Lucasfilm first revealed its plans for a new Star Wars movie, titled Rogue Squadron, at the end of 2020. The news was accompanied by a splashy promo video with filmmaker Patty Jenkins walking down a runway before boarding a life-sized X-Wing.
The movie was described as following 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.
We'd later learn that Jenkins had been forced to postpone work on the project due to a vague scheduling conflict. For a time, it seemed like Rogue Squadron might come after Wonder Woman 3 or Cleopatra (neither of which materialised), and the Star Wars spin-off remains in limbo.
The movie was put on hold in 2022 and was reportedly scrapped the following year. Rogue Squadron was later put back into active development, but remains undated and wasn't mentioned by former Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy during her recent exit interview. Instead, it seems the focus has shifted to Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter.
There have been rumours about Rogue Squadron being redeveloped as a TV series, and during a recent interview with Polygon (via SFFGazette.com), writer Matthew Robinson reflected on working on the big-screen version.
"I had a great time writing it," he started. "Patty Jenkins is one of my favorite artists in the world. I think she's absolutely brilliant. We had a great time working together. I don't currently know what Lucasfilm wants to do with it. They're in a pretty big state of flux at the moment, after Kathleen [Kennedy] leaving, and who knows what the future holds for them theatrically."
"It was a great thrill to write that, and especially to work with Patty, who made it a very personal story. It was very much a movie about fighter pilots," Robinson teased. "Her father was a fighter pilot. It was very personal to her, and we were trying to tell a really great personal story about fighter pilots and Rogue Squadron pilots in the Star Wars universe."
"I think we did a great job with it, and I really hope one day we get to see a version of that," he concluded, clearly as in the dark as the rest of us.
Ahsoka Season 2 is currently the only Star Wars TV series confirmed for a Disney+ launch, and Dave Filoni will likely be looking very closely at every film and television project in development to decide what should and shouldn't happen from here. The leaves Rogue Squadron's fate very much up in the air...no pun intended!
In the meantime, fans are hoping Filoni's time in charge won't be defined by the announcement of projects that fail to materialise (a category Rogue Squadron currently falls into). As always, stay tuned for updates as we have them.