Star Wars round-up: All the new properties to be excited about

At Disney Investor Day 2020, new Star Wars TV shows and films were announced. We break down what fans can look forward to.  

Just because the Skywalker legacy is over (for now), doesn’t mean that Disney isn’t rolling out a host of new Star Wars content for fans to enjoy on the small and big screens. At the Disney Investor Day 2020 event, President of Lucasfilm Ltd, Kathleen Kennedy, announced how the galaxy far, far away will be expanding.

Disney Plus will continue to be the home of upcoming Star Wars original shows, but there are also two new films that will be hitting the big screen.

We break down the future Star Wars projects that have been revealed.

Star Wars: Which films are in the pipeline?

2020 is the first time in five years that a Star Wars film has not debuted on the big screen. But that won’t be the case for long.

Untitled Taika Waititi Film

Taika Waititi, who captured the imagination of fans with his take on IG-88 in the first season of The Mandalorian, before directing the season finale, will be helming a Star Wars film. There are no details about the story, characters, or release date.

Kennedy only revealed that Waititi will bring his “fresh, unexpected, and…unique” approach to this humorous entry in the canon.

While Waititi’s attachment to a future project had already been doing the rounds, another Star Wars film was revealed that caught most of us by surprise.

Rogue Squadron

Get ready to lock S-foils in attack position when Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins brings Rogue Squadron to the big screen. Jenkins has close ties to fighter pilots—her father used to be one. She’s channeling her life-long dream to create an aviation film into the Star Wars universe.

Rogue Squadron promises to be a thrilling ride as a “new generation of starfighter pilots” earn their wings. The squadron is a beloved part of the universe, and one can expect Jenkins to add her own distinctive spin on it. Considering the original trilogy of films, which featured the Rogue Squadron, were scant in representation, here’s hoping Jenkins has a great team surrounding her to make the film as inclusive as the global fandom watching it.

Rogue Squadron is set to release on Christmas, 2023.

Star Wars: New spin-offs and shows revealed

There are more small-screen adventures waiting for Disney Plus subscribers as well.

Ahsoka

Ahsoka Tano made the crossover from being animated to a live-action character on The Mandalorian Season 2, and it has re-ignited a love for the character. Rosario Dawson will be reprising her role as the beloved Togruta Jedi in Ahsoka, a limited series Disney Plus original.

The spin-off show will be set during the same timeline as The Mandalorian, but details about the storyline and plot are scarce. We have speculated about what the series could possibly about, and we hope more characters from the animated shows turn up.

Rangers of the New Republic

Another spin-off from The Mandalorian is Rangers of the New Republic. There are no details about the show, nor about the cast and characters. Given the title, speculation is rife that the show will focus on Cara Dune, a newly appointed ranger in the New Republic.

We haven’t seen much of these rangers so far, but from the sounds of it, they’re akin to galactic police officers. The concern here is that Gina Carano, the actor who plays Cara Dune, has been causing plenty of controversy off-screen. Will this impact the final product?

Lando

A surprising new event series announced is Lando, brought to the screen by Justin Simien, creator of Dear White People and a huge Star Wars fan himself.

There was no information shared about this show. We don’t even know if it’s animated or live-action. Will Billy Dee Williams return to voice the role of our favorite scoundrel in the galaxy, or will Donald Glover reprise his younger version? Who knows! All we know is that Lando Calrissian is far too popular a character not to get a show of his own.

A Droid Story

For some more family-friendly fare, A Droid Story joins C-3PO and R2-D2 as they guide a brand new hero in the galaxy. Could this hero be a cute new droid to steal fans’ affections like Baby Yoda?

The show is set to be an “intersection of animation and visual effects”. However the story plays out, we know that the show is going to be spectacular to behold.

Star Wars: Visions

A different and innovative take on the beloved franchise comes in the guise of Star Wars: Visions. This anthology series will bring ‘10 visions’ from leading Japanese anime studios.

Star Wars has always borrowed heavily from Asian influences and cultures, and it seems only fitting that the franchise gets a fresh new cultural perspective for fans to enjoy.

Star Wars: What’s already in development?

Several Star Wars shows had already been announced. But new details and footage of these series were revealed at Disney Investor Day 2020.

The Acolyte

Leslye Headland, the creator behind the Netflix mind-bender Russian Doll, is creating a mystery-thriller for Star Wars fans. The show takes place during the High Republic era — around the time of the prequel trilogy — and will feature the shadowy secrets of that time.

Considering the Sith were a hidden force at the time, it seems that Headland’s show will focus on the Dark Side of the Force.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Another spin-off series announced earlier this year was Star Wars: The Bad Batch. This particular group of Clone Troopers didn’t fit the bill for the Republic’s army, so they’re free agents. In the post-Clone Wars age, how do these mercenaries cope, and what do their missions look like?

The first trailer for the show revealed plenty of animated fun and action. The Bad Batch appears to be working with the Empire, or at least with Tarkin. It’s a changing time in the galaxy, which we haven’t delved into much on screen.

The animation in the trailer looks beautiful, as can be expected from a Disney property. And it looks like the Bad Batch might be getting some extra help. A suspiciously familiar, orange-helmeted character is seen in the trailer. Could it be Ming-Na Wen’s Fennec Shand?

Andor

One of the highly anticipated shows is the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story spin-off featuring Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor. The show finally has a title and logo of its own. Simply called Andor, the show is a prequel to the film, following the rebel spy Andor.

The show promises to be a ‘nail-biting spy thriller’. In the featurette, Luna, who is a massive fan of the franchise, expressed his eagerness to return to the world that he loves, to tell a new story.

Production on Andor was delayed due to the global pandemic, but it has finally begun. A new release date was not revealed.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

And finally, the show that everyone has been waiting for. Obi-Wan Kenobi will see Ewan McGregor reprise his role as everyone’s favorite Jedi Knight. The show is set 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith when Obi-Wan and his padawan last dueled.

Rumors had been floating around that Hayden Christensen would be returning for the series, but now it’s been officially revealed that Christensen will be back as Darth Vader. Interestingly, Kennedy specifically said Darth Vader and not Anakin Skywalker, but she did mention that it will be “the rematch of the century”.

Both actors seem to be excited to not only return to the franchise but also to work with each other. Fans cannot wait for Obi-Wan Kenobi to stream fast enough.

You can read more about these new projects on starwars.com.

Which Star Wars show or film are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.