There are popular movie franchises, and then there's Star Wars. Generations grew up with the galaxy far, far away, which results in a huge fanbase. But this can also make the pressure to produce new content all the more high, especially for upcoming Star Wars movies. One of the announced Star Wars projects is Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron, which looked like it was DOA for a while. Sorry Chris Pine, but Wonder Woman 3 being cancelled actually opened up the door for Jenkins to focus on her Star Wars project.
Scheduling can be tricky in Hollywood, which was the case when Patty Jenkins was trying to develop both Wonder Woman 3 and Rogue Squadron. Chris Pine recently admitted he was shocked the third Wonder Woman film didn't happen... even if he wasn't expecting to return as Steve Trevor. While appearing on the Talking Pictures Podcast, Jenkins spoke about about the scheduling puzzle of those two projects, offering:
When I left Star Wars to do Wonder Woman 3, and I started working on that, we talked about, ‘Well, maybe I’ll come back to Star Wars after Wonder Woman 3.' So we started a deal for that to happen. When Wonder Woman 3 then went away, Lucasfilm and I were like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to finish this deal.’ We finished the deal right as the strike was beginning, so I now owe a draft of Star Wars. So we will see what happens there. Who knows?
Is anyone else's head spinning? Clearly the Star Wars franchise is very much in flux. Because while we have been treated with shows that can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription, it's been noticeably missing from theaters. And all eyes are on what project will be the first post-Skywalker Saga movie to be released.
Indeed, there are a number of titles that fans are eagerly waiting updates from. Lucasfilm announced a new trilogy that's in the works, with each of the movies focusing on a different point in the timeline. That includes a movie which will feature Daisy Ridley's return as Rey, and is set after the ending of The Rise of Skywalker. Plus there's also Taika Waititi's mysterious Star Wars flick.
Later on her same podcast appearance, Patty Jenkins addressed the pressure on Lucasfilm to deliver with its first post-sequel trilogy release. As she put it:
They have a hard job in front of them of, 'What’s the first movie they’re going to do?' They have other directors who have been working, but I am now back on doing Rogue Squadron. We’ll see what happens. We need to get it to where we’re both super happy with it
While Wonder Woman 1984 didn't fare well critically, Patty Jenkins still seems like an excellent choice to bring a grounded Star Wars movie like Rogue Squadron to life. She seems optimistic about the project, so that's definitely a good sign.
Only time will tell what Star Wars movie hits theater first, but fans are definitely paying attention. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
