The Skywalker saga has come to an end, but there are still a lot more Star Wars movies on the way. The critical and box office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story and the divided response to the sequel trilogy led to a hiatus in the Star Wars movies, with Lucasfilm instead pivoting to a succession of Disney+ TV shows. But this pause is now coming to an end.
At Star Wars Celebration 2023, Lucasfilm officially announced a series of movies that suggest the studio has righted the ship. With a much more clear plan in mind, Star Wars is ready to re-emerge in theaters in a big way that spans the entire timeline of a galaxy far, far away. With that said, here is every upcoming Star Wars film expected to be theatrically released in the next decade.
Rey Skywalker’s New Jedi Order Movie
One of the three major announcements at Star Wars Celebration 2023 centered around the return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey to the Star Wars universe. The central Jedi of the sequel trilogy era, Rey will now serve as founder of the New Jedi Order in a movie set 15 years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and written by Steven Knight, this untitled movie will introduce a whole new part of the Star Wars timeline.
It is unclear when Rey’s new Jedi Order movie will be released. As per a report by The Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilm apparently wishes for Rey’s Jedi Order movie to hit theaters in 2025 on the 10-year anniversary of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Rey’s first Star Wars appearance. Lucasfilm has named the era that of the “New Jedi Order,” making this the unofficial title given to the project by members of the Star Wars fanbase.
Dave Filoni’s The Mandalorian Movie
Another of the three movies announced at SWCE 2023 is a project directed by Dave Filoni, the climax of The Mandalorian and its respective spin-offs. This untitled Mandalorian era movie is expected to focus on the re-emergence of the Imperial genius Grand Admiral Thrawn as heir to the Empire, and center on the climactic battle between Thrawn and the New Republic, including the many heroes sprinkled throughout Filoni and Favreau’s Mandalorian sect of the Star Wars timeline. According to THR, Lucasfilm has targeted a cautious theatrical release of 2026 – a year after the New Jedi Order film – though this could change based on the future of other Mandalorian-era TV shows.
With Filoni set to direct The Mandalorian movie, it is highly likely Jon Favreau will be involved alongside him, potentially as a co-writer given Favreau’s hand in creating the TV shows leading up to this film. While no official cast members have been announced, it is safe to assume that Pedro Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Temeura Morrison, and Lars Mikkelsen will reprise their roles as Din Djarin, Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, and Thrawn respectively. Outside of these characters, other supporting players such as Ming-Na Wen’s Fennec Shand, Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze, and Carl Weathers’ Greef Karga are expected to appear alongside characters that will be featured in the upcoming Skeleton Crew.
James Mangold’s Dawn Of The Jedi Movie
Star Wars
timeline – the very “Dawn of the Jedi.” This designation is, again, being used to refer to the project, but it’s unclear whether this will be the final title. Mangold’s work with Lucasfilm on
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
clearly built a strong relationship, and he pitched this project directly.”Dawn of the Jedi” will focus on the origins of the Jedi Order and their first connection to the Force. Mangold described the movie as a ”
biblical epic,
” akin to
The Ten Commandments
, meaning it will likely delved into the philosophical and religious aspects of the Force and the Prime Jedi. Little is known about this mysterious being, who was teased in a mural in
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
, which seemed to hint he had a very different philosophy to the likes of Master Yoda. He was presented as the light in the darkness and the darkness in the light.
Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Trilogy
Lucasfilm was clearly impressed by Rian Johnson’s work on Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In November 2017, they announced he would launch a new Star Wars trilogy outside of the Skywalker saga. Remarkably, Johnson’s pitch didn’t even include a story; he’s still in the early stages of drafting a story, so there isn’t much news about this trilogy yet. Given the divisiveness of The Last Jedi, though, it was rumored that Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy had been canceled, but the writer-director stepped in to debunk those rumors on social media.
In the years since Johnson’s trilogy was announced, both the director and Kathleen Kennedy have addressed whether the films will still be made. As late as Star Wars Celebration 2023, Kennedy was once again asked about the status of Johnson’s trilogy by Variety. The Lucasfilm President reiterated much that has already been said of the films since their announcement: that Johnson is incredibly busy with Netflix making a third Knives Out movie, though both Lucasfilm and Johnson remain eager to work together again in the future. This means that Johnson’s trilogy is still on the table, though likely will not enter active development until the filmmaker’s other commitments are fulfilled.
Taika Waititi’s Star Wars Movie
In May 2020, Lucasfilm announced that Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit director Taika Waititi is set to helm a future Star Wars film. Waititi will direct and co-write the project with Oscar nominee Krysty Wilson-Cairns. In December 2020, during Disney’s Investor Day presentation, it was confirmed that Waititi and Wilson-Cairns had begun work on the film’s script and an art concept showcased a diamond-like object in space. When asked by Variety about the state of Waititi’s film in April 2023, Kennedy had this to say:
“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.”
This means that Waititi’s film is still in pre-production. That being said, it is unclear when Lucasfilm plans to release Waititi’s Star Wars movie, given the three announcements of more pressing importance revealed at SWCE 2023. With such a vague answer from Kennedy regarding Waititi’s efforts at making a Star Wars movie, it would not be a surprise to see this project canceled in the near future along with the many other productions that have ended up stalling, especially after the announcements of Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars direction.
Canceled Star Wars Movies
There have been many false starts for Lucasfilm over the years, including a range of Star Wars anthology films that were passed on after Solo: A Star Wars Story – some of which were changed into Disney+ TV shows. Boba Fett originally had Josh Trank as director back in 2014, but he left the project around the release of Fantastic Four. Director James Mangold – recently announced as the director for Star Wars’ Dawn of the Jedi film – reportedly stepped in after Trank’s exit, but development was stopped a few months later in favor of what became The Book of Boba Fett, released in 2021.
Similarly, in February 2018, Lucasfilm announced that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were developing a new Star Wars movie series. However, the duo left the project in October 2019, for unclear reasons. Many rumors circulated that the poorly-written culmination of Game of Thrones was to blame for Benioff and Weiss’ project not taking off, with the filmmakers largely disappearing from pop culture since the show’s less-than-satisfying ending.
In April 2023, both Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron and a mysterious film by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige were shelved. Feige’s film and Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron were announced in 2019 and 2020 respectively, with both undergoing slow pre-production processes. This time round, the cancelations seem to have been related to Lucasfilm’s current change in direction.
Upcoming Star Wars TV Shows
It’s not just on the big screen that Star Wars has an exciting future. With the release of Disney+, there will be multiple live-action TV series set in a galaxy far, far away. These include:
- Star Wars: Visions Vol. 2 – The next Star Wars TV release is season 2 of Star Wars: Visions. The season will consist of nine animated shorts from globe-spanning animation studios, set for release on May 4th, 2023.
- Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures – Also releasing on May 4th, 2023 on Disney+ is Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. The series is set in the High Republic area, centering on young Jedi in training under Master Yoda.
- Ahsoka – This show will follow Rosario Dawson as the live-action former Jedi in a race against time to stop the rise of Grand Admiral Thrawn. The first trailer was released at SWCE 2023 and the show is expected to premiere on Disney+ in August 2023.
- Star Wars: Skeleton Crew – Another show set in the Mandalorian-era, Skeleton Crew will be an Amblin-inspired space adventure following a group of children adrift in space with the help of Jude Law’s mysterious Jedi character. The show is expected to premiere on Disney+ in the latter half of 2023.
- The Acolyte – Star Wars’ first High Republic era live-action show, The Acolyte is set around a century before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland serves as both writer and showrunner.
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 – Officially announced at SWCE 2023, Star Wars: The Bad Batch will return for a third and final season in 2024.
- Andor season 2 – After the overwhelmingly positive reception to Andor, season 2 of the show will release on Disney+ in 2024. The series will span the four years between the end of Andor season 1 and Rogue One, leading audiences right into Andor’s appearance in the latter.
- The Mandalorian season 4 – with Jon Favreau confirming the script has already been completed.
