Star Wars: Rogue Squadron "Pushed off to the Side" at Lucasfilm

Lucasfilm has grounded Rogue Squadron. Studio president Kathleen Kennedy confirms the Star Wars spinoff from filmmaker Patty Jenkins has been "pushed off to the side" as the Wonder Woman director continues to develop the script with writer Matthew Robinson. In November, THR reported Disney indefinitely delayed production on Rogue Squadron, removing the feature from its production schedule as Jenkins shifted focus to DC's Wonder Woman 3 for Warner Bros. and Cleopatra for Paramount. (Jenkins has since exited the director's chair for the historical drama set to star Gadot.) Star Wars: Rogue Squadron has a release date of December 22, 2023.

"We have a road map [for Star Wars feature films]," the Lucasfilm president told Vanity Fair. "I would say that Taika [Waititi's] story fits more specifically into that. Rogue Squadron…we kind of pushed off to the side for the moment. Patty is developing the script further. Then we will talk about how that connects to the central spine that we're working on."

Rogue Squadron was to be Lucasfilm's first feature from a galaxy far, far away since the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga in 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Along with the untitled film from Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi, Doctor Strange 2 screenwriter Michael Waldron recently confirmed he's scripting an in-development project produced by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. 

"There's a couple of [filmmakers] that we've been in conversation with over quite a long period of time that I'm hoping will come in and make the overall commitment that Jon [Favreau, creator of The Mandalorian] and Dave [Filoni, creator of Star Wars Rebels and the upcoming Star Wars: Ahsoka] have made," Kennedy added of the partnership that has built out a Star Wars TV universe on Disney+. "That's ideally what I would love to see happen in the feature space."

Kennedy previously described Rogue Squadron as part of "a new era" for the franchise, set to introduce "a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy." 

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is scheduled to open in theaters on Christmas 2023.