What you need to know
- Disney Investor Day brought us the biggest expansion of the Star Wars universe since Disney first acquired Lucasfilm.
- There will be ten new series in the Star Wars universe coming in the next few years on Disney+.
- Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka are new series in the same universe as The Mandalorian, and they will combine in a storytelling event.
- We also got confirmation that Hayden Christensen is returning to the role of Anakin Skywalker in the Kenobi mini-series!
Disney Investor Day may not sound fun — and, yeah, it's not as awesome as a day at Galaxy's Edge — but this day is important in that it's a multi-hour sizzle reel of upcoming content that Disney has planned in the near future. While today mostly focused on Disney+ and the future of ESPN+, Hulu and the coming global expansion of Star (formerly HotStar), there was great news for Star Wars fans: we're getting a lot more new content in the coming years.
First off, we're getting ten new Star Wars series on Disney+ in the next few years. That number includes the Kenobi mini-series — which Hayden Christensen will be reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in — and the upcoming Andor, around Casian Andor from Rogue One. We're also getting two newly-announced series: Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka, which give Ahsoka Tano a show of her own after having to share with Anakin and Obi-Wan for so many years!
Source: Disney
Speaking of the Clone Wars, the Bad Batch are getting an animated spin-off series after their debut in Season 7, and the trailer looks promising and fun. This show is set immediately after Order 66 and covers the swap-over from the Republic to the Empire, and has the Bad Batch carrying out a variety of diverse and exhilarating missions for their Empire overlords.
In Visions, we'll get a series of animated shorts "celebrating the Star Wars universe" through the lens of anime — somebody, pinch me, Star Wars anime sounds so dope — and Droid Story. And ILM's famous effects teams work together to build an action-adventure movie with everyone's favorite droids: R2-D2 and C-3PO. Other live-action upcoming shows include Lando — which has a fabulous 80s vibe and I am so ready to see the first look for — and The Acolyte, which will be a look into the dark side of the Force and the last days of the Old Republic.
Rogue Squadron will be the next theatrical film in the Star Wars universe, coming Christmas 2022 and directed by Patty Jenkins, director of Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984. Jenkins is super-passionate about fighter pilots, and she released a teaser on Twitter.
pic.twitter.com/e3N00xCr5ipic.twitter.com/e3N00xCr5i— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) December 10, 2020December 10, 2020
Disney+ will, of course, be where everything announced today will eventually end up, and if you haven't gotten on that bandwagon just yet, now's the time to pick the best Disney+ deal and get into the magic.
From Star Wars to Marvel and beyond.
Disney's streaming service is already the best place in the world to get your fix of Star Wars content from the final season of The Clone Wars to The Mandalorian and upcoming live-action series for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Casian Andor.
