It’s no big secret that Disney and Lucasfilm were compelled to pump the breaks on “Star Wars” in the aftermath of the, ah, mixed reception to “The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019. The onset of the pandemic only a few months later provided some cover for the studio, with Kathleen Kennedy and her braintrust taking the time to focus more on taking the franchise to streaming on Disney+ and building out a shared universe of sorts on television. When “Solo” largely crashed and burned in 2018, immediately putting a stop to any more “A Star Wars Story” standalone films, the creative team simply decided to expand on what that movie started by shuffling a proposed “Lando” series to the streaming service. Much the same occurred with “Andor,” a spin-off of “Rogue One.”
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron still on the table for Disney
But what about the previously-announced movie that was set to triumphantly bring “Star Wars” back to the big screen, where it belongs? Director Patty Jenkins’ “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron” was initially unveiled with much fanfare back in December of 2020, representing the franchise’s first major move after the conclusion of the “Skywalker Saga.” Unfortunately, the planned production encountered a significant setback less than a year later when Disney and Lucasfilm removed the film from their release schedule entirely, raising concern that the movie was in trouble and delaying the film indefinitely. Or so we thought, at least.
Ahead of this year’s Star Wars Celebration event in late May, Disney sent out an updated release schedule earlier today for the company’s overall slate of films. Rather shockingly, “Rogue Squadron” has once again been slated for release on its original date: December 22, 2023. One would think this isn’t a mere placeholder, however dubious it may be to believe that the massive production could still hit that target. But Disney’s certainly feeling confident (or interested in projecting confidence) about it, so all eyes will now turn to Anaheim, California, when Star Wars Celebration and its high likelihood of exciting reveals kicks off in earnest.
Planned Star Wars film could still have a changed release date
Look, there’s no use putting lipstick on a pig here. “Rogue Squadron” hasn’t even begun production at this point, making it highly unlikely that this release date will actually stick. More so than most other blockbuster films, “Star Wars” tends to require an incredible amount of time to bring a film through all stages of production — doubly so when the external perception of the franchise has been left relatively wanting in the wake of the divisive sequel trilogy. Patty Jenkins is ostensibly still attached as director of “Rogue Squadron,” but remains busy with other projects on her plate like the next “Wonder Woman” sequel. It’s worth noting that she had originally planned on directing the Gal Gadot-starring “Cleopatra” remake as well, but stepped down from that film in another eyebrow-raising development.
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