Patty Jenkins is currently doing the rounds to promote Wonder Woman 1984. However, following last Thursday's announcement that she's set to take the helm of Rogue Squadron for Lucasfilm, the filmmaker is understandably fielding a lot of questions about heading to a Galaxy Far, Far Away.
Asked who is writing the screenplay for her Star Wars movie, Jenkins played coy, teasing: "I want him to have his own proper announcement, so I'm going to wait until that comes out."
"We're very far into the - we're finishing the treatment basically, which is pretty big," she continued. "So it ends up being like where you're fairly close to a well-along screenplay by the time I'm done with the treatment in my process. So yeah, we've been working on it for a while. It's going great. I'm super excited about it. I'm super excited about the story."
This is clearly a project that Jenkins and her mystery writer (we wouldn't be surprised if it's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story scribe Gary Whitta) have been working on for a long time, and it's surprising that there hasn't been so much as a single rumour about this Rogue Squadron project since she signed on.
The movie isn't set to be released until December 2023, of course, so while it is going to be the director's next project, it could be a while before we start getting any sort of casting news and the like.
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biggest Star Wars reveals from Disney's Investor Day!
5. The Acolyte
We've known for a while that Leslye Headland, the Emmy Award-nominated creator of Netflix's Russian Doll, is developing a Star Wars TV series for Disney+. For a time, it looked like she's be tasked with bringing Ahsoka Tano back to the streaming service, but it's actually something very different!
The Acolyte is described as "a mystery-thriller that will take the audience into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark side powers in the final days of the High Republic era."
The High Republic era is one we know Lucasfilm is prioritising in terms of novels and comic books, so the fact that we're now getting a TV show is a definite surprise. Here's hoping we get to see a younger Yoda in action because it's already been confirmed that he'll be part of the upcoming comic books.
4. Lando Calrissian Is Getting His Own "Event" Series
This was one of the biggest announcements to come out of Lucasfilm's presentation, but also frustratingly vague. Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that everyone’s favourite scoundrel Lando Calrissian will return in a brand-new "event series" on Disney+.
The creator of the critically-acclaimed Dear White People, Justin Simien, is developing the show, and...well, that's all we know. We're assuming it's going to be a live-action project, but there's no word on whether Donald Glover will be returning to the role after playing Lando in Solo: A Star Wars Story or if it's going to put the spotlight on Billy Dee Williams' older version of the hero.
Either way, it's impossible not to be excited about what this series could ultimately entail.
3. A Droid Story In The Works From ILM
The Bad Batch got an action-packed sizzle reel during Disney's Investor Day, but it wasn't the only animated series to receive the spotlight. Star Wars: Visions is billed as a series of animated short films celebrating Star Wars through the lens of the world’s best anime creators.
However, the show that really jumped out at us is A Droid Story. Developed by Lucasfilm Animation and Industrial Light & Magic, it's going to introduce us to a new hero, guided by R2-D2 and C-3PO.
We're assuming that will make use of state-of-the-art effects, possibly with photorealistic visuals. Either way, it sounds like it's going to be something really special, and we can't wait for this one.
2. The World Of The Mandalorian Expands
We're one week away from the season finale of The Mandalorian, and it became clear last night that Lucasfilm has bigger plans for this corner of the Galaxy Far, Far Away than we may have suspected.
Two spinoffs have been announced, starting with Ahsoka. Written by Dave Filoni and executive produced by him and Jon Favreau, it will see Rosario Dawson reprise the role of the Jedi Knight. Rangers of the New Republic, meanwhile, comes from the same creative team and will "intersect with future stories and culminate into a climactic story event."
This is clearly all building to some sort of massive crossover event, likely featuring everything from the battle to retake Mandalore to the long awaited return of Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn.
1. Patty Jenkins Is Directing Rogue Squadron
Taikia Waititi remains hard at work on a Star Wars movie Kathleen Kennedy describes as "fresh, unexpected, and...unique." However, the big announcement is Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron.
The Wonder Woman helmer will "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." It sounds awesome, and it's clearly a passion project for the filmmaker.
The movie is set to be released Christmas 2023, and Kennedy would go on to describe Jenkins as "a visionary who knows how to strike the balance between action and heart, and I can’t wait to see what she does in the Star Wars galaxy."