If you read my article last week on the guide to watching Star Wars, then you may have seen the ending where I discuss upcoming Star Wars shows and projects. For this week, I’m going to talk more in depth about these projects and what we know so far.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Ewan McGregor reprises his iconic Obi-Wan Kenobi for the new series that takes place a decade after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Hayden Christianson is also set to join this series as Darth Vader. The show will follow Kenobi in one of the darkest times of his life: his best friend has turned into a Sith Lord, the Jedi are in hiding, and the Emperor has seized control of the galaxy. Filming is supposed to start this spring and the show’s release is expected to be late 2021 or early 2022 as no official date has been announced.
The Book of Boba Fett
Set within the same timeline as the Mandalorian, the series will follow Temuera Morrison as Fett and Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand. Both of these characters recently appeared on the final season of the Mandalorian and will likely return in crossover events between the shows. Jon Favreau has confirmed the series is in development and we should expect to see it in December 2021.
Ashoka (this one needs a lot of context so bear with me)
Ashoka Tano’s story began with the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The animated series (released in 2008) takes place chronologically in the middle of the first trilogy: following Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) and preceding Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). The reason you might have missed Ashoka’s story in the films is that she isn’t in them. Ashoka was added to the story as Anakin’s apprentice during the series Clone Wars in 2008, three years after the final film of the prequel era was debuted. After Clone Wars, Ashoka’s story continues in another animated series: Star Wars: Rebels which takes place before the era of the original trilogy.
Until recently, Ashoka’s story wasn’t considered canon because she has no appearances in the film franchise. But, in the most recent season of The Mandalorian, Ashoka made her first live-action appearance in Star Wars. Although not a film, The Mandalorian is considered canon with the films because of a certain Jedi appearance in the final episode. Ashoka’s appearance in The Mandalorian confirms that the animated shows are canon and their storylines will be continued in the future of the franchise.
All we know about Ashoka’s upcoming show is that Rosario Dawson will return to her role of live-action Ashoka debuted in Mandalorian. Considering Dawson’s appearance in Mandalorian, we can speculate the show might take place sometime during the New Republic era or later. We don’t have a release date yet, but based off of other projects, fans are speculating it’ll be released in 2022 sometime. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are also set as executive producers for Ashoka.
Rangers of the New Republic
Another live action series from Favreau and Filoni, Rangers will take place during the time of the New Republic. The series is also rumored to intersect with The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ashoka. Again, no official release date but the very earliest we might expect this one is 2022.
Andor
This live action series is a spin off from the stand alone film Rogue One. Diego Luna will reprise his role as rebel spy Cassian Andor from the film. The series is expected to cover Cassian’s adventures leading upto the events of Rogue One and is set to arrive on Disney+ in 2022.
Lando
Lando Calrissian will return in his own ‘event series’ on Disney+, but that’s really all we know. We don’t know when it might be coming or who will even play Lando. Donald Glover played a young Lando in Solo: a Star Wars Story, but we have no idea when in the limeline this show will take place and there is currently no actor attached to the role.
The Acolyte
Leslye Headland is bringing the mystery-thriller series to Disney+. Again, not much is known about this project, but we know it will focus on the rising Sith at the end of the High Republic Era.
The Bad Batch
First introduced in Clone Wars, The Bad Batch is composed of elite and experimental clones. Genetically different from their uniform clone brothers, these clones have unique and exceptional qualities. The animated series will follow the crew as mercenaries after the rise of the Empire.
A Droid Story
This project will be a collaboration between Lucasfilm Animation and the Lucasfilm Visual Effects team. We will be guided on this adventure by R2-D2 and C-3PO who will introduce a new Star Wars hero to us. No release date has been announced yet.
Visions
Out of all the new projects coming our way, this one might just be the one I’m most excited to see. Visions will be an anthology of short films created by some of Japan’s best anime creators. The series will produce 10 films celebrating Star Wars through the lens of anime creators. Storyline wise, we likely won’t see plots from other Star Wars content, but rather new glimpses into other eras and places. The project is set to air on Disney+ sometime this year.