A long time ago, in galaxy far, far away…or wait, just this galaxy in December 2020, Patty Jenkins was set to launch the next spate of post-“The Rise Of Skywalker” “Star Wars” movies with “Rogue Squadron,’ with the movie hitting theaters on December 22, 2023. Obviously, that never happened, with Kathleen Kennedy & co. switching their theatrical release plans around a bunch before settling on a new path forward last May, announcing three new films at Star Wars Celebration, “Rogue Squadron” not being one of them. But those plans have already changed, and now maybe Jenkins’ film is back on?
It’s all very confusing, but the main point here is that “Rogue Squadron” is back in the mix for future “Star Wars” movies, even though it wasn’t technically canceled in the first place. Or at least that’s what listeners may glean from Jenkins’ new interview on TCM‘s “Talking Pictures” podcast. It comes down to this: Lucasfilm made a deal with Jenkins to delay “Rogue Squadron” for her to work on “Wonder Woman 3.” But after that film got scrapped in James Gunn and Peter Safran‘s DCU overhaul, Jenkins and Lucasfilm touched base on “Rogue Squadron” again, only for their deal to wrap as the WGA writers strike commenced last May. So now Jenkins owes Lucasfilm a script, but who knows if they’ll make it.
Again, all very confusing, but let’s hear it from Jenkins firsthand. “So, when I left “Star Wars” to do “Wonder Woman 3,” I thought ‘maybe I’ll come back to “Star Wars” after “Wonder Woman 3,'” Jenkins told “Talking Pictures.” “So we did a deal for that to happen, started a deal, but I thought I was doing “Wonder Woman.” When that went away, Lucasfilm and I were like, ‘Oh, we gotta finish this deal.’ We finished the deal right as the strike was happening. So I now owe a draft of “Star Wars” and so we will see what happens there. You know, like, who knows?”
So does that mean “Rogue Squadron” will come before the announced films from Star Wars Celebration last year Sharmeen Obaid-Chimoy, James Mangold, or Dave Filoni? No easy answers there, said Jenkins. “It’s hard; they have a hard job in front of them of what’s the first movie they’re gonna do,” the director continued. “They have other directors who have been working, but I am now, you know, I’m back on doing “Rogue Squadron,” and we’ll see what happens. We need to develop, you know, get it to where we’re both super happy with it.”
Jenkins’ comments make it sound like not much has changed with Lucasfilm and its future “Star Wars” plans. That is, lots of different projects in various stages of development, but no clear cut path forward. But that was already evident when Lucasfilm wiped their new theatrical release slate from Star Wars Celebration clean to make way for “The Mandalorian & Grogu” in January. That movie now comes first, hitting theaters in 2026. As for what comes after, at this point, who knows?
But all the confusion hasn’t derailed Jenkins’ love for the franchise, or her desire to make “Rogue Squadron.” “”Star Wars” is beautiful; the emotion of “Star Wars” and what it stands for is something so beautiful in this world, and particularly in a moment that we’re at right now where “Star Wars” was born out of World War II, right?” she said. “It’s born out of how do you make a metaphor and talk in metaphor, right? Exactly, and so in that way, I’ve always wanted to make a fighter pilot movie. It’s been a dream.”
It may be a dream, but who knows if it’ll come true for Jenkins? “Rogue Squadron” once again joins films by Obaid-Chimoy, Mangold, Filoni, Taika Waititi, Shawn Levy, and Rian Johnson officially “in development.” But in the world of Lucasfilm, that doesn’t guarantee a lot at this point.