The future of Star Wars is set: In our overview, we present all the films currently planned for the cinema and what you should know about their story, creators and more.
The Force is with us, because the future of Star Wars is set: After Episode 9 ended the Skywalkers, a new era of cinema films is blossoming for Star Wars. In December 2023, the next flick in the Star Wars universe, Rogue Squadron, is set to flicker across the big screen.
But that’s not all: a whole range of new Star Wars films are already in development or at least being planned: From Rian Johnson’s trilogy to Taika Waititi’s project to a film by Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige – in the following list we present to you everything Disney is currently working on for Star Wars in the cinema and on films.
By the way, we provide you with everything about the Star Wars series for Disney+ in a separate overview:
Star Wars: All TV series launching on Disney+ after The Mandalorian
Table of Contents
The first cinema releases have already been announced
We already know when the next Star Wars films will start. After Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars will take a break from the cinema for the time being. Originally, it was supposed to continue in 2022, but due to the ongoing Corona pandemic, the first, new Star Wars cinema film will be delayed by another year.
Currently, Disney plans to release the new Star Wars movies in theatres on the following dates.
- December 22, 2023
- 19 December 2025
- 17 December 2027
With Rogue Squadron by director Patty Jenkins, the first Star Wars movie after Episode 9 was supposed to be released in 2023. In the meantime, however, there are scheduling problems with the production. According to a report by VanityFair in May 2022, Rogue Squadron will now actually come later, the planned film by director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Thor: Love and Thunder) could take the theatrical release. This has now also been officially confirmed by Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy in an interview with TotalFilm.
With regard to the 2025 and 2027 start dates, we still have to be patient about which films are planned. But there would be enough candidates – as you can find in the following list.
All upcoming Star Wars films
Cinema film by Thor 3 and Mandalorian director
- Movie title: Unknown
- Cinema release date: Possibly replaces Rogue Squadron on 23 December 2023
- Who is directing? Taika Waititi
- Who performs? Unknown
This is what it’s all about: Taika Waititi is no stranger to fans of Star Wars and Marvel: He previously directed Thor: Ragnarok for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, for The Mandalorian, the eighth episode of the first season, Redemption. In Season 1 of the Disney Plus series, he also lent his voice to the assassination droid IG-11. Now Taika Waititi will direct his own Star Wars film. The story is said to feel very much like “himself” – but there is no further info.
What else is there to know? Waititi is co-writing the script with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917). At the moment, however, there is no information about the cast, appearing characters or the story. However, Taika Waititi gave an update on his project to Wired in August 2021. According to this, the story would already be finished and a first draft of the script would exist.
Now the script has to be revised, finalised, polished and approved so that it can be used for a shoot. Provided everything goes well for Taika Waititi’s project, the film should be released as early as 23 December 2023 – the originally planned date for Rogue Squadron. This has now also been confirmed by Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy.
Rogue Squadron
- Movie title: Rogue Squadron
- Cinema release date: Originally December 22, 2023, currently unknown.
- Who is directing? Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984).
- Who performs? Unknown
– Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) December 10, 2020
What it’s about: Rogue Squadron is said to revolve around a new generation of fighter pilots. Concrete information about the plot is still limited, but the title of the film already suggests that the film takes place during the Galactic Civil War – i.e. while the Rebels were fighting against the Empire.
In the official Star Wars canon, Rogue Squadron was founded by Luke Skywalker himself. The Jedi chose the name for his fighter squadron in honour of Jyn Erso and her team, who sacrificed themselves for the Rebel Alliance to steal the Death Star plans.
What else is there to know? Fans can assume that Rogue Squadrons should definitely live up to the term “Star Wars”. George Lucas already drew a lot of inspiration for the classic trilogy from aerial combat in films about World War II. According to Patty Jenkins, her own father was an F4 pilot, so she approaches the film with her own experiences and a personal connection to the subject.
However, in November 2021, it was announced that Rogue Squadron is facing scheduling problems. Production and filming can no longer start in 2022, which is why Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy also officially confirmed a postponement in May 2022. Instead of Rogue Squadron, Taika Waititi’s film will now be released in 2023.
Cinema film by Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige
- Movie title: Unknown
- Movie title: Unknown
- Who is directing? Kevin Feige
- Who performs? Unknown
What Kevin Feige’s War of the Stars project will be about is not known. One could speculate that Feige has replaced Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who were due to start their trilogy in 2022. That one was rumoured to be an adaptation of The Old Republic.
What else is there to know? According to his own statement, Kevin Feige has already set his sights on a “great actor” for his Star Wars movie. Who is meant by that remains a mystery. Marvel fans would hope for a reunion with actors who have already left the Marvel Cinematic Universe – such as Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark) or Chris Evans (Steve Rogers).
Meanwhile, Michael Waldron (Rick and Morty, Community) has been signed on to write the screenplay for Kevin Feige’s Star Wars film. As Deadline reports, this is a cross-Disney deal for Waldron: The writer is not only taking over Feige’s War of the Stars project, but has already developed the Loki series for Disney Plus as showrunner, whose second season Waldron is also responsible for.
Curiously, Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy raised doubts in May 2022 that Kevin Feige’s project was even in development, according to a report by VanityFair . Whether the film will actually come to fruition thus remains to be seen. It would not be out of the question for the project to progress further before Kennedy actually confirms it. So fans should be patient here for the time being.
Cinema film from Lost and Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof
- Movie title: Unknown
- Movie title: Unknown
- Who is directing? Unknown
- Who performs? Unknown
This is what it’s all about: Be forewarned, Damon Lindelof’s Star Wars film is not officially confirmed at this time. The news is based on a persistent rumour that has been going around for several months.
The Ankler wants to have heard in March 2022 that Lindelof is indeed venturing into the Star Wars universe – after the man responsible for TV series such as Lost, The Leftovers or Watchmen has already expressed his interest several times. What the alleged project is supposed to be about and when it will fit into the Star Wars timeline is currently unknown.
This is what else there is to know: Should the conjectures prove true, Damon Lindelof will probably not personally take over the direction. Lindelof is best known for his scripts and story ideas, which include co-projects such as Prometheus, Cowboys & Aliens, World War Z and Star Trek: Into Darkness.
Film by TV veteran J.D. Dillard
- Movie title: Unknown
- Movie title: Unknown
- Who is directing? J.D. Dillard
- Who performs? Unknown
This is what it’s all about: For his personal Star Wars movie, J.D. Dillard (Sleight, Sweethart) will team up with writer Matt Dillon (Luke Cage, Agents of Shield). There are currently no details about the plot, the specific setting, actors or characters appearing.
Other things to know: This Star Wars project is not necessarily set to launch in theatres, but could launch in feature length on the Disney+ streaming service.
Film trilogy by Episode 8 director Rian Johnson
- Movie title: Unknown
- Movie title: Unknown
- Who is directing? Rian Johnson
- Who performs? Unknown
This is what it’s about: Rian Johnson has already directed a Star Wars film with Episode 8 – The Last Jedi . After its theatrical release, Johnson was signed on by Disney for a new and independent film trilogy in the War of the Stars universe.
All we know at the moment is that Rian Johnson wants to take us to a “completely new corner of the galaxy” at a previously “unexplored time”. A reunion with old familiar characters will therefore not take place.
What else is there to know? In the meantime, Rian Johnson personally raised doubts as to whether his Star Wars trilogy will actually come to fruition. However, in February 2021, writer Sariah Wilson revealed on Twitter after a conversation with Johnson that the trilogy was still in development. In May 2022, Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy revealed via VanityFair that the project was indeed still coming together.
However, that could take time. According to Kennedy, the trilogy has been put on the backburner for the time being, as Johnson is currently busy anyway. The director has entered into a deal with Netflix for several sequels to his crime thriller Knives Out with Daniel Craig, so fans will have to be patient for the time being.
These new Star Wars films have already been launched
The Simpsons short film “The Force Awakens from its nap “
- Movie title: The Force Awakens From Their Nap
- Start date on Disney Plus: May 4, 2021.
- Who’s Producing? Al Jean (The Simpsons)
- Who performs? Famous voice actors from The Simpsons involved
In a daycare far, far away… but still in Springfield. Maggie Simpson in “The Force Awakens From Its Nap” is streaming tomorrow, May the 4th on DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/CEMue3eQD9
– Star Wars (@starwars) May 3, 2021
What it’s about: In celebration of “Star Wars Day” 2021, Disney is releasing a The Simpsons crossover for May 4: In The Force Awakens From Its Nap, Maggie Simpson sets out to find her stolen dummy. In the process, she gets to deal with Jedi padawans, Lord of the Sith, droids and the like.
Lego Star Wars Scary Stories
- Movie title: Lego Star wars Terryfing Tales; in German Lego Star Wars Gruselgeschichten.
- Start on Disney Plus: October 1, 2021.
- Behind the scenes: Ken Cunningham as director, David Shayne as writer and executive producer.
- Who Performs: Jake Green as Poe Dameron, Raphael Alejandro as Dean, Dana Snyder as Graballa the Hutt, Tony Hale as Vaneé, Christian Slater as Ren, Trevor Devall as Emperor Palpatine, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as NI-L8
This is what it’s all about: The latest Lego Star Wars Special for Disney Plus is all about Halloween. After the events of Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker, Poe Dameron and BB-8 crash-land on Mustafar. There they meet Graballa the Hutt, who has purchased Darth Vader’s fortress at great cost in order to open the galaxy’s first Sith-inspired luxury hotel.
While Poe and BB-8 wait for their X-Wing to be repaired, Graballa and mechanic Dean take them deeper into Vader’s castle. There resides Vaneé – Darth Vader’s loyal servant – who tells the uninvited guests three stories about ancient artefacts and well-known villains of the Star Wars universe.
What else is there to know? Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales is already the second Lego special on Star Wars produced exclusively for Disney Plus. The first was the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special at the end of 2020.
The idea behind Terrifying Tales is not new, by the way: A very similar principle was already taken up in the Marvel Comics with “Tales from Vader’s Castle”.
Disney’s official Star Wars timeline
By the way, with the launch of The High Republic (more on that in the next section), Disney has released a new, official Star Wars timeline. This gives fans a more compact overview of which film or TV series belongs to which era of the War of the Stars universe.
However, not all planned Star Wars productions are included in the current version. That’s why we’ve filled in the gaps as best we could and added the respective films and TV series in square brackets that can’t (yet) be found in the official graphic:
The High Republic
- TV Series: The Acolyte]
Fall of the Jedi
- Cinema film: Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Dark Menace
- Cinema: Star Wars: Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones
- TV Series: The Clone Wars
- Cinema film: Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith
Reign of the Empire
- TV series: The Bad Batch
- Cinema: Solo: A Star Wars Story
- TV series: Obi-Wan Kenobi]
Age of Rebellion
- TV series: Rebels
- TV Series: Andor]
- Movie: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Cinema film:Star Wars: Episode 4 – A New Hope
- Cinematic: Rogue Squadron]
- Cinema:Star Wars: Episode 5 – The Empire Strikes Back
- Cinematic: Star Wars: Episode 6 – Return of the Jedi
The New Republic
- TV series: The Mandalorian
- TV series: The Book of Boba Fett]
- TV series: Ahsoka]
- TV series: Rangers of the New Republic]
Rise of the First Order
- TV Series: Resistance
- Cinema: Star Wars: Episode 7 – The Force Awakens
- Cinema: Star Wars: Episode 8 – The Last Jedi
- Cinema: Star Wars: Episode 8 – The Rise of Skywalker
