Last year, director Patty Jenkins announced that she would be directing a Star Wars movie by sharing a video about her affinity for the material in which she donned an X-Wing fighter suit and revealed the title, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. The project was meant to be the first Star Wars film to hit theaters since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. However, Rogue Squadron has run into problems and the movie has been grounded for now.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilm has removed Rogue Squadron from its production schedule, even though the December 22, 2023, release date has yet to be changed. The report explains that the delay was caused by Jenkins’ busy schedule and that this doesn’t mean the end of the project. Instead, Lucasfilm is hoping that Jenkins will return to film Rogue Squadron once her schedule allows.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron has been in the works for over a year, with Jenkins and screenwriter Matthew Robinson shaping the story. The film will follow the adventures of the famous Rogue Squadron of X-Wing fighter pilots who were introduced in the original Star Wars in 1977. Jenkins has previously said that her film wouldn’t be a direct adaptation of any previous Rogue Squadron comics or novels, but she did indicate that the previous Rogue Squadron stories would influence her tale.
According to the report, Jenkins and Robinson were unable to get the project off the ground within a window that would allow Lucasfilm to begin production in late 2021 or early 2022. Also, none of the cast has been finalized yet. With such a short lead time, the decision was made to hold off on making the film. For now, it’s unclear if Lucasfilm plans to use the December 23, 2023, date for another Star Wars project or if Disney will schedule another film for that date.
Rogue Squadron was the only Star Wars film officially on the production schedule at Lucasfilm. Taika Waititi is slated to co-write and direct his own Star Wars movie, while Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige is also developing a Star Wars flick of his own. The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson was working on a trilogy, but he is currently directing Knives Out 2 and developing Knives Out 3 for Netflix.
As for Jenkins, she is developing a Cleopatra movie for Paramount with her Wonder Woman star, Gal Gadot. Jenkins and Godot are also slated to reunite for Wonder Woman 3, which was supposed to begin filming after Rogue Squadron was finished. But because of this delay, there’s now a chance that Wonder Woman 3 could come first.
Fortunately, Star Wars fans won’t have to wait long for their next fix. The Book of Boba Fett series will debut on Disney+ on Wednesday, December 29.
