Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Kenobi, Ahsoka ... what to remember from Disney Investor Day 2020
Last night was Disney Investor Day, a presentation for investors of the Disney group to show them the various productions underway within the company. After the Disney, Pixar and Marvel productions, it's the turn of the Star Wars license to reveal what it plans for the Disney + streaming platform as well as for the big screen.
The first big announcement of the presentation was that of Rogue Squadron, the next film in the saga scheduled for Christmas 2023. Directed by Patty Jenkins to whom we owe the Wonder Women, the story will be that of a new generation of starfighters pilots who will aim to bring Star Wars into a new era. The title should evoke fond memories for many players as Rogue Squadron is also the name of a now cult game series in which you could pilot the license ships.
Another Star Wars movie directed by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit) is also in production without having yet more information.
More than the films, the presentation was mainly dedicated to the many series obviously all planned for Disney +, starting with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Announced last August at the D23 Expo, the action of the series will take place 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. If it had already been announced that Ewan McGregor would reprise his role, the big news of the event was that of Hayden Christensen's return as Darth Vader, who played Anakin Skywalker in the prelogy.
In the wake of the success of The Mandalorian renewed for a third season, an Ahsoka series is also being prepared, always with Rosario Dawson in the skin of the former apprentice of Anakin. Dave Filoni, strongman of the animated series The Clone Wars and part of the originator of the character, as well as Jon Favreau, creator and producer of The Mandalorian, will be executive producers on this limited series, as well as on Rangers of the New Republic. , another series taking place at the same period of which we know nothing more than the title.
Regarding the series around the characters already seen in the films, the series Andor has unveiled its first tape -announcement as well as an exit horizon for 2022. As a reminder, Cassian Andor is a character that appeared in Rogue One who will once again be played by Diego Luna. Billed as a tense spy thriller, the series will allow fans to see faces known as Genevieve O'Reilly who will reprise her role as Mon Mothma, one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance.
One series around Lando Calrissian is also planned on Disney + without more information, in particular concerning the presence or not of Donald Glover who played the character in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
On the animation side now , a brand new series featuring characters from The Clone Wars has been announced with The Bad Batch. Named after a squad of clones genetically modified to be different from other members of the military, the series will take place at the end of the Clone Wars, after Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith in terms of timeline, and will follow the adventures of this group forced to become mercenary in this world where they no longer have their place.
Lighter, another animated series called A Droid Story is currently in production at Lucasfilm Animation in collaboration with Industrial Light & Magic. The latter should tell the epic journey of a new hero guided by R2-D2 and C-3PO that we no longer present. Finally, Star Wars: Visions will be an anthology series of 10 animated short films produced by major Japanese animation studios to offer a different perspective on the universe.
Finally, the presentation ended with the presentation of a new series for the moment linked to no known work of the Star Wars universe. Entitled The Acolyte, it is a mysterious thriller that will take the audience into a galaxy of secrets and powers emerging from the dark side in the final days of the era of the High Republic, a period still unknown in the saga since taking place before the films.
Let's end this presentation with works not related to Star Wars but still part of Lucasfilm, like the next film Indiana Jones in pre-production which will be directed by James Mangold ( Logan, Ford v Ferrari) with Harrison Ford in the lead role, all for release in July 2022. A Willow series is also set to arrive in 2022 on Disney Plus, and will see the return of Warwick Davis.
