It’s been more than three years since Rey Skywalker walked off into the desert, and there still isn’t a new Star Wars movie to look forward to. Back in November, we tried to sort out which of the various announced projects were still in the works—but the list seems to be ever-changing.
And now it’s changed pretty dramatically. Variety reports that Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron—a movie announced in 2020—has flown into the twin sunset for good. Or, to be precise, “is no longer in active development.” And neither is Kevin Feige’s Star Wars film.
The loss of the Feige film seems almost inevitable; he has a whole Marvel Cinematic Universe to keep track of, and he’d brought on writer Michael Waldron, who is also wrapped up in said Cinematic Universe. But Jenkins’ film seemed primed to kick off a new era in Star Wars—one freed from the constraints of the central Skywalker narrative. The official description about said as much; the movie would introduce a “new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy.”
Variety‘s report has a bit of silver lining: “Sources say Thor: Love and Thunder filmmaker Taika Waititi continues to work on his possible Star Wars feature, and he would most likely have a part in it as well.” Waititi appearing in his own Star War is “news,” technically, in that it hasn’t been reported before, but will not come as a surprise to anyone who’s watched any Waititi projects.
Also on the good news side, Variety notes that Lucasfilm is “committed to” the not-officially-announced Star Wars film from Damon Lindelof, Justin Britt-Gibson, and director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
Star Wars Celebration is coming up next month, and in theory Lucasfilm could make some official cinematic announcements then; they have a Star Wars film on their release schedule for December 2025, but it’s anyone’s guess what that film will be. In the meantime, we’ll just keep visiting the galaxy far, far away on our small screens: Ahsoka, The Acolyte, and Skeleton Crew are coming down the pike, along with the second and final season of Andor.
Patience, young Jedi.
