Production on Star Wars: Rogue Squadron has been delayed, with the new fighter-pilot film no longer set to enter production in 2022.
The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab) reports that a delay to director Patty Jenkins’ schedule has caused the upset: while the new Star Wars movie was originally set to enter production next year, Jenkins’ filming plans are just too packed for that to happen. As such, the movie is unlikely to hit its originally announced release date of December 22, 2023, though that has not yet been officially confirmed by LucasFilm.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was slated to be the first new Star Wars movie to debut since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, though it remains to be seen if that will still be the case. The report signals that one of the other Star Wars currently in the works could be moved to the December 2023 release date – there’s currently a Star Wars film in development from Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi and another from Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige.
Specifics are still scarce on Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, though Jenkins has said it’s “really important to honor” the Rogue Squadron novels and games which preceded it. In the original Star Wars Expanded Universe, X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles (who had a prominent cameo in a Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker Easter egg) reformed Rogue Squadron with a team of ace pilots to continue the fight against the Imperial Remnant after the destruction of the second Death Star. It was previously confirmed, however, that Rogue Squadron would take place after the events of the Skywalker Saga, and will therefore not be a direct adaptation of that storyline.
While we wait to see what happens next in that Galaxy far, far away on the big screen, there’s a lot to look forward to on Disney Plus, including The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian season 3.