All the ‘Star Wars’ Movies on Hold as Disney Changes Franchise Forever
It could be quite some time before Star Wars fully returns to theaters in a meaningful way.
When George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company in 2012 for $4 billion, the deal set the stage for an ambitious expansion of the Star Wars universe. Under President Kathleen Kennedy, the studio delivered a new sequel trilogy and transformed Disney+ into a hub for live-action and animated storytelling set across the galaxy far, far away.
14 years later, that era is ending. Kennedy is stepping down as one of Disney’s presidents, with Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan assuming leadership duties as co-heads. Filoni will oversee creative direction, while Brennan handles business operations. In her exit interview with Deadline, Kennedy offered a rare snapshot of where Star Wars stands—and where it may not be going next.
The near-term theatrical slate remains intact. Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives in 2026, followed in May 2027 by Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray. Favreau has stressed that his Mandalorian film is not simply a reworked fourth season, though its New Republic-era setting keeps it firmly tied to Disney+ continuity.
Starfighter, however, is designed as a largely standalone entry. While canon and set a few years after Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Levy’s film is positioned as the first exploration of the post–First Order era—a stretch of the timeline once expected to be shaped by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s long-delayed Rey Skywalker project starring Daisy Ridley.
Announced at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, the Rey-centered film was meant to launch the “New Jedi Order,” following Rey as she rebuilds the Jedi after Luke Skywalker’s failure. Years later, the project remains in limbo. Although Ridley recently told Parade the movie is still happening and “will be worth the wait,” Kennedy’s Deadline interview made no mention of it at all.
Instead, the conversation focused on what is—and isn’t—moving forward. Kennedy acknowledged that beyond Starfighter, nothing is locked in theatrically.
“I’ve got to tread a bit carefully here,” Kennedy said when asked about projects tied to Rian Johnson, James Mangold, Simon Kinberg, and Taika Waititi. “Jim Mangold and Beau Willimon wrote an incredible script, but it is definitely breaking the mold, and it’s on hold.”
“Taika has turned in a script that I think is hilarious and great. It’s not just my decision, especially when I’ve got a foot out the door,” she continued. “Donald Glover has turned in a script. And as you have read, Steve Soderbergh and Adam Driver turned in a script written by Scott Burns. It was just great. Anything’s a possibility if somebody’s willing to take a risk.”
That risk appetite appears to be shrinking. Reports suggest the long-discussed Mando-Verse crossover film—once envisioned as a theatrical culmination of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and related series—has been quietly deprioritized. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project is now on the “back burner,” signaling a pullback from large-scale interconnected storytelling.
The Mandalorian and Grogu may now function more as a conclusion to this era than a launchpad for something bigger. What was expected to unite heroes against Lars Mikkelsen’s Grand Admiral Thrawn instead looks like a strategic reset, leaving several narrative threads unresolved.
Johnson’s planned trilogy is also effectively over. Though announced in 2017 as a bold new direction, the filmmaker has confirmed the project is no longer active.
“Johnson had signed on to mount a fresh Star Wars trilogy in 2017, and while that plan is effectively dead, he isn’t saying goodbye yet,” The Hollywood Reporter wrote. “‘A part of my brain will always be in Star Wars,’ he says. ‘It’s so much a part of me and the way I think.’”
Later, Johnson reinforced that sentiment. “Making The Last Jedi was, like, the best experience of my life,” he told Radio Andy, adding that while nothing is in development, he’d happily return if the timing ever felt right.
Mangold’s “Dawn of the Jedi,” set 25,000 years before the saga, was meant to explore the origins of the Force itself. Despite reports in 2024 that the Beau Willimon–co-written script was close to finished, Kennedy confirmed to Deadline that the film is currently on hold.
Waititi’s long-discussed Star Wars film remains a question mark. Kennedy reiterated her enthusiasm for his script, again telling Deadline, “Taika has turned in a script that I think is hilarious and great. It’s not just my decision, especially when I’ve got a foot out the door.”
Another casualty appears to be The Hunt for Ben Solo, a post–Rise of Skywalker film developed by Adam Driver with Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns. Despite internal support, the project was halted after Disney executives reportedly questioned how Ben Solo could still be alive, per the Associated Press.
Simon Kinberg’s proposed trilogy remains in development, though far from finalized. Kennedy told Deadline that Kinberg recently completed a detailed 70-page treatment and is expected to deliver new material in March.
With projects stalled, reshaped, or quietly shelved—including Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron—the franchise finds itself at a crossroads. Under Filoni and Brennan, Star Wars may become more selective on the big screen, leaving its long-term cinematic future uncertain.
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