Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, production on practically everything across the globe has been shut down indefinitely, including work on a number of Disney+ series, none bigger than Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel's WandaVision and Marvel's Loki.
During our recent interview with Academy Award-winning special effects supervisor Neal Scanlan, we also learned that, in addition to those aforementioned Marvel series, pre-production work on a number of Star Wars shows has also been put on hold for the foreseeable future.
Scanlan reveals that after finishing publicity for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, he had already been working on the Cassian Andor series (The Cassian Andor Story?) for about six weeks before they were forced to shut down. He also tells us that they were expected to begin work on a couple other shows as well, but it's not entirely clear which ones he's referring to - although our best guess is either Obi-Wan Kenobi or the rumored Ahsoka Tano project.
The untitled Cassian Andor series was slated to begin filming this year with a 2021 premiere date in mind, but its production status is now uncertain with the coronavirus pandemic not expected to subside anytime soon.
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ROHAN: After Rise of Skywalker, are you moving on to more Star Wars films or TV?
NEAL SCANLAN: Originally, we were hoping to move into a few TV series, The Mandalorian had obviously already started and has done incredibly well, it's brilliant piece of work.
We were here in the U.K. about to start on a couple of shows ourselves, but they all unfortunately got bumped. We just literally started about six weeks ago on the Cassian story until unfortunately the virus hit and we’re now all on lockdown. So, we’re trying to do the best we can from home.
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Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in U.S. theaters on December 20.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker features:
Director: J.J. Abrams
Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
Adam Driver as Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
Daisy Ridley as Rey
John Boyega as Finn
Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
Naomi Ackie as Jannah
Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux
Richard E. Grant as Allegiant General Pryde
Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata
Keri Russell as Zorii Bliss
Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca
Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico
Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian
Billie Lourd as Lieutenant Connix
Brian Herring as BB-8
Jimmy Vee as R2-D2
Greg Grunberg as Temmin "Snap" Wexley
Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine/Darth Sidious
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives on Digital HD on March 17
and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on March 31