Disney Cancels New 'Star Wars' Movie from 'Wonder Woman' Director
by EG
The next film in Disney's Star Wars franchise was supposed to be a one-off spin-off called Rogue Squadron, which was going to be helmed by Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins. That project is reportedly no longer in the works. Neither is another Star Wars movie that was supposed to be produced by Marvel chief Kevin Feige. The news comes as Disney works to find a new direction for its surprisingly troubled Star Wars universe. Read on for details.
Via Variety.
When Jon Favreau stepped onto the red carpet for the Season 3 premiere of “The Mandalorian” on Feb. 28, the Disney+ show’s creator and executive producer was feeling nostalgic.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been all together here like this,” Favreau told Variety, evoking the November 2019 premiere for the launch of the show — and of Disney+ itself. “It was before the first episode aired!”
At that time, “The Mandalorian” was a scrappy landspeeder in the vast “Star Wars” galaxy, nipping at the heels of “The Rise of Skywalker,” the culminating feature film from director J.J. Abrams that was expected just a month later to obliterate the box office like a cinematic Death Star. Instead, “The Mandalorian” became a global sensation thanks to the incandescent cuteness of Baby Yoda, blasting Disney+ into light-speed with 26.5 million subscribers in its first six weeks.
“The Rise of Skywalker,” on the other hand, imploded in spectacular fashion. The film earned just half the grosses of 2015’s “The Force Awakens” and the widespread scorn of fans, and “Star Wars” movie development has been stuck in the bogs of Dagobah ever since. Whereas Disney+ boasts a robust fleet of live-action “Star Wars” series — three streamed in 2022 alone — not a single “Star Wars” movie has received a greenlight, let alone gone into production. The earliest a film is scheduled to debut in theaters is December 2025, six years after “The Rise of Skywalker.”
It’s not for want of trying. In December 2020, Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy announced that “Wonder Woman” helmer Patty Jenkins would direct the next “Star Wars” movie, the one-off adventure “Rogue Squadron.” But in September 2022, Disney pulled the title from its scheduled December 2023 release, and sources with knowledge of the production say it is no longer in active development at the studio. (A rep for Lucasfilm did not respond to a request for comment. In December, Jenkins said in a statement that she was still developing “Rogue Squadron,” but “I don’t know if it will happen or not.”)
Meanwhile, Variety has learned that a possible “Star Wars” feature produced by Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige is also no longer in active development at Lucasfilm.
Get the rest of the story at Variety.