Disney Just Announced a Bunch of Crazy 'Star Wars' News

Are you ready for more Star Wars than you ever imagined? Well, you should be. During Disney's 2020 investor call today, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy dropped a whole bunch of news about the franchise in a galaxy far far away. On tap for Disney+ in the years ahead: an Ashoka Tano series, a Lando series, and the return of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Plus, she announced a new theatrical movie about fighter pilots that will be directed by Wonder Woman's Patty Jenkins.

Kennedy's reveals provided details about projects that we already knew were in the works as well as completely new news about previously unannounced additions to the massive and growing universe. She saved the biggest info bomb for last: Jenkins' movie will be the first post-third-trilogy Star Wars movie, it is titled Rogue Squadron, it will follow a "new generation of star fighter pilots," and is set to be released Christmas 2023. Jenkins released a teaser on her Twitter account, describing why it's so close to her heart. Jenkins' father was a fighter pilot who died in service. She sees the project as a tribute to him as well as a new adventure in a beloved franchise.

While new Star Wars movies look to be few and far between, Kennedy touted the many shows that are on the way to Disney+. First up: Two new series from The Mandalorian creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni that will be set during the hit show's timeline are in the works. One will be an Ahsoka Tano standalone show starring Rosario Dawson. The other will be called Rangers of the New Republic.

Outside of The Mandalorian subsection of Disney+'s Star Wars enterprise, perhaps the most shocking drop was that Hayden Christensen will be returning to play Darth Vader in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series starring Ewan McGregor. The show will take place 10 years after Revenge of the Sith (not eight years, as previously reported). Speaking of well-known characters: Lando Calrissian will also be getting his own show, helmed by Dear White People creator Justin Simien. No word yet on whether Donald Glover will play Lando.

Kennedy also revealed titles for two shows that were already on the books. The Rogue One spin-off starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor will simply be called Andor, and Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland's series will be The Acolyte and will be set in the High Republic period.

Add animated inclusions The Bad Batch and Visions, the latter of which is comprised of short films from anime creators, as well as a Disney+ movie entitled A Droid Story, and that's a whole lot of Star Wars. It's all part of Disney's massive plan to dominate culture with an enormous amount of content released directly to its streaming platform in an effort to compete (and possibly drown out) Netflix and HBO Max.

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