Cognition Dissemination: Maybe THESE Star Wars Movies Will Release
The biggest announcements from this past weekend’s Star Wars Celebration involved Lucasfilm confirming that three new Star Wars movies are in the works. One is coming from director James Mangold (Logan, the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), and will feature the origins of the Jedi order and Force, set even before The Old Republic. Another one from Dave Filoni will wrap up the post-Return of the Jedi and pre-The Force Awakens saga in The New Republic started by The Mandalorian, one being told throughout that show’s seasons and The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka (which received its first trailer), and Skeleton Crew. The last one announced will advance the overarching story by taking place 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker and will feature Daisy Ridley reprising the role of Rey in her intent to establish a new Jedi Order, from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (certain Ms. Marvel episodes, Saving Face).
It’s, at the very least, an intriguing lineup, though some are more interesting than others. Mangold’s film sounds like a great idea through the intent to delve into uncharted territory for the franchise, and how interesting Filoni’s will ultimately be will depend on how future Mandalorian seasons and its spinoff progeny play out. It won’t be hard to make a better film than the underwhelming The Rise of Skywalker, which nearly derailed the franchise, but hopefully the movie taking place afterword will be good. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out to be Episode X, and they’re simply not clarifying that yet.
A larger question looms overall these projects: Will they actually release? The concern is reasonable, and these could join their fates. But I emphasize “could.”
The skepticism is warranted thanks to the sheer number of previously-announced Star Wars films canned before their productions began. It started with the planned trilogy from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the showrunners for HBO’s Game of Thrones, in movies intended to release between the new Avatar films from James Cameron. They were cancelled after the final seasons of GoT garnered an intensely divisive reception, though neither Benioff and Weiss nor Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy would say whether that was the specific reason. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron from Patty Jenkins, originally intended to release in December this year, was canned as part of her bad directorial career comedown following the mediocre Wonder Woman 1984. (It could — there’s that word again — return in another form.) Marvel Studios producer Kevin Fiege’s film was also cancelled, though reports suggested that it never really started. Fiege has too many other priorities.
Meanwhile, Taika Waititi’s film remains in development, though there’s no clue as to when or whether it will release. Perhaps Lucasfilm is getting cold feet after Thor: Love & Thunder’s reception, though it was at least better than WW84. Lucasfilm and Kennedy thankfully refuse to close the book on the planned trilogy from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, who’s been busy with Knives Out, Glass Onion, and Poker Face since that released, and is tackling a follow-up to Glass Onion next. Poker Face is also getting a second season, but hopefully Johnson’s movies come afterward.
That’s two whole paragraphs detailing movies that were either cancelled or stuck in limbo. For as much as then-and-now Disney CEO Bob Iger desperately wants Star Wars to accompany the resurgence of cinema, it’s still difficult to believe these will actually release. It’s not like Lucasfilm announced any release dates or even titles for these.
But I do have some faith that they’ll see the light in darkened cinematic locations. Filoni’s Mandalorian universe film has the best chance of releasing, considering the sheer number of TV Star Wars seasons released on Disney Plus over the last few years, the production quality in most of which is nearly movie-level. Though screenwriters Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson departed the post TROS film, at least it’s still coming. A sizable portion of the fanbase also wants to see Rey in action again, and this one is reportedly the furthest along and should come first. The Mangold film is the one I’m most nervous about considering he’s working on it and Swamp Thing for James Gunn’s incoming DC Universe simultaneously, but I sincerely hope that’s misplaced given how interesting it sounds.
I have another suggestion. The Star Wars animated content has a better quality track record of late under Disney, and new seasons for Tales of the Jedi and The Bad Batch were announced at the Celebration and Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 was fully revealed. Here’s an idea: They should make an animated film. It’s not that novel an idea considering The Clone Wars launched with a pilot one. It wasn’t the best performer at the box office and was merely okay in quality, but we live in a different age now. Star Wars animation is beyond established at this point, and a new movie would bring a dedicated audience to theaters. It’s never too late for one to happen considering the franchise’s resilience, so I have my fingers crossed.
It would be best if I kept those fingers crossed for all these upcoming films, even though, realistically speaking, it hasn’t been that long since the last film.. Perpetually having new Star Wars content right around the corner through TV shows, comics, and video games is one matter, but nothing provides a concise and contained experience with stimulating visuals and audio like a film, and there’s a fair chance that Star Wars could become Cinema™ again.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
