As news surrounding Star Wars begins to ramp into hyperdrive, so will wheels really start turning inside the closed doors of Lucasfilm. Like any film studio, The Mandalorian and Grogu is nearly out of the hands of the creatives and into the clutches of the marketing department.
That being said, we have no word on what – if anything – the live-action series for 2027 will be. If there is something, this project will need to begin filming soon in order to make a release date of August 2027 onwards. They could have done something already without us knowing and only time will tell.
Let’s take a look at what Dave Filoni could logically announce next.
MOVIES
SEQUEL SEQUEL TRILOGY/EPISODE X
This one is more a possibility than we may think. From a fiscal perspective, it makes logical sense. They could push the story decades into the future after IX and thereby effectively disassociating it with the lingering bitter fall-out after the sequels. An Episode X set, say 50 or 60 years or even more, after IX would allow for new characters and stories but keep the film with the main tropes that audiences know. The main title reveal, the opening crawl, events that connect with the ‘Skywalker’ saga. Stranger things have indeed happened than an Episode X. There is also footage from eons ago of George himself saying that he saw the saga as a ’12 film story.’
THE HUNT FOR BEN SOLO
This one proved to be a really interesting bit of news and its subsequent social media campaign after was fun to watch. Was Dave Filoni listening to this chatter online? He reportedly loved the pitch and script but it was Bob Iger who shut down the film. Adam Driver seems ready to return and, apparently, so do the fans.
THE CLONE WARS: LIVE ACTION
Ewan McGregor is ready. Hayden Christensen is ready. The fans are ready, but is Filoni? An announcement like this would be the culmination of Filoni’s tenure at Lucasfilm. It began with the theatrical release of The Clone Wars back in 2008 and the flashback sequence that occurred during season 1 of Ahoska sent fists pumping in the air. Now, the stakes would have to be high in a film like this to justify its existence on the big screen. To me, this project just has Dave Filoni written all over it.
THE OLD REPUBLIC
As the weeks tick by, it seems increasingly unlikely that James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi film will actually come to fruition. Like many projects announced, it has fallen aside. The reason I include a project about The Old Republic is purely because Filoni knows the source material and what these stories mean to fans who are fans of the video games and books set around that era. A war between Jedi and Sith or even a Sith War itself would also sound like a nice idea to Disney investors, who at the end of the day, need pleasing.
TELEVISION
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Season 2
News has been circulating about this since the first season ended back in June 2022. I write it in here because McGregor himself is now fully immersed back in the Star Wars universe and is not done with the character yet. Neither are the fans. McGregor’s Obi-Wan remains a firm fan favourite and while the show wasn’t perfect, it’s still the biggest hit for Disney Plus to date. Also, what better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the franchise than a second helping of a much-loved Jedi Master.
Rogue Squadron
Rumours about this have been doing the rounds for a while. The film, which has been in development hell since its announcement back in 2020, was said to be being reworked into a series late last year. Fans seem to have been positive about this project for a while and again, like Kenobi, what a wonderful live-action series to have for 2027.
Darth Vader/Order 66 Series
This one comes from a comment Hayden Christensen made at a fan event last year. If there’s one thing Disney has done well consistently, it’s how they’ve handled Darth Vader. Hayden is up for it and his following is arguably greater than that of any actor in the fandom. His fans are loyal and ready for the Chosen One to get his own series. Has Filoni been paying close attention?
Luke Skywalker’s New Jedi Academy
Now, this one could be animation or live action but Filoni has had an instrumental part in the stories of Luke on the small screen. There are many fans crying out to see his adventures finally come to fruition on the small screen and see his interactions with his nephew, Ben Solo. Recast or bring Hamill back, either way – let’s just see more Luke!
HEIR TO THE EMPIRE
Whilst not strictly a straight adaptation of the legendary novel, this film was announced back in 2023 and, like the other two projects announced that day, have yet to see anything happen to them. There was a rumour circulating recently that said this film project, due to be the culmination of the ‘Mando/Filoniverse’, was now being reworked into a television series. Either way, something needs to be done with this era of stories to close out the main plot thread of Thrawn being the villain that was first established in The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, etc.
The New Adventures of Young Indiana Jones
Slight pivot here but no one’s ever really gone. Despite the lukewarm response to Dial of Destiny, both critically and commercially, there will always be life in Dr. Jones. Ford may have hung his fedora up, but that’s not to say that Lucasfilm couldn’t reboot the Young Indana Jones Chronicles with a new actor and once again follow his escapades. An ‘adventure of the week’ style show would perfectly fit the streaming format and is less of a risk than a movie that would come with a hefty price tag.
