Back in those long-lost halcyon days of 2019, erstwhile Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the future of Star Wars was on television. He wasn’t kidding. While we know that there’s at least one, maybe two more trilogies of blockbuster movies planned, we’ve heard next to nothing about them that’s actually concrete. In the meantime though, alongside breakout hit The Mandalorian, we’ve already had the recently returned Clone Wars, while the long-gestating Ewan McGregor-led Kenobi and the Rogue One spinoff focusing on Cassian Andor are both in production. And now we can add another to that list.
Although there’s no official announcement yet, Variety broke the news that a brand new live-action Star Wars series is in the work for Disney+. According to the publication’s sources, this new show is being created by Leslye Headland, the co-creator of Netflix’s four-time Emmy-nominated time-loop series Russian Doll. There are no real story details yet, other than this series will reportedly be female-led and take place in a different part of the Star Wars universe than any other existing properties.
Now I’ve never seen Russian Doll and I’ve actually heard some polarising opinions despite it’s critical acclaim (seems you either really love it or completely don’t care for it), so I don’t know what to expect from Headland. What I do know and love though is martial arts. And I mention this, because according to Deadline’s report on the series, it will apparently be an “action thriller with martial arts elements”.
Despite the fact when George Lucas originally created Star Wars he was heavily influenced by Asian cinema (specifically, samurai movies), and the fact that there is an actual martial arts that is canon in the universe, it wasn’t until we got to see Donnie Yen’s Chirrut Imwe kick all sorts of ass in 2016’s Rogue One that we got some proper Star Wars martial arts. And I would definitely not say no to more.
And speaking of not saying no to more, reports also surfaced last night that work has already begun on the third season of The Mandalorian. Yes, you read that right. THIRD season. The second season of the hugely popular show wrapped filming earlier this year and is set for release in October, but Variety is also reporting that creator Jon Favreau has already been “writing season 3 for a while” and that Lucasfilm Vice President\Executive Creative Director Doug Chiang and his art team have already been busy “for the past few weeks” creating concept arts while in lockdown. Reportedly, “the gears have started grinding really early on” to give everybody an early enough lead time to ensure the show hits its marks despite Coronavirus interruptions. This is the way.
Last Updated: April 23, 2020
Jac7
April 23, 2020 at 12:12
The Mandalorian and Rogue One is what saved the Star Wars experience for me since Disney took over. The Last Jedi was also the best of the sequel Trilogy.