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It’s been four years since the last Star Wars movie, and there’s no sign of another movie recently.
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However, there are multiple films in development from various directors.
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Box office revenues suggest the franchise’s future could be in TV
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We explore the current game state for Star Wars on the big screen
We’ve come a long way from the fateful rendezvous between Princess Leia Organa and Darth Vader in Tantive IV during Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977, and by 2023 the sci-fi staple has grown to the size of a Mythosaur.
Although there are numerous projects in the works spanning animation, live-action series and movies, the future of the franchise continues to change.
2016’s Solo: A Star Wars Story – and its low-grossing franchise worth $393 million (£317 million) at the worldwide box office – seems to have frightened Lucasfilm to surge at the box office, causing fans to wonder if the ongoing Star Wars roster can be trusted. TV series instead of movies
Read more: Every Star Wars movie and TV show in development
With Disney now having a Vader-inspired Power choke in the galaxy far, far away, what’s the future for Star Wars?
Replacing the silver screen with a small screen
At one time, it was hard to imagine the Star Wars storyline going beyond George Lucas’ original plan for the original and prequel trilogy.
Then, following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2021, JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens brings us Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) alongside legacy. ) introduced a new hero group that gives The characters are Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher).
Read more: How did Harrison Ford take on the role of Han Solo?
Force Awakens made $2,017 billion at the box office, was the highest-grossing film of the year, and is currently the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time. Abrams returned for The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, while Rian Johnson took over the breakout The Last Jedi in 2017.
There were also attempts at anthology films around this time, but Rogue One: a Star Wars Story was critically and commercially acclaimed in 2016, while Solo: A Star Wars Story failed in 2018.
This upset plans for more anthology films and a revamp of the proposed Obi-Wan Kenobi movie trilogy as a live-action series.
What’s next on the Star Wars list?
Although Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron was scheduled for 2023, it was moved back so it could focus on Wonder Woman 3. Following its cancellation, Jenkins reiterated that Rogue Squadron is in active development.
Taika Waititi from Thor: Love and Thunder is working on a movie that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy claims is next on the roster, but the 2023 release date has since been removed.
Read more: How does Andor’s finale set up season two?
Watchmen’s Damon Lindelof wrote a touring set after The Rise of Skywalker, and while it’s said to be standalone, it could include characters from the sequel trilogy. There’s no word on who she is, but fans feel inadequate about the mysteries surrounding Lupita Nyong’o’s Maz Kanata – and Daisy Ridley says she’s “open for a phone call” about reprising the role of Rey at some point – these are two possible candidates.
The last movie in active development comes from Deadpool 3’s Shawn Levy, who swore that his mystery movie would be made.
Four years after The Rise of Skywalker, there is no confirmed release date and several movies have been canceled or put on hold. Rian Johnson’s “new” trilogy has been thrown into the background because he’s busy with Knives Out, JD Dillard’s movie has been shelved, and so has a trilogy from Game of Thrones producers David Benioff and DB Weiss.
Finally, there is no information about Kevin Feige’s Star Wars movie, which is allegedly in a whole new corner of the universe. In addition to having the power of the master of the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind the scenes, an all-new adventure will help alleviate complaints that we’re largely back to the same Skywalkers from all the canteens in the galaxy.
Even if the cinematic universe of Star Wars is uncertain, there’s an army of Clones of TV shows to keep us busy.
The future will be televised
While Star Wars shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels were once considered cartoons for kids and die-hard fans, that changed when Jon Favreau brought The Mandalorian to Disney+ in 2019.
This has already become a starting point for the Boba Fett Book and has helped bring forgotten arcs from the scrambled Expanded Universe back into the mainline canon.
Read more: Mandalorian summary: The story so far
While The Mandalorian Season 3 hopes to continue its winning streak as the series’ most-watched Disney+ series, there’s a lot of excitement for Ahsoka, led by Rosario Dawson.
Three-thirds Dave Filoni promised that Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (played by Jude Law) will intertwine in “odd ways” with other shows set in this lucrative period between the original and sequel trilogies.
In terms of variety, there’s been a stream of female talent thanks to the direction of Bryce Dallas Howard and Deborah Chow – in hopes that the latter will return for Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 2. We’re also getting more experimental titles like Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland. He develops The Acolyte as a “female-centric” series set in the High Republic Era, nearly 100 years before The Phantom Menace.
After its spectacular first season, a final batch of 12 episodes will wrap up Tony Gilroy’s Andor and take you straight to the events of Rogue One. Those live-action shows are before you factor in the animated The Bad Batch (currently in its second season) and another series from the animated anthology series Star Wars: Visions.
Far from the Skywalker saga
With criticisms of Star Wars following the MCU’s route by using established stories to kickstart too many spin-offs, a televised future isn’t without problems. This was revealed when The Book of Boba Fett was criticized as The Mandalorian Season 2.5.
The planned New Republic Rangers series was apparently pulled into other projects when Disney cut ties with Gina Carano, though there are whispers that the Solo disaster could be made up for through a Disney+ series.
Read more: Star Wars: Visions episodes ranked
If not, there’s always the potential return for Donald Glover’s Live-action Lando series by Justin Simien from Dear White People. Even controversial elements like The Last Jedi’s Supreme Leader Snoke are getting an overhaul as all signs point to his arc and Rise of Skywalker’s infamous Palpatine plot being overhauled in The Mandalorian Season 3.
Although we are clearly estranged from Luke and Leia, we stick to familiar formulas. Theorists are already predicting that the story of Clone Force 99 will intersect with the story of a young Boba Fett in Season 2, alongside The Bad Batch with the obligatory Palpatine cameo.
For better or worse, Star Wars offers a unified front similar to the MCU. This avoids DCU confusion as to whether Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker lives in the same continuity as Robert Pattinson’s Batman, but instead, if you don’t watch every movie or series, you risk getting lost in these sprawling chains of characters.
Disney isn’t giving up on Star Wars movies just yet, but with a sparse whitelist and plenty of Disney+ shoes in 2023, it’s clear to see the current trajectory.
Even Rian Johnson said he would be willing to return for a series rather than a movie. The lesson from the story is that there is no Star Wars material left on the junkyard planet of Bracca, so with an A-star and a well-known director, everything can be repackaged for some projects.
Read more: Every upcoming MCU movie and TV show
As shows proliferate faster than the failed Palpatine clones in Exegol, it’s still unclear whether everything will be the next version of The Mandalorian or if there will be another Holiday Special pending on X-wings.
The fan meeting Star Wars: Celebration 2023 will take place April 7-10, and we hope to learn more about the future of the series at that time.
The Mandalorian Season 3 premieres March 1 on Disney+. Watch a trailer below.