There is a great disturbance in the Force, as the highly anticipated next Star Wars feature film, Rogue Squadron, has been delayed. The Hollywood Reporter announced that the film, which is set to be directed by Wonder Woman filmmaker Patty Jenkins, has been pulled from the production schedule and has been postponed.
Rogue Squadron was to be the first standalone film after the heavily debated and rather divisive Rise of Skywalker. Jenkins has been developing Rogue Squadron with Matthew Robinson (The Invention of Lying) and Lucasfilm with a goal of starting production sometime in 2022. There were rumors that the film would begin pre-production by the end of this year.
Sources close to the project are now saying that there are scheduling issues with Jenkins that make their projected timetable for the film unrealistic for a 2022 start. It’s unclear what the scheduling issues are from Jenkins, but the accomplished and sought-out director is attached to Wonder Woman 3 for Warner Brothers and a Cleopatra film for Paramount. It is understood that once she fulfills her previous commitments, Rogue Squadron will be able to take off and get back on the proper galactic course.
While plot details on Squadron are being kept close to the vest, Jenkins and company said, during the investor day in December 2020, that the film would, “Introduce a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy.”
Jenkins has said that she is using her father, who was a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, as inspiration for the project. Jenkins has commented that despite the large studio and wanting to honor the history within Rogue Squadron, as there are several books and video games to pull from, she has been “fairly free” to make the film that she wants to.
Squadron is one of several other Star Wars projects that are in development, as Disney and Lucasfilm will pivot away from the Skywalker Saga and are focusing their efforts on standalone projects. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is set to produce a film directed by Thor: Love and Thunder‘s Taika Waititi. Additionally, it’s been said that Rian Johnson (Knives Out and The Last Jedi) has a new Star Wars trilogy in the works, but neither he nor Disney has confirmed the status of the project.
Yet, Star Wars fans shouldn’t fret as there is plenty lined up to whet their appetites, including Book of Boba Fett which will be debut later next month, followed by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka, which recently announced the return of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, not to mention Season 3 of The Mandalorian.
There is no release date for Rogue Squadron. Next up in the Star Wars universe is Book of Boba Fett, which comes to Disney+ on December 29.
via Collider