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New Star Wars Movie In Development, May Release On Disney+
A new Star Wars movie is reportedly in development, and may possibly land on the Disney+ streaming service. Last December, Lucasfilm released The Rise of Skywalker, which concluded the epic Skywalker saga after nine films. While that was billed as the end of a generations-spanning story, it was never going to be the last Star Wars movie. Disney's set aside three release dates for mystery Star Wars films, with the first coming in December 2022. In typical Lucasfilm fashion, details about these upcoming projects are unknown. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is developing a Star Wars movie, and Rian Johnson is still working on a standalone trilogy.
In the meantime, Lucasfilm is enjoying the fruits of Disney+, which finally launched last November. Live-action Star Wars TV show The Mandalorian ranks as the service's flagship program, becoming a massive hit. Lucasfilm is working on a couple of other Star Wars shows, including a series revolving around Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi. Though the galaxy far, far away clearly has a major presence on Disney+, Bob Iger has said the studio wouldn't release any new Star Wars movies on the platform. That could possibly be changing in the near future, however, according to this latest development.
Per THR, a new Star Wars movie is in development from Sleight director J.D. Dillard and Luke Cage writer Matt Owens. It goes without saying story information is being kept under lock and key at this time. What's most interesting is the fact it's unknown if this film will get a traditional theatrical release or premiere as a Disney+ exclusive.
Solo: A Star Wars Story notwithstanding, Disney's Star Wars renaissance has been very successful commercially. Four of the five films released to date hit the $1 billion mark worldwide, with The Force Awakens joining the exclusive $2 billion club. Clearly, there remains a sizable audience for Star Wars movies at the box office, so fans shouldn't expect the property to leave the multiplex behind forever. At the same time, it's worth considering Disney+ as a distribution option. It obviously boils down to what story this movie is telling and if it's a better fit for theaters or streaming. In the aftermath of Solo's disappointment, Lucasfilm pulled the plug on other anthology movies about legacy characters, obviously feeling they weren't big enough to be a studio tentpole. Perhaps moving forward, they'll save the theatrical releases for major "event" films (like the sequel trilogy was), while smaller narratives go to Disney+.
There was a point in time when debuting on a streaming service was seen as a step down from a traditional theatrical run, but that's no longer the case. Netflix is now in the business of producing Oscar contending films, and The Mandalorian invented visual effects techniques to bring the Star Wars galaxy to life. In some respects, producing for a streaming service offers creatives more freedom and leeway on their projects, allowing them to be more inventive. This new Star Wars film is one of many projects in the works currently, so it'll be interesting to see how things shape up. Hopefully, Lucasfilm's next movie slate becomes clear in the near future.
