Image via Disney/Lucasfilm
Rumors and speculation had Star Wars fans primed to anticipate some news from Disney’s Investor Day press conference last night. Still, even the most ardent fans couldn’t have expected all the news that broke. In addition to providing new information on previous announcements series, LucasFilm announced five brand new Star Wars-related Disney+ series and a new theatrical movie, charting the future of a galaxy far, far away.
The biggest takeaway seems to be that when it comes to Star Wars stories, not everything has to be about the Jedi. Many of these new projects are new genre shows wrapped up with a Star Wars bow. It’s a refreshing and bold new direction that finally seems to fulfill the promise of exploring a depth and breadth of different tales within this universe.
Below, you’ll find a breakdown of all the news. And, being the resident Star Wars nerd that I am, I couldn’t help but put all that lore to good use by speculating a bit about what we might see from each show once it debuts.
'The Mandalorian' Season 3
Starring: Pedro Pascal
Release date: Christmas 2021
Outside of a sizzle reel showing the season’s events thus far, the only real news about The Mandalorian is that a third season would debut on Disney+ during Christmas 2021.
'Andor'
Starring: Diego Luna
Release date: 2022
Set to debut in 2022, Andor is a Rogue One prequel featuring Diego Luna’s titular Cassian Andor. A spy thriller set amongst the world of Star Wars, the show is helmed by filmmaker Tony Gilroy, who worked on Rogue One and wrote the first four Bourne films. Currently, in production in London, the show has rounded out its cast with actors Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Genevieve O’Reilly, who played Mon Mothma in Rogue One and Revenge of the Sith. Andor will also be the longest live-action Star Wars series with a scheduled 12 episodes.
'Rangers of the New Republic' / 'Ahsoka'
Starring: Gina Carano (Rangers), Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka)
Release date: TBA
Announced together as a pair, both Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka will spin out of The Mandalorian. Developed by Jon Favreau, Rangers will most likely be the Cara Dune (Gina Carano) led series that’s been seeded and teased throughout Season 2 of The Mandalorian as Dune embraces her calling as a Marshal of the New Republic in the wake of the Empire’s end.
The Rosario Dawson-led Ahsoka series is showrun by Dave Filoni and will most likely feature the former Jedi’s quest to find Grand Admiral Thrawn and Jedi Ezra Bridger, as we outlined in this piece. One thing I think we can for sure count on here is some crazy Force-based time travel, as shown in the circular details of the show’s title treatment.
Interestingly enough, both series will culminate in some sort of event story on—you guessed it—Disney+.
'The Bad Batch'
Starring: TBA
Release date: TBA
Spinning out of their introduction at the beginning of the final season of the Clone Wars animated series, The Bad Batch is the next big animated series from Star Wars and will follow the special Clone task force in the wake of the Empire’s emergence. Will the Batch turn against the Emperor and go rogue? Or work within this new evil empire? Time will tell, but the quick glimpse at footage proved there wouldn’t be any shortage of action in this animated series.