‘Star Wars’ Axes Another Film as Cinematic Slate Undergoes Massive Reset
Another Star Wars film appears to be off the board as Lucasfilm continues to quietly reshape its theatrical slate.
A new report suggests the long-planned Mandalorian-era crossover — once positioned as a major big-screen event — is no longer moving forward as a theatrical release, marking the latest casualty in the studio’s ongoing reset.
Industry insider Daniel Richtman claims the project is now being reworked into a limited series for Disney+, effectively removing another film from Lucasfilm’s cinema pipeline. The studio has not publicly commented on the report.
The move follows a pattern.
Over the past several years, Lucasfilm has repeatedly announced, delayed, retooled, or abandoned theatrical projects as it recalibrates its Star Wars strategy. The Mandalorian crossover was hyped as one of its most exciting upcoming projects. Now, its prospects feel uncertain.
The project was originally envisioned as a cinematic culmination of the interconnected Disney+ series set after Return of the Jedi. Dave Filoni — recently promoted to co-president of the studio alongside Lynwen Brennan — was expected to direct.
That plan is now reportedly on hold.
A Franchise Pulling Back From Theaters
The Mandalorian debuted in 2019 and quickly became a cornerstone of Disney+.
Starring Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, the series followed a lone bounty hunter navigating the galaxy after the fall of the Empire. His mission to protect Grogu gradually expanded into a broader conflict involving Imperial remnants and shifting power structures.
Its success reshaped Lucasfilm’s priorities.
Rather than focusing on theatrical releases, the studio leaned heavily into streaming, expanding the timeline with The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka. Together, the shows formed what became known as the “MandoVerse.”
At one point, the expansion included a fourth season of The Mandalorian.
Scripts were reportedly completed before the 2023 Writers’ Strike. Those plans were later shelved as Lucasfilm pivoted toward The Mandalorian & Grogu, intended as the studio’s first theatrical release since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
That shift carried added pressure.
Season 3 of The Mandalorian received a more muted response, and subsequent MandoVerse projects failed to replicate the cultural impact of the franchise’s early Disney+ output. Recent reports have suggested Lucasfilm is reassessing the scope of the era.
Recent reports claim that the Filoni crossover is now “on the back burner.”
If accurate, the decision would remove yet another Star Wars film from active theatrical development, reinforcing the sense that Lucasfilm is pulling back from once-ambitious big-screen plans.
Fan Response and an Unsettled Road Ahead
Reaction to the report has been direct.
“Tbh I’m pretty Mando’d out. This upcoming film sparks very little excitement in me,” one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I’m not holding my breath, but all the promos look like a feature-length adventure of the week.”
Others questioned whether the crossover ever belonged in theaters.
“I mean tbh it probably should be,” another fan said. “They are all TV show characters. A lot of people who go to the movies but don’t watch Star Wars on Disney+ will be confused as hell.”
Some fans called for a broader reset.
“They desperately need to do something new with the brand that is for theaters,” one commenter wrote. “I still don’t get why we haven’t gotten Old Republic content yet.”
The fate of The Mandalorian & Grogu now carries added weight.
The film represents Lucasfilm’s clearest test of whether characters introduced on streaming can draw a broad theatrical audience. Its performance could influence whether the studio continues pursuing Mandalorian-era stories on the big screen.
Beyond the MandoVerse, uncertainty defines much of Lucasfilm’s slate.
The Rey-centered film set after The Rise of Skywalker has gone through multiple writers with no confirmed start date, nearly three years after its announcement. Daisy Ridley has said the project will be “worth the wait,” though progress has been slow.
Other projects have quietly fallen away.
The Hunt for Ben Solo was internally vetoed, a decision confirmed by actor Adam Driver in 2025. The proposed film — which would have explored Ben Solo’s survival — was shelved over concerns it would undermine the sequel trilogy’s ending.
Simon Kinberg is developing a trilogy set several years after The Rise of Skywalker.
“That’s also in the future. It’s all post-[the first] nine,” exiting Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy recently told Deadline. “It’s all pretty much new characters. We may bring some of the characters back from the sequel saga, but pretty much new characters.”
For now, Star Wars: Starfighter remains Lucasfilm’s most clearly defined theatrical project.
Directed by Shawn Levy, starring Ryan Gosling, and set years after the sequel trilogy, the film is positioned as a standalone entry — and one of the few Star Wars movies still moving forward as the studio’s cinematic slate continues to shrink.
Do you think Lucasfilm should make a MandoVerse film?
