Star Wars has been around since 1977 and keeps moving ahead with television programs and movies. Disney+’s The Mandalorian and Andor gave new life to the franchise, and more shows are on the way.
The trilogy of The Force Awakens to The Rise of Skywalker sparked new waves of audiences. New Star Wars movies are also scheduled and expected to appeal to older and newer fans alike.
Read on to find out about 10 upcoming Star Wars projects.
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#10 Lando Series
With an uncertain release date, the expected Lando Calrissian series will focus on the titular character. Similar to the Solo: A Star Wars Story focus, the Lando show is expected to bring out the backstory of this gambler-smuggler who lost the Millenium Falcon to Han Solo.
The Star Wars: Lando series will most likely feature Donald Glover as Lando, a role he played in Solo, and is expected to cover the period before he met Han.
This project is “still in the works” with not much known about its development yet. We will potentially see Lando involved in gambling and hustling schemes without the trappings of a Rebel Alliance.
#9 The Acolyte Season 1
The live-action series Star Wars: The Acolyte, is scheduled for next year. This show is set during the High Republic era when the Jedi were supreme, about 200 years before the happenings in the prequel movies.
We have an initial premise that the show will probe the “shadowy secrets and emergent dark-side powers” near the end of the High Republic with “a series of crimes” under investigation. Leslye Headland, co-creator of the series Russian Doll, is the showrunner.
Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy has also reacted positively at the Star Wars Celebration to the first four of the eight-episode series.
Yet, as with other Star Wars projects, little information has been publicly shared about The Acolyte, other than there will be high-Jedi content and the Sith lurking in the shadows.
We have also been clued into Coruscant and the Rim Worlds as some of the locales for the action with the Republic at the center of the story. It’s a time when “the bad guys are outnumbered” and a timeframe that has not been covered on screen before.
#8 Skeleton Crew Season 1
Another live-action series, Skeleton Crew, is due out this year. Actor Jude Law will star in it as a Jedi, while Jon Watts is co-creator and director of some episodes. Like The Mandalorian, this show occurs five years after Return of the Jedi.
From the Star Wars Celebration, we learned that this was a story about a group of kids around age 10 who get lost and are trying to find their way home. If it sounds somewhat like E.T. or Goonies that’s because the show has been called “a 1980s-style coming-of-age adventure” that speaks to that era.
The focus is on the child characters but the planned eight episodes are also billed as not a kids’ series. Skeleton Crew may have more of a dark Andor quality while it draws out a kid’s adventure.
#7 The Bad Batch Season 3
The Bad Batch animated series concluded its second season this year. The final season is due to hit the small screen in 2024.
This show explores the aftermath of Order 66, serving as a bridge between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Season 2 ended with the usually successful clone squad failing in their mission. A main character, Tech, died in this episode and Omega was captured.
The final season promises to reveal Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo trying to find Omega. Yet, other surprises from the last episode will also be a focus, such as Omega’s new captor being her sister.
In Season 3, we can also expect to see return appearances of Fennec Shand, Captain Rex, and Wolffe. These appearances appeal to loyal fans and help bolster the action and suspense of this successful show.
#6 Andor Season 2
After the success of Season 1, the second season of Andor is coming out in August 2024. This show promises to continue with a divergence from other Stars Wars initiatives.
Andor is a Disney+ series that serves as the backstory to the movie Rogue One. Yet, this is also a stand-alone show.
In Season 1, Andor provided a nuanced story with complicated characters and did not lace its episodes with connections to other Star Wars programs the way The Book of Boba Fett or Obi-Wan Kenobi did.
Some have called Andor “the best Star Wars series yet” and have given creator Tony Gilroy much of the credit. We can expect Season 2 to roll out more of the spy-like, intriguing storylines, even after the main character, Cassian Andor, has become a full-fledged rebel.
Actor Diego Luna gave life to a compelling character. So did Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, granting audiences insights into the inner workings of imperial politics. The character Dedra Meero, played by Denise Gough, gave access to views from the Imperial Security Bureau.
By providing such perspectives and captivating female-led roles, Andor, like Ahsoka, gives viewers a high-ranking Star Wars project.
#5 Taika Waititi’s Star Wars Movie
Taika Waititi is expected to direct and co-write the first of four secretive film projects. Perhaps best known for his work on Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi brings a solid resume of directing, producing, and acting to the Star Wars saga.
Scheduled to start filming in 2024, this untitled project is anticipated to move away from the Skywalker plotlines. It will certainly be different from the other two movies about Jedi and the New Republic, respectively (more below).
Waititi may even star in this Star Wars movie, similar to what he did with the movie Jojo Rabbit. Audiences could see a comedic angle in the film, which he did in Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Love and Thunder.
Waititi also directed the eighth episode of The Mandalorian in the first season and did the voice for IG-11. His creative talent and Star Wars background promise to bring an original film.
#4 Untitled Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy project
The second film project is set 15 years after the last Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker.
Oscar-winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will direct with Daisy Ridley starring as Rey.
The initial premise is that Rey is attempting to build a new Jedi Order of younglings. This plotline leaves many possibilities open, such as a new age of Jedi steering the galaxy or a new type of clash against the Dark Side.
Steven Knight was recently brought on board to write the screenplay and develop the unknown plot. While some fans see this focus as continuing with a new trajectory, others tend to see this project as Episode X rather than a new departure that expands the franchise.
That may be the case, but an argument is to be made about how this movie could launch a different trajectory–especially if it does not include the rest of the cast from the sequels.
#3 Untitled James Mangold Project
James Mangold is set to direct the third Star Wars film project about the first Jedi. If the Obaid-Chinoy movie moves us beyond the sequels, the Mangold one brings us before the prequels.
Taking place about 25,000 years before the other Star Wars movies, the Mangold Project helps establish the new timeline that was revealed at the Star Wars Celebration that now posits nine distinct eras.
This “Dawn of the Jedi” project and new timeline move audiences away from prioritizing the nine Skywalker saga films. We return to the first Jedi and the origins of the Force to widen the Star Wars universe.
Audiences can expect to find out where the Force came from, how the Jedi developed, and what caused the split between the Light and the Dark Side.
#2 Ahsoka Season 1
In the late summer of this year, the new live-action series Ahsoka will premiere on Disney+. This show has Rosario Dawson playing Ahsoka and is a spinoff from The Mandalorian.
Since this new series takes place at the same time as The Mandalorian, it will focus more on Ahsoka’s ongoing development instead of her past. One of the main storylines will be about her conflict with Grand Admiral Thrawn.
This storyline intersects with the animated series Star Wars Rebels and books like Star Wars: Heir to the Empire, where Thrawn was portrayed as an indispensable Imperial leader. Ahsoka thus takes on contemporary dimensions in the timeline.
Based on Rebels, we can also predict that Ahsoka will be looking for the lost character Ezra Bridger, as she promised in that show. Yet, we can expect Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker to also be a part of Ahsoka.
As one article stated, audiences can expect this new series to be “both a cap to her animated adventures and the beginning of a new era for the character.” Building, extending, and making something new come with this show.
As we can see from the teaser trailer, the show has a premise of the Force and forebodings. Dark and light sides contend with one another once again.
Yet, this show promises to be something different with Dawson’s Ahsoka in the lead. Part warrior, outcast, Rebel, and Jedi, Ahsoka promises an exciting journey with unique elements.
Female cast members like Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who plays the Rebels character Sabine Wren, also play a central role and mix up the Star Wars formula.
By placing female characters up front, Ahsoka will be making similar moves as the Andor series.
#1 Untitled Dave Filoni Project
The fourth Star Wars movie project could be the most promising. Directed by Dave Filoni, this film is a mystery but may best pull the Star Wars franchise together.
The Filoni project occurs after The Return of the Jedi and is about the New Republic. The story is expected to connect the Ahsoka series, Skeleton Crew, The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett. It is also anticipated to close out stories coming from the animated shows The Clone Wars and Rebels.
This film will likely draw on a large character base and have multiple storylines that may draw from non-canon sources traversing across one another. The challenge may be to keep all of this clear enough for audiences to follow.
As a pull-it-all-together project, this New Republic film thus intersects with more than that timeline and plot. This movie could serve as the glue that binds the Star Wars galaxy and saga together.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan who has expanded into writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has written about recent shows such as The Mandalorian and Andor and classic topics like Darth Vader, the Jedi, and Boba Fett. His recent articles include the MCU’s Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Todd is the author of a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.