To say that Disney has struggled to continue the Star Wars brand since it acquired Lucasfilm would be an understatement. The Mouse House has divided the fanbase, released the franchise’s first box office bomb, and rushed out a nostalgia-heavy sequel trilogy that threw the whole timeline of the saga out of whack.
But since the studio wants to make good on its $4 billion investment, it’s pressing on with Star Wars content. At any given time, countless Star Wars-related movies, TV shows, novels, and comics are in various stages of development. Some of them seem terrible off the bat, but others are really promising.
The Bad Batch
Dave Filoni, Athena Portillo, Brad Rau, and Jennifer Corbett are executive-producing a sequel series to The Clone Wars that will debut on Disney+ in 2021. The Bad Batch will follow the titular squadron in the early days of the Empire’s rule as they work as mercenaries across the galaxy.
Corbett will act as the head writer for the series, while Rau will serve as a supervising director. There are other Clone Wars spin-offs that fans might’ve preferred, but The Bad Batch will surely be a lot of fun.
Kevin Feige’s Movie
Kevin Feige, the mastermind behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has been tapped to produce a new Star Wars movie with Kathleen Kennedy. The film is speculated to be released in 2024 or 2025.
Feige is a self-confessed Star Wars fanboy and the influence of Lucas’ groundbreaking space opera saga can be seen all over his own serialized blockbuster franchise.
Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Miniseries On Disney+
Although it’s been marred by constant delays, all the rumors about the Obi-Wan series that’s coming to Disney+ are extremely exciting, like flashbacks to the Clone Wars era and an appearance by Hayden Christensen as Anakin. Obi-Wan’s time in exile on Tatooine during the Empire’s rise is fertile ground for storytelling.
Ewan McGregor’s return to the role of Kenobi is a dream come true for many Star Wars fans, and The Mandalorian’s Deborah Chow will surely do a fantastic job directing the series. Here's hoping the Obi-Wan miniseries will finally get off the ground soon; Disney+ keeps altering the deal.
Rian Johnson’s Trilogy
During production of The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson pitched a Star Wars trilogy to Lucasfilm that was completely unrelated to the Skywalkers, and the studio hired him to make it happen. However, after The Last Jedi divided the fanbase and Johnson moved on to Knives Out (with a sequel reportedly in development), work on this trilogy seems to have halted.
Some Star Wars fans are rather anti-Johnson, so it’s tough to imagine a scenario in which Disney would entrust him with three Star Wars tentpoles, but he might deserve a second chance at telling a Star Wars story outside the Skywalker saga. When Johnson signed on to write and direct Episode VIII, he wanted to give audiences his own singular vision of the Star Wars myth, but he also had to follow up on J.J. Abrams’ “mystery box” teases from The Force Awakens.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Set to hit shelves in 2021, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will bring the wildly popular Lego Star Wars games into the next generation with a massive open world and the stories of Episodes I to IX being available to play.
The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker have never appeared in Lego form before, while the graphics and gameplay from the earlier Lego Star Wars games have been revamped to include new features.
Leslye Headland’s Female-Led Disney+ Series
Leslye Headland has been confirmed to be working on a Star Wars series for Disney+. Nothing has been revealed about the plot, but it’s been described as “female-centric.”
Headland is one of the creators of Netflix’s Russian Doll, along with Natasha Lyonne and Amy Poehler, and she also wrote Bachelorette and Sleeping with Other People, so this series is in safe hands.
The Cassian Andor Series
Diego Luna’s character Cassian Andor was pretty thinly drawn in Rogue One, but there’s a lot of potential in a Rebel spy who was dragged into the war against the Empire at the age of six.
Cassian is getting a Disney+ series that can expand on his characterization. Alan Tudyk is set to return as lovable droid K-2SO. Unless something goes seriously wrong at the script stage, this show could be really great.
The High Republic
It looks like, at least in books and comics, Disney is doing what it should’ve done with Star Wars all along: telling new stories about new characters across its vast universe and nearly infinite timeline instead of clinging to familiar elements.
Lucasfilm is launching a Star Wars sub-franchise called The High Republic, set during the titular era — 200 years before the Skywalker saga and 800 years after the collapse of the Old Republic. The story will revolve around the crimes of a band of Space Vikings called the Nihil necessitating the involvement of the Jedi at the height of their powers.
Taika Waititi’s Movie
At long last, Taika Waititi revealed that he’ll be directing a new Star Wars movie. He’s got a lot on his plate, with Thor: Love and Thunder, Next Goal Wins, and a live-action Akira remake, but he’s still found time to work on a Star Wars script with 1917’s Krysty Wilson-Cairns.
Waititi proved with Thor: Ragnarok that he can helm fun, action-packed blockbusters with dazzling set pieces, hidden social commentary, and humor and heart in spades. His take on Star Wars will undoubtedly hark back to its pulpy origins in Flash Gordon.
The Mandalorian: Seasons 3 & 4
The second season of The Mandalorian hasn’t even been released yet, but the creative team is already working on the third and fourth seasons of the series. It’s great to know that Jon Favreau and co. have a clear-cut vision for where the series is going.
Unlike the team behind the sequel trilogy, Favreau and his team aren’t stumbling through the dark, figuring things out as they go along. They have a roadmap for the show’s overall arc — fans are in good hands.