Every Upcoming Star Wars Movie, Explained

Star Wars is easily the biggest and most iconic film franchise of all time. For years, there was just the original Star Wars trilogy, and then there was the prequel trilogy, which made the films a saga. Yet in 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. and announced that they would not only be making Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, but they would also develop spin-off films. In the span of five years, Disney released a new Star Wars movie every year with 2015’s The Force Awakens, 2016’s Rogue One, 2017’s The Last Jedi, 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, and 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. Despite four of those five movies making $1 billion at the worldwide box office, Solo: A Star Wars Story flopping coupled with the launch of Disney+ and the COVID-19 pandemic, Star Wars shifted into a television franchise.

That doesn’t mean Disney has given up on more Star Wars films. While there have not been any new films in the Star Wars franchise to grace the silver screen in over five years, that doesn’t mean there have not been plenty of announced films that never saw the light of day. While Disney and Lucasfilm have gained a reputation for announcing Star Wars movies that never happened, they still have plenty in development. It appears they are looking to get back to their plans of having one new Star Wars film every year and, in some cases, two 2026 release dates saved for two entries in the franchise: May 22 and December 18, 2026. Here is every Star Wars movie in active development right now.

10 The Mandalorian & Grogu

May 22, 2026

The Mandalorian & Grogu will be the first Star Wars film released in theaters since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, nearly a seven-year gap by the time the movie arrives on May 22, 2026. The film will be a spin-off of the popular Disney+ series The Mandalorian and is seemingly taking the place of Season 4. Little is known about the film’s plot, but Pedro Pascal is confirmed to reprise his role as Din Djarrin/The Mandalorian and will be joined by Sigourney Weaver in an unknown role. Zeb, the character introduced in Star Wars: Rebels and who cameoed in The Mandalorian Season 3, will appear in the film as well.

The Mandalorian & Grogu will be directed by Jon Favreau, the creator of The Mandalorian and also the man who kicked off the MCU with Iron Man. Favreau wrote the script alongside Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm and writer of many iconic Star Wars series like The Clone Wars, Rebels, and Ahsoka. Due to the popularity of The Mandalorian, it certainly makes sense why this would the first new Star Wars film Lucasfilm wanted back in theaters.

9 Rey New Jedi Order Film

Release Date TBD

At Star Wars Celebration 2023, Disney and Lucasfilm announced three new Star Wars films, and the one that gained the most traction was a film centered on Rey (Daisy Ridley), the lead character from the sequel trilogy. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, director of two Ms. Marvel episodes and an accomplished documentary filmmaker, is set to helm the project. The movie was initially set to be written by Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson, but the duo departed the project in February 2024 with Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Binders, signed on to write. Knight recently departed the project, and the movie is currently looking for a new screenwriter.

Details of the film’s plot are unclear. Rumors suggested that Lindeloff and Britt-Gibson’s original pitch was for the movie to take place 60 years after The Rise of Skywalker and wanted Helen Mirren to play an older Rey. Instead, Lucasfilm opted to bring Ridley back, and the movie will take place 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker. The assumption is the movie will center on Rey attempting to build a new Jedi Order, a plot point fans had wanted to see Luke Skywalker do for years and was only briefly alluded to in the sequel trilogy and series like The Book of Boba Fett. The movie is still expected to begin filming in 2025.

8 Simon Kinberg’s New Star Wars Trilogy

Release Date TBD

The newest Star Wars movie announced by Lucasfilm is a trilogy written and produced by Simon Kingberg. While initially reported as being Episodes X, XI, and XII, following reports said it would not be the next entry in the Skywalker Saga but its own separate trilogy of films. Kinberg is best known for his role as a writer and producer on the 20th Century Fox Marvel films, whose credits include producer on the beloved Logan and Deadpool and screenwriter of X-Men: Days of Future Past, while also being the co-writer of the critically lambasted Fantastic Four and also the writer and director of Dark Phoenix, one of the worst performing films in the franchise.

Details on Kinberg’s Star Wars trilogy are under wraps, partially because Lucasfilm did not announce them; instead, the trades broke the news. Kinberg does have a long history with the Star Wars franchise under Disney, as he was brought on board in 2012 to form a brain trust to help shape what the sequel trilogy would be before those plans were scrapped when J.J. Abrams was brought on board for The Force Awakens. Kinberg was one of the creators of Star Wars: Rebels and formed a strong working relationship with Dave Filoni. In 2018, Kinberg was hired to pen a script for a Boba Fett movie that was to be directed by James Mangold. That Boba Fett movie was scrapped following the box office disappointment of Solo: A Star Wars Story and retooled as The Book of Boba Fett, but it appears that Kinberg has been primed to make a Star Wars film for some time.

7 James Mangold’s First Jedi Movie

Release Date TBD

Speaking of James Mangold, while he did not get to direct the Boba Fett movie, he will direct another Star Wars movie, one that will take audiences back to the very first Jedi. Mangold’s Star Wars film was announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023 and is said to take place 25,000 years before the events of A New Hope, the furthest point in the past any Star Wars story has done. Mangold has described the movie as a biblical epic, invoking The Ten Commandments as a source of inspiration. Star Wars producer Simon Emmanuel said the film would be called Jedi Prime. Lucasfilm has not confirmed that name, and it is unclear if that is the official title or a working title.

Lucasfilm had considered doing a trilogy about the First Jedi, which would have been overseen by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, but the duo departed the project in 2019. It is unclear if this film will use any of their ideas, but Beau Williams signed on to write the script for James Mangold’s Star Wars movie in April 2024. Mangold developed a good working relationship with Lucasfilm, having directed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. What is unclear is when the movie will come out, as Mangold is committed to both this film and Swamp Thing for James Gunn’s new DCU at Warner Bros.

6 Dave Filoni Mandoverse Crossover Film

Release Date TBD

The Mandalorian & Grogu is not the only film based on the Star Wars Disney+ series coming; in fact, that was a surprise announcement. At Disney’s Investor Call in December 2020, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that the series set in the New Republic would crossover in an event film, similar to the MCU’s The Avengers. These series would be The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Rangers of the New Republic before that series was canceled and now replaced with Skeleton Crew. In April 2023, at Star Wars Celebration, it was confirmed that Dave Filoni would direct this Star Wars crossover film, and it would come to theaters.

Seeds for this epic crossover have been planted across the Disney+ series, seemingly building to a spin on the iconic Legends novels, The Thrawn Trilogy, which feature Admiral Thrawn as the lead villain. The Disney+ series and its epic crossover film will provide a transition story between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy, exploring how the First Order truly rose up in the wake of the Empire’s defeat. The Mandalorian & Grogu will act as a lead-in, and it will arrive after Ahsoka Season 2 debuts on Disney+ in 2026, so this film likely won’t be released until 2028.

5 Lando Movie

Release Date TBD

Donald Glover’s portrayal of Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story was a highlight of the film for many, so it wasn’t shocking when Disney announced they would be making a Lando series for Disney+ in December 2020. However, in September 2023, fans were shocked to discover that Lando had been retooled into a feature film. By 2023, Disney was looking to invest less in streaming series and refocus its attention on feature films, so a Star Wars series being upgraded from a series to a film isn’t a huge surprise.

Donald Glover and his brother Stephen are set to replace Simien as the new writer of the Lando movie. So far, no plot details have been given, and no word on the project’s development has been made since the initial announcement. With all the aforementioned movies in development, it’s likely that a Lando movie is not the highest priority for the studio. So it seems that they will slowly be developing it, not needing to rush it until it is ready.

4 Rogue Squadron

Release Date TBD

Rogue Squadron was supposed to be the first in a new slate of Star Wars films following the conclusion of The Skywalker Saga. The movie was announced in December 2020 during a Disney Investor Call with a special video of director Patty Jenkins suiting up in an X-wing fighter uniform. Despite being announced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie was given a December 22, 2023 release date. Matthew Robbinson was hired to write the script in May 2021, and things moved along nicely until November of that year when the movie hit production delays.

Some claimed the reason Rogue Squadron faced production issues was that Lucasfilm had cold feet following the negative reaction to Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984. That film was released in theaters and on HBO Max 15 days after Rogue Squadron was announced. The movie was removed from the release schedule in September 2022. While Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy hinted that Rogue Squadron could be reworked into a Disney+ series in 2023, later that year, Patty Jenkins’s schedule became freer following the news that DC Studios had canceled her Wonder Woman 3 plans in favor of James Gunn’s new DCU plans. Patty Jenkins and Lucasfilm seem to be committed to revamping Rogue Squadron as Jenkins signed a new contract with Lucasfilm in March 2024 to write and direct the movie.

3 Taikia Waitit’s Movie

Release Date TBD

On May the Fourth, 2020, Disney officially confirmed that Taika Waititi would be writing and directing a new Star Wars film. Waititi is no stranger to Star Wars, as he voiced IG-11 in The Mandalorian. He has also developed a good working relationship with Disney as he directed Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder for Marvel Studios, while Searchlight Pictures released his Academy Award-winning Jojo Rabbit and the more recent critical disappointment, Next Goal Wins.

Waititi’s Star Wars film has faced multiple delays, partly due to Waititi working on both Thor: Love and Thunder and Next Goal Wins, but also the WGA Strike of 2023, which prevented Waititi from working on the film. The film was expected to be released in 2023 and 2024, but it has not even begun casting. While Waititi has made hints that the movie might not happen, Lucasfilm has not officially confirmed anything. Waititi said his Star Wars film would introduce new characters and jokingly said it would likely upset some fans, so maybe the movie isn’t their highest priority.

2 Shawn Levy Film

Release Date TBD

In November 2022, news broke that Shawn Levy was set to direct a new Star Wars film, which he would begin work on following Deadpool & Wolverine and Stranger Things Season 5. The project was put on hold due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strike of 2023, and no news has been made about the project since, other than Deadpool & Wolverine seemingly impacting how Levy would approach the film. No details were ever given about what Star Wars film Levy was going to direct, so it is entirely possible he could be working on the Simon Kinberg Star Wars trilogy. With Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine having grossed $1.3 billion, Disney and Lucasfilm likely want to fast-track whatever this film is.

1 Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Trilogy

Release Date TBD

The big one that fans are still waiting to get official confirmation on either being in development or completely scrapped is Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy. Disney announced the film in November 2017, one month before the release of The Last Jedi. Considering that Johnson’s The Last Jedi was the only Star Wars film under Disney that did not face some creative behind-the-scenes problems, it certainly made sense that they would trust him to lead a new Star Wars trilogy.

The Last Jedi‘s $1.3 billion box office gross and critical acclaim would typically guarantee this new trilogy would be a high priority, but The Last Jedi quickly got caught up in a culture war. The claims of how much fans hated it have been hotly contested for years, with some pointing to low audience scores to prove fans hated it, while others have claimed the score was manipulated by bots to bring it down in an attempt to paint a narrative that audiences did not like the movie.

Either way, it was a lot of press and noise that Lucasfilm likely wanted to avoid, and in the years, news on Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy has been quiet. Part of it has been that Johnson has been busy working on Knives Out films and the Peacock Original series, Poker Face. In April 2023, Kathleen Kennedy told Variety,

“Rian and I talk all the time. He is unbelievably busy. So we’re not actively involved in anything at the moment because he’s doing another one of the ‘Glass Onion’ movies, and then God knows what else. But he really wants to step back into the space. It’s a big commitment of time, so that’s really on him.”

The project is not officially dead, but it appears nobody, neither Johnson nor Lucasfilm, was actively developing it at the time.