It didn’t manage to drop out of hyperspace on the big screen for director Patty Jenkins, but this article posted over at Knight Edge Media appears to point towards the failed cinematic version of Rogue Squadron being steered towards the small screen. With Jenkins out and the safe hands of Rick Famuyiwa said to be moving in, ScreenRant take a look at what might have been with a series set in the Mandoverse era.
A new report from Knight Edge Media now reveals that Rogue Squadron underwent multiple iterations, the third of which was a Disney+ series set in the same time period as The Mandalorian. Rick Famuyiwa, who has directed numerous episodes of The Mandalorian, would have been the showrunner alongside Rayna McCLendon. She consulted on the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, was part of the writers’ room for Damon Lindelof’s Star Wars movie, and co-wrote a New Jedi Order draft prior to Justin Britt-Gibson joining that project.
The Rogue Squadron show went into development in late 2022 via the working title of Ghost Tracker, with Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni aboard as producers. However, this version of Rogue Squadron also “fell apart” and was shelved.
Before trying to turn it into a Disney+ show, the first version of Rogue Squadron was the untitled Star Wars film that JD Dillard was attached to direct and write, and he had been working on it with Luke Cage and One Piece’s Matt Owens since 2018. Dillard later exited the project, and during the press tour for his fighter-pilot movie Devotion in 2022 told TheWrap that his Star Wars movie was inspired by the TIE Fighter PC game he played as a child, along with his father’s aviator background.