Patty Jenkins To Direct “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron” And Other Lucasfilm Updates
by Erik Amaya
Patty Jenkins is transferring her flag to the Star Wars galaxy.
As announced at the Disney Investor Day Presentation, the Wonder Woman director will helm Star Wars: Rogue Squadron — the next Star Wars feature film. According to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, the film will both move to a new, future era of the Star Wars timeline while revealing the story of the beloved X-Wing fighter group. The film is set for a Christmas 2023 release.
But the feature news was only part of the presentation, which also unveiled 6 new Star Wars TV shows for Disney+: Ahoska, The Acolyte, Rangers of the New Republic, Star Wars: Visions, A Droid Story, and a Lando limited series. They join Andor, the Obi-Wan limited series, The Bad Batch, and The Mandalorian as the whole constellation of Star Wars Disney+ content over the next few years.
Ahsoka will follow the Jedi exile’s journey in the New Republic era while Rangers will be a companion series of sorts. Both are from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni and, along with The Mandalorian, will culminate in an “event” according to Kennedy.
The Acolyte takes place in the High Republic and sees its star succumbing to the Dark Side. It is the female-focused series from Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland industry trades have been reporting on for some time.
A Droid Story will center on R2-D2 and C-3PO while Star Wars: Visions will see the top anime studios of Japan telling unique stories in the Star Wars galaxy.
The road map for these series is exciting. As is the arrival of Jenkins to the Star Wars milieu. She joins Taika Waititi and Rian Johnson as filmmakers currently developing work within the brand for a theatrical release future Disney promised to support during the presentation.
Back in the established shows, Andor is the name for the series centering on Diego Luna‘s Rebel Spy, Cassian Andor. On the Obi-Wan series front, Kennedy announced Hayden Christensen will appear in the series as Darth Vader. Teasing a “rematch of the century,” it appears the characters will have another confrontation ten years after Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) left him to die on Mustafar.
On the feature front, Kennedy reaffirmed the next Indiana Jones film will be the last. It is scheduled for a July 2022 release. Lucasfilm will also be adapting Tomi Adeyemi‘s Children of Blood and Bone as a feature, offering a peak beyond its Star Wars offerings.
All told, the presentation was one of the more exciting in Disney’s afternoon of announcements, corporate synergy, and surprises.