Summary

  • Lucasfilm has officially announced release dates for new Star Wars movies, indicating a clear plan for the future of the franchise.
  • One of the upcoming movies will focus on Rey's role as the founder of the New Jedi Order, set 15 years after "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."
  • Other announced projects include a film centered on Grand Admiral Thrawn in "The Mandalorian" timeline, a movie exploring the origins of the Jedi Order, and a Lando Calrissian film that has shifted from a Disney+ show to a theatrical release.

The Skywalker saga has come to an end, but there are still a lot more Star Wars movies on the way. Lucasfilm officially began announcing upcoming movies at Star Wars Celebration 2023, signaling that Star Wars is returning to the big screens soon. Development was postponed due to the writers' and actors' strikes, but Lucasfilm has nonetheless recently confirmed that these projects are still in the works.

Lucasfilm has currently booked three release dates:

  • May 22, 2026
  • December 18, 2026
  • December 17, 2027

It is currently unclear which movie is attached to which date, and it is further unknown whether the studio is planning to push any projects back due to the strikes. With these provisos, then, here is every upcoming Lucasfilm theatrical project for the next decade.

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The Mandalorian & Grogu

Din Djarin & Grogu head to the big screen

the-mandalorian-season-4-now-movie-great

Custom Image by Corey Larson

Writer

Unconfirmed, presumably Jon Favreau

Director

Jon Favreau

Known cast

Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin)

Lucasfilm has confirmed The Mandalorian & Grogu will be the first of this new wave of Star Wars movies. Little is known about The Mandalorian & Grogu at this stage, but it's reasonable to assume it has been adapted from Jon Favreau's scripts for The Mandalorian season 4. It's reasonable to assume Lucasfilm hope this will make the May 2026 date, although this has not been confirmed.

Rey Skywalker's New Jedi Order Movie

Daisy Ridley's Star Wars return

Writer

Steven Knight

Director

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Known cast

Daisy Ridley (Rey)

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 the 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 - the so-called "New Jedi Order."

Dave Filoni's The Mandalorian Movie

Spinning out of The Mandalorian & Ahsoka

Cast

None confirmed, but presumably include Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin), Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano), and supporting cast from The Mandalorian and Ahsoka

Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni is rising through the ranks, recently promoted to Chief Creative Officer. George Lucas' protégé, Filoni has worked closely with Jon Favreau on The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. This will build up to a movie set during The Mandalorian era, one featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn as the main villain - although Filoni has promised it's not just a replay of the traditional New Republic versus Empire dynamic.

James Mangold's Dawn Of The Jedi Movie

The origin of the Force revealed

James Mangold and the Prime Jedi.

Writer & director

James Mangold

Finally, the last movie announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023 will be set over 25,000 years before the Skywalker Saga. Written and directed by James Mangold, this is set in what has been called the "Dawn of the Jedi" era - although it does not necessarily feature any Jedi. According to Mangold, this will be "a kind of origin story of how the Force came to be known.” Mangold clearly built a strong relationship with during his work on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and he pitched this project directly. It has been described as a "biblical epic" akin to The Ten Commandments.

Lando

Writers

Donald & Stephen Glover

Known cast

Donald Glover (Lando)

Originally conceived as a Disney+ TV show, Lucasfilm confirmed that Lando is shifting to a feature film format. Haunted Mansion's Justin Simien was initially tapped to write and oversee the project, but was replaced by Donald and Stephen Glover shortly before the WGA strike. Withe Donald Glover reprising his role of Lando Calrissian and the brothers overseeing the film's development, consistency with the character's portrayal in Solo: A Star Wars Story can be expected. No release date for Lando has been set, but writing will commence after the Hollywood strikes conclude.

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Shawn Levy's Star Wars Movie

Star Wars Shawn Levy

Writer & director

Shawn Levy

Writer/director Shawn Levy confirmed he was tapped by Lucasfilm to helm an untitled Star Wars movie. After word was first broken by the trades, Levy shared on social media that the film is a dream project. The film is set to begin production once Levy's work on Deadpool 3 has concluded, though the Hollywood strikes have complicated matters. Providing an update on the film, Levy stated that his Star Wars project is stuck in a "holding patternI" like much of the industry, and he had only just begun development before the strikes. With substantial work still to be done, Levy's Star Wars movie is several years out from release.

Rian Johnson's Star Wars Trilogy

Rian Johnson Star Wars

Writer & director

Rian Johnson

Lucasfilm was clearly impressed by Rian Johnson's work on Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In November 2017, they announced Johnson would launch a new Star Wars trilogy outside 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

Taika Waititi Star Wars Movie Director

Writers

Taika Waititi & Krysty Wilson-Cairns

In May 2020, Lucasfilm announced that Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit director Taika Waititi is set to helm a future Star Wars movie. 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. Waititi has given occasional updates, most recently stressing that he wants to recapture the joy and wonder of Star Wars, which means this is a high-pressure job that is taking some time.

Canceled Star Wars Movies

Boba Fett

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 recent change in direction.

Upcoming Star Wars TV Shows

Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Jude Law in Skeleton Crew

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: 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 2024.
  • 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 2025. 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 - Showrunner Jon Favreau has confirmed the scripts have already been completed, with preproduction underway.

  • Star Wars Franchise Poster
    Star Wars
    Created by:
    George Lucas
    TV Show(s):
    The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
    Character(s):
    Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Princess Leia Organa, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Kylo Ren, Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu
    Movie(s):
    Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
    First Film:
    Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
    Cast:
    Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
    Video Game(s):
    Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, Star Wars Battlefront (2015), Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005), Star Wars: The Force Unleashed , Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor