Kathleen Kennedy Confirms 'Rogue Squadron' Is 'Still On The Books'
By Kristin Myers on May 15, 2023 at 10:00 AM EDT
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy revealed that the "Star Wars" movie "Rogue Squadron" is "still on the books" even though "Wonder Woman" filmmaker Patty Jenkins is no longer attached to the project.
Although the film was announced in 2020, it seemed that little progress was actually made on the movie as Patty Jenkins devoted her time to "Wonder Woman 3." However, with changes at DC, "Wonder Woman 3" was ultimately scrapped, and news that "Rogue Squadron" and Kevin Feige's untitled "Star Wars" film were shelved made headlines in March 2023.
Now, however, Kennedy revealed that, although Jenkins no longer seems to be attached to the project, there are still plans to make "Rogue Squadron" in some form.
Kathleen Kennedy Reveals That 'Rogue Squadron' and Lando 'Star Wars' Series Are 'Still On The Books'
In an interview with Empire (via CBR), Kennedy confirmed that not only was "Rogue Squadron" still in development, but the untitled series based on Lando Calrissian's young life was still in the works. She was quoted as saying that both projects are "still on the books," adding, "We just want them to be great."
She added that Lucasfilm is only "going to make these movies when they’re ready to be made, and release them when they’re ready to be released." This also seems to apply to the three new Star Wars movies in development that were announced at Star Wars Celebration London. The first "Star Wars" movie fans expect to be released in theaters is the one starring Daisy Ridley.
Daisy Ridley played the Jedi Rey in 2015's "The Force Awakens," 2017's controversial "The Last Jedi," and 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker, which wrapped up the sequel trilogy and the nine-episode Skywalker Saga. However, with Ridley about to make a return to a galaxy far, far away, some fans are wondering if the movie will be known as the tenth episode in the Skywalker Saga.
Although not too much is known about the film so far, it will focus on Rey trying to rebuild the Jedi Order, just like Luke Skywalker tried to do before the events of the sequel trilogy. This movie, however, will take place fifteen years after the events of the sequel trilogy, in a time after the First Order has been defeated.
Kathleen Kennedy Shares New Details About Daisy Ridley's 'Star Wars' Film
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly at Star Wars Celebration London, Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that the text crawl was going to make a return for all movies, not just movies attached to the Skywalker Saga. She also gave more details about what fans can expect from the new Rey movie, which will be directed by “Ms. Marvel” filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
“As we move into the future space — this story is about 15 years outside of The Rise of Skywalker — obviously we realized post-war, post–First Order rise of the New Jedi Order, we left episode 9 with Rey making a commitment to Luke Skywalker that she would rebuild the Jedi Order,” Kennedy said.
“And so here we are — we’re ready to do that. And it took a lot of discussion because obviously we’ve been developing stories in different spaces, and television has been a big focus of our attention right now,” she continued. “But there’s still so much interest in what happens after The Rise of Skywalker. So we’re excited to be doing that.”
Although Daisy Ridley is currently the only star attached to the project, Kennedy teased, “It’s entirely possible to see some people come back.” Rumors have been circulating that John Boyega might even reprise his role as Finn, even though he previously said that he was "good off it" in August 2022.
James Mangold and Dave Filoni Are Also Making Their Own 'Star Wars' Movies
The “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" filmmaker James Mangold is also working on a movie about the origin story of the Force. The project has described his project as a “Biblical epic” that is set about 25,000 years before even the prequel trilogy.
“When I first started talking to Kathy about doing one of these pictures, what occurred to me was thinking about what kind of genre of movie within Star Wars I wanted to do,” he said via The Hollywood Reporter. “And I thought about a Biblical epic, like a Ten Commandments, about the dawning of the Force. Where did the Force come from, when did we discover it, when did we learn how to use it?”
Creative boss Dave Filoni will also be directing a new movie within the New Republic era to tie together the events set in “The Mandalorian” timeline. Although the movie will tie together characters from "The Mandalorian," "The Book of Boba Fett," "Ahsoka," and "Skeleton Crew," it's also possible that it will feature characters from animated shows like “Rebels” and “The Clone Wars.”
Kathleen Kennedy was the one who hinted that Filoni will draw from a large pool of characters to make his movie and not just focus on the characters from the Disney+ shows he created with Jon Favreau. “I hesitate to say it's a big meetup from just those because Dave has been developing Star Wars storytelling inside Clone Wars and Rebels and so much of the work he has done for 20 years,” Kennedy explained. “So it will be little bits of all of that. There are a lot of sources he's drawing from to see where we're going.”
No release dates for any of the three "Star Wars" movies have been announced.