New films in the Star Wars series from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins appear to have been permanently shelved, with another project from actor-director Taika Waititi now looking more likely, according to a report in Variety.
Jenkins’ project, known as Rogue Squadron, was first announced by Disney in December 2020 as a standalone film about “a new generation of starfighter pilots … in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride”; it was intended for release in 2023 but has since encountered a series of delays. In November 2021, it was reported that production was delayed due to Jenkins’ commitments elsewhere, and removed from Disney’s release schedule in September 2022.
In December 2022, Jenkins said on social media that, after the cancellation of Wonder Woman 3, Rogue Squadron was “in active development”. However Variety quotes “sources with knowledge of the production” that the film is no longer in active development at the studio.
A projected Star Wars film from Feige is also no longer on the cards. Reports first emerged in 2019 that the president of the Disney-owned Marvel Studios was working on a project with Kathleen Kennedy, president of Star Wars producers Lucasfilm. In 2021 Variety reported that Loki writer Michael Waldron had been hired to produced a script, with Waldron saying in June 2022 that he was “into it in earnest”.
However, Variety now reports that Feige and Waldron’s commitment to Marvel and the Avengers: Secret Wars movie (projected for release in 2026) has meant their Star Wars film is, like Rogue Squadron, no longer in active development.
With no live action Star Wars films since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, Waititi’s project, first announced in 2020, is a strong contender to be the next in the series to go before the camera. Having worked as a director on the successful TV series The Mandalorian, Waititi was announced to be working on a script with 1917 co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Few details of the project have emerged, but in June 2022 Kennedy said Lucasfilm were looking to release it in “late 2023”.
A “secret” Star Wars film, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and written by Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson, is also in the works.
• This article was amended on 8 March 2023 because an earlier version was incorrect to refer to “Black Widow director Patty Jenkins”. Jenkins directed Wonder Woman.
