about the Star Wars movies that are currently being made, or rumoured to be being made. Did we miss anything or do any of them interest you, be sure to let us know.