For the past decade, Star Wars has been stuck in the Disney+ machine, with Lucasfilm greenlighting seven shows for the streaming service (not all of which succeeded – RIP The Acolyte).
It’s been a long road back to the silver screen for the media juggernaut under Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy’s control, but not for lack of trying. Since the Skywalker saga finished off with The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, Lucasfilm has been blasting numerous film announcements throughout the years, yet it’s been almost six years since a new Star Wars movie arrived in theatres.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… nothing was being made – until now.
So what is up with Star Wars right now? Despite these setbacks, Lucasfilm is ready to break through the cage it’s been in for years, albeit cautiously. Rather than developing movies in the way the sequel trilogy was produced, i.e. with no set plan for the stories, Lucasfilm is ensuring a proper build-up, using the success of some of the Disney+ shows in the process.
Disney+’s biggest hit from the Star Wars universe, The Mandalorian, is being continued in a theatrical full-feature release. Titled The Mandalorian & Grogu, Lucasfilm will be releasing this next instalment focusing on the adventures of Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and Grogu on May 22, 2026. Directed by Jon Favreau and co-written by Dave Filoni – both of which have been key creatives in the Disney+ side of the franchise – the film looks to be the first major test of Lucasfilm tipping their Star Wars toes back into the film industry.
But who knows? After all, the film has the lowest budget for a Star Wars film ever under Lucasfilm since it’s purchase by Disney back in 2012. Could the low budget suggest hesitation by Lucasfilm for a big swing? Time will tell for this one.
But what else has Lucasfilm got up their sleeve for Star Wars outside of The Mandalorian & Grogu?
Still-To-Be-Produced ‘Star Wars’
There are several other projects all in various stages of development at Lucasfilm, but it’s about time we unpack these projects and double-check if any of these are even going to fly out of the writing room. We’ll be looking at films in development, films scrapped or retooled, or films well… that nobody knows what’s happening with them.
Starting off our deep dive is James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi, originally announced in April 2023, which will be exploring the origins of the Jedi Order. This is to be set thousands of years before the Skywalker Saga (Episodes 1-9), with Mangold describing it as a biblical epic. Think of it as The Passion of the Christ but with lightsabers going swooo!
Next up is another Disney+ continuation onto the big screen with Dave Filoni’s big crossover of all the interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and perhaps other Disney+ shows too. Originally announced back in April 2023, it’s unclear if this will be connected or continued from the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu film that is already filmed and ready for release next year, so time will tell with this one.
We Have To Go Back! (This is a ‘Lost’ reference for you, peeps)
Outside of these prequels and interquels is Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s New Jedi Order film, set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker. The film is to follow Daisy Ridley’s Rey, the main protagonist of the sequel trilogies whose character was amazingly written, and brilliantly executed, and this perhaps might be sarcasm. Jokes aside, it’s exciting to see Lucasfilm steer part of the franchise outside of the Skywalker Saga theatrically, particularly following the cancellation of 2024’s Disney+ series The Acolyte, which was set thousands of years before Anakin Skywalker was miraculously conceived (is there too many religious connotations in this deep-dive? who knows!). Writer George Nolfi was confirmed in January 2025 to have joined the project, so hopefully, it gets going further into production.
Back in November 2024, X-Men alumni Simon Kinberg was reported to be working on writing and producing a new trilogy of Star Wars films, with rumours swirling around that these could serve as Episodes X-XII. Again, feels like there may be a bit of overlap here with Obaid-Chinoy’s film in development but we know too little to be making apprehensions here.
And that’s pretty much all the movies with recent developments that look to be promising. Other projects, such as Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron, which was announced five years ago (yes, you read that correctly), have been in a constant state of limbo. Recent reports have suggested the film might be repurposed as another Disney+ series, but with Jenkins still working on the script as of March 2024, who knows what will become of this project.
With all these films in development, let’s take a look at the rest of Lucasfilm’s television state for Star Wars so far on Disney+.
Disney+’s Sophomore ‘Star Wars’ Seasons
Tony Gilroy’s Star Wars: Andor, a prequel TV show to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is gearing up for its second season ready to premiere on April 22 with three episodes released weekly. The first season premiered on September 22 to critical acclaim. The second season looks to be a great continuation for fans of the first season and of Rogue One, so I’m sure many Star Wars fans will be tuning in for this one.
Another Disney+ show is also receiving a second season with Dave Filoni’s Ahsoka, which is expected to continue Ahsoka Tano’s journey against Grand Admiral Thrawn depicted in the first season. This season is expected to start filming in the UK this April with a perhaps early-mid 2026 release date.
Now that we’ve addressed all the films and shows in development/production, let’s now take a look at the growing graveyard of limbo projects that Lucasfilm might have even forgotten about.
Limbo Time
First announced in 2017, The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson was announced to be developing a trilogy of Star Wars movies for Lucasfilm. These films are that amazing, they haven’t even been made yet. Kathleen Kennedy last spoke about them in April 2023, saying that they were still in open development at Lucasfilm, but not as a priority. Hopefully, once Johnson is done with the Knives Out franchise over at Netflix, he’ll be back in the Star Wars machine ready for even more zingers.
We know James Mangold is developing an origin story film for the Jedi, but this idea was already at the forefront of David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ trilogy of films announced back in February 2018. In October 2019, they left the projects due to scheduling conflicts with Netflix projects and cast doubt over returning due to the similar-in-concept movie that Mangold is gearing up for Lucasfilm. What could have been? We’ll never know. But anyone who’s seen the final season of Game of Thrones sure won’t be batting an eye to these cancelled films almost made by the show-running pair of the show.
We’re now reaching the depths of unseen fruitions so far, such as with Taika Waiti’s film that was announced back in May 2020. While he’s been working on the script from an update back in August 2023, it’s nearing two years without a word since. Other projects with barely any recent announcements about them also include Shawn Levy’s film first announced in November 2022, with Levy stating it would continue after the 2023 Writer’s Guild of America strike. Hopefully, this one hasn’t been lost to time, as I’m sure it’d be a blast of a time by the Deadpool & Wolverine director.
Lastly are two projects first announced back in December 2020, Lando and A Droid Story. Lando was meant to be a miniseries for Disney+, centred around the titular Lando character with Donald Glover reprising the role from Solo: A Star Wars Story. By September 2023, it was retooled into a theatrical film, so hopefully, this one will see the light of day. A Droid Story, however, has had pretty much no updates since its announcement as a fun animated film for Disney+ focussing on the adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO.
That’s All, Folks!
With all of these projects laid out on the table, it’s clear to see Lucasfilm is retooling many to properly succeed for the studio, whether that be through cinemas or through streaming. The question isn’t whether the galaxy far, far away will work outside of the Skywalker Saga, but if it can be steered into a direction that excites all fans, old and new. Only time can tell if the force is still strong with Lucasfilm.
In the meantime, make sure to check out our coverage for Andor Season 2 when the show starts streaming April 22 on Disney+. You can check out a trailer below:
