Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, the first Star Wars feature film since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, has officially been delayed. The film from Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins was due to begin shooting next year but has now been removed from the upcoming production schedule.
Star Wars: RogueSquadron was first announced back in 2020 during Disney’s investor day. In a short video featuring Jenkins dressing up in an X-wing pilot suit, the director discussed her passion for the new project, citing her real-life fighter pilot father as inspiration. While the new film bears the same title as the popular Star Wars video game and book series, Jenkins has said that the film will be an original idea about a new generation of fighter pilots.
While Jenkins has been developing the film for over a year, according to The Hollywood Reporter, producers on Star Wars: Rogue Squadron decided to delay production due to the director's busy schedule and prior commitments. The film was supposed to begin preproduction at the end of the year, with production slated to begin in 2022. Rogue Squadron was originally intended to be the first feature film from Lucasfilm since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. While Rogue Squadron is still eyeing a December 2023 release date, it's unclear whether it will still premiere before other upcoming projects. Disney and Lucasfilm are pursuing at least two other feature films, one from Marvel Studios head Kevin Fiege and another from Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi.
It is reportedly hoped that Jenkins will return to the project once she sees through her earlier commitments. Jenkins' most recent film was Wonder Woman 1984, the highly anticipated sequel to 2017's Wonder Woman, which she also directed. Despite poor reviews and the sizable loss of box office revenue due to a limited theatrical release, Warner Bros. is pursuing a third Wonder Woman movie with Jenkins set to return to the director's chair. Jenkins is also slated to direct a new Cleopatra film for Paramount Pictures starring Wonder Woman lead Gal Gadot as the Egyptian Queen. It's unconfirmed whether these commitments are the reason for the Rogue Squadron delays. Regardless, Jenkins certainly has her hands full.
Meanwhile, Lucasfilm appears to be dominating in the world of television streaming with shows such as the extremely popular live-action series The Mandalorian as well as the non-canonical anime anthology Star Wars: Visions. The studio has several high-profile TV shows lined up for Disney Plus including The Mandalorian spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, which recently premiered its first trailer last week. Also coming to Disney Plus is the Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series and another Mandalorian spinoff, Ahsoka.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is currently set to premiere in theatres on December 22nd, 2023.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter