Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the release of Star Wars, a movie that took audiences to a galaxy far, far away and launched one of the biggest pop culture brands of all time. In the not-so-distant future, an entire Imperial fleet of upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows will take us back.
In the coming weeks, months, and years, the list of best Star Wars movies and great Disney+ original shows could grow deeper and richer as these highly anticipated theatrical releases (the first in nearly a decade), new streaming shows, and much more come our way.
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord - April 6, 2026
Darth Maul, admittedly one of the franchise’s best characters since being introduced in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace more than 25 years ago, will soon get his own animated series on Disney+. Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, which sees the return of Sam Witwer as the Sith Lord, will follow the legendary character as he sets off to rebuild his galaxy-wide crime syndicate under the shadow of the Galactic Empire. But that isn’t all, as the legendary villain will come in contact with a young Jedi Padawan who could make a serviceable apprentice.
The series is set to debut on April 6, 2026, with a two-episode premiere and will run through Star Wars Day on May 4. Based on everything we’ve seen in the action-packed Maul trailer, this animated series is going to continue the trend of great animated stories in the galaxy far, far away.
The Mandalorian & Grogu - May 22, 2026
Is there a better way to bring Star Wars back to the big screen than having a movie based on the show that kicked off the franchise’s TV efforts? I think not! This May, nearly 50 years after Luke Skywalker destroyed the Death Star, the titular heroes in Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian & Grogu will set off on their next (and perhaps biggest) adventure yet.
One of the biggest releases on the 2026 movie schedule, this upcoming sci-fi adventure will follow Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu, aka “Baby Yoda,” as they are enlisted by the New Republic to help navigate a galaxy that is thrust into chaos following the fall of the Galactic Empire. The film’s first trailer, which features Sigourney Weaver messing with Grogu, has us all excited for Star Wars’ return to the theaters!
Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi - 2026
Star Wars: Visions will be returning to Disney+ before the end of 2025, but that isn’t the only anime-influenced show set in the “galaxy far, far away” in the near future. StarWars.com has revealed Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi, a new spinoff following the adventures of Kara and Juro from “The Ninth Jedi” in the show’s first season.
The expanded series will allow writer and director Kenji Kamiyama to further explore one of the most popular stories from Visions so far. We don’t know much outside of that first announcement, but the series is slated to come to Disney+ sometime in 2026.
Star Wars: Starfighter - May 28, 2027
One of the biggest reveals at Star Wars Celebration Japan in April 2025, Star Wars: Starfighter will bring one of the most in-demand actors to the galaxy when Ryan Gosling leads Shawn Levy’s long-in-the-works project. According to StarWars.com, the new original movie will follow Gosling’s still-unnamed starfighter as he navigates the galaxy five years after the events of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker.
Though details are pretty sparse at this point, at least in terms of plot, we do know that production wrapped back in December 2025. One of the craziest stories to come from the shoot is one about Tom Cruise, (yes, that Tom Cruise), showing up and actually filming a lightsaber duel, per The Wrap. Does this mean he’ll show up in the film? Probably not, but maybe we can pull some Jedi mind tricks.
Carlton Cuse’s Star Wars Show - TBD
One of the more interesting Star Wars projects has to be the mysterious new series from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and son, Nick Cuse. In April 2025, Variety reported that the father-son duo were working on a mystery project but didn’t have any details about the characters, setting, or place in the Star Wars timeline.
It has been nearly a year since the project was first announced, but no new details have come to light. Hopefully, we learn more about this one sooner rather than later.
Ahsoka Season 2 - TBD
With all the cliffhangers in the Ahsoka Season 1 finale, fans were hopeful they would get some closure at some point in the future, and that very well may happen. In January 2024, Variety reported that the show’s second season was in development at Lucasfilm with Dave Filoni once again leading the charge.
According to ScreenRant, new details about the upcoming season were revealed at Star Wars Celebration 2025, including the return of Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker and Grand Admiral Thrawn. And there’s also the debut of Game of Thrones alum Rory McCann, who is taking over the role of Baylan for the late Ray Stevenson. Bryce Dallas Howard, who directed two episodes of the upcoming season, called the new chapter “beautiful,” “thrilling,” “adventurous,” and “romantic.”
Though no release date has been confirmed at this time, ScreenRant reported that the series could return in 2026 after it was briefly included in the “Coming Soon In 2026” section on Disney+.
Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars Trilogy - TBD
Simon Kinberg has been one of the busiest names in show business as of late, with projects like The Running Man remake and that new Star Trek big-screen adventure in the works. And now, as reported by Deadline in November 2024, the writer and producer is working on a Star Wars trilogy of his own.
Details are limited at best at this point in the project’s development, and the aforementioned article mentioned that there is no confirmation as to whether Kinberg’s trilogy will be a part of the Skywalker Saga (Episodes I - IX) or the start of something entirely new. It also hasn’t been stated who’ll be directing the three pictures, but Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy is producing alongside the prolific writer.
During a January 2026 interview with Deadline, outgoing Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy explained that Kinberg’s movie is still in the works, adding that he turned in a 70-page treatment a few weeks earlier and that he’d have more in March. Fingers crossed!
Untitled Rey Movie - TBD
Those who thought Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) story was over with the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ending may want to think again, as the character is supposedly getting her own movie. Originally, Lost and The Leftovers creator Damon Lindelof was writing a Star Wars movie with partner Justin Britt-Gibson, and Shareen Obaid-Chinoy, who directed several episodes of Ms. Marvel, had been tapped to direct the mystery project. However, by March 2023, Lindelof and Britt-Gibson departed the project, and shortly thereafter, it was revealed that Peaky Blinders' Steven Knight had taken over scriptwriting duties.
Several weeks after that, it was announced at the Star Wars Celebration that this movie will follow Daisy Ridley's Rey 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker as she rebuilds the New Jedi Order and confronts "the powers that rise to tear it down." There has been no confirmation, but the untitled Rey movie could very well be the project removed from the 2026 release schedule by Disney in late 2024, per Variety. The project is still in a state of limbo at this time.
Untitled Dave Filoni Movie - TBD
After being arguably the most influential figure in Star Wars television for years, the time has come for new Lucasfilm chief Dave Filoni to leave his mark on the franchise's cinematic realm. It was announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023 as part of the latest update on the franchise's movie plans that he will direct a feature about "the escalating war between the Imperial Remnant and the fledgling New Republic."
After years of back-and-forth and plans that never amounted to much, THR reported in January 2026 that the project had been placed on the back burner. It doesn’t sound like it’s dead, but don’t expect to hear much about this for a long time.
Star Wars: Dawn Of The Jedi - TBD
James Mangold is hard at work on a long-in-the-works Star Wars project. The filmmaker behind A Complete Unknown is set to helm Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, a movie that will take place roughly 25,000 years before any of the previous stories in the franchise that have been chronicled on film and television. The filmmaker described this project as a "Biblical epic" that takes a Ten Commandments-like approach to showing the origins of the Force.
In June 2023, Kathleen Kennedy told GamesRadar+ that Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi project and the untitled Rey film will complement each other, despite taking place thousands of years apart from one another. And in April 2024, The Hollywood Reporter reported that House of Cards creator Beau Willimon would be co-writing the movie with Mangold. As of January 2026, there is no word on a cast or release date, though.
Taika Waititi Standalone Movie - TBD
It has been more than four years since it was first announced that Taika Waititi was working on a Star Wars movie after first directing The Mandalorian Season 1 finale. But nearly a half-decade after word began to spread, we have no movie and no idea what it’s about. There have been smaller updates over the years, like the one about 1917 writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns penning the script, but nothing big has come out in a long time.
In her January 2026 exit interview with Deadline (the one mentioned above), Kathleen Kennedy said the project was “still somewhat alive,” but it’s hard to say what that means at this time.
Star Wars Movies And Shows With Unknown Statuses
Though there are a great number of upcoming Star Wars movies and shows with release dates or at least updates from the past year, there are several others currently up in the air. Here are a few projects that are vague for now.
A Droid Story - Disney+ - TBD
A Droid Story was one of the main projects unveiled in that consequential December 2020 investor call, but there has been next to nothing said about the show in the nearly four years since. All those questions we had about the animated special back in 2021 remain unanswered all these years later, unfortunately. More than five years after it was first announced, it’s about time to call this one dead.
The Mandalorian Season 4 - Disney+ - TBD
In February 2023, showrunner Jon Favreau revealed that he'd finished writing all of the episodes for The Mandalorian Season 4 and that the next season would connect with Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew. Taking into account the Dave Filoni-helmed movie now in development, we are not fully sure when the next installment in the popular series will premiere or what kind of story it will tell once the show does return.
In 2025, Favreau told Empire Magazine (via MovieWeb) that he still had Season 4 sitting on his desk and that it was structured more like a movie and less like a serialized show. Now we’re left wondering if The Mandalorian & Grogu will serve as a replacement for the long-in-the-works fourth season.
Lando - TBD
Those holding out for a show based on the exploits of one of the galaxy’s coolest scoundrels are in for some good news and bad news. The good news first… Lando, which was first announced back in December 2020, is still in the works. However, it’s reportedly no longer a show but a full-fledged movie.
We’re starting to learn more about Lando, including the fact that Donald Glover and his brother, Stephen, are behind the project, which was originally developed by Justin Simien. In September 2024, Glover told the Wall Street Journal that he wanted “it to be fun,” but didn’t elaborate on the status of his return to the Star Wars universe.
Rian Johnson Trilogy - TBD
There was a great deal of backlash following the release of Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but the franchise is far from done with him. Prior to the release of Johnson's 2017 film, Lucasfilm announced that their collaboration with Johnson would continue with the development of an entirely new trilogy of movies. Johnson was quick to shoot down rumors about the mysterious project in December 2019, and there hasn’t been much news on the project since.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron - TBD
In December 2020, it was announced that Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins would be leading the charge on Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, an upcoming movie that will follow the famed group of X-Wing pilots featured in various Star Wars books and video games over the years, a group that until the big announcement, had yet to be featured in any film or television property in the franchise.
Though it seemed like the movie was put on indefinite hold after years of development, it appears the project isn’t dead just yet. In March 2024, Patty Jenkins told the Talking Pictures podcast (via Variety) that she was once again working on a script for Rogue Squadron after Wonder Woman 3 plans fell apart.
Star Wars Movies And Shows No Longer Happening
While there are a great number of Star Wars projects in the works, there are several others that have fallen by the wayside and been cancelled. Here are the movies and shows that fall into that category.
Kevin Feige-Produced Standalone Movie
When it was first announced in September 2019, the untitled Kevin Feige-produced standalone film was one of the most anticipated projects in the galaxy far, far away. Sadly, it also appears to be a movie that is no longer happening.
Untitled J.D. Dillard Standalone Movie
J.D. Dillard, the filmmaker responsible for Devotion and a one-time receptionist at J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot, was selected to direct his own Star Wars movie, penned by Luke Cage writer Matt Owens. The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter in February 2020, but few details were available at the time, which remained the case for a couple of years until the director told TheWrap in November 2022 that he was no longer involved with the project.
Be on the lookout for more information about these and other yet-to-be-announced projects in the coming weeks and months.
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