Star Wars’ Next Live-Action TV Show Is the End of an Era for Disney

It’s been almost six years since Star Wars launched its first live-action show. The Mandalorian was an instant winner, serving as proof of concept that the franchise could translate to the small screen beyond animation (something George Lucas had tried and failed to do years earlier with the unmade Star Wars Underworld show). That then led to its own mini-empire within Lucasfilm, where The Mandalorian was joined by spinoffs like The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew, plus various prequels, including what’s arguably the very best Star Wars TV show, Andor.

That was all part of a very concerted push from Disney into its streaming service, Disney+, and was aligned with what Marvel was doing at the same time. Now, though, times are changing, especially when it comes to Star Wars’ upcoming TV shows. Only one live-action series aired in 2025 (Andor Season 2), and there’s only one on the docket for 2026, which is Ahsoka Season 2. And then beyond that, there’s… nothing. As it stands, Ahsoka‘s sophomore outing will be the last live-action show, ending the franchise’s Disney+ era, at least for now.

Why Star Wars’ Live-Action Future Is Focused On Movies, Not TV Shows

Much like how the Disney+ shows represented a pivot into streaming, the lack of them in the future is because the Mouse House is turning back to theatrical releases. It realizes that it pushed too hard into streaming, and that it came at the expense of the big screen experience, especially when it comes to a galaxy far, far away. There hasn’t been a Star Wars movie released since The Rise of Skywalker back in 2019, which came just one month after Disney+ (and The Mandalorian) debuted.

That’s something Lucasfilm is putting right, and its flagship show is the clearest example. Rather than making The Mandalorian Season 4, the studio is bringing it to the big screen with the movie The Mandalorian and Grogu in 2026. After that, there’s Star Wars: Starfighter, which will star Ryan Gosling. No other movies have confirmed release dates, but various projects are in development, including Rey’s New Jedi Order movie (with Daisy Ridley returning), James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi film, a trilogy from Simon Kinberg, and still, ostensibly, a Taika Waititi movie.

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The franchise isn’t leaving streaming behind entirely: there’s still a big future for animation, which has been a crucial part of Star Wars for over 20 years now. There’s Star Wars: Visions coming later this year, and its own spinoff, Star Wars: Visions Presents, will be launched in 2026. That same year, we’ll also get Maul: Shadow Lord. It’s fair to assume there’ll be plenty more to come, as well, as Lucasfilm seems very committed to continuing to explore new opportunities in that medium, but will that be true for live-action shows as well?

Will There Be More Live-Action Star Wars TV Shows?

Back when Ahsoka was first announced in 2020, it was part of an expansive slate of series designed to show that Disney+ meant business. However, almost all of the shows they revealed then have since aired, and most appear to be done. Certainly, Andor definitively wrapped up its two-season run, while The Acolyte was cancelled after one season. The muted reception to Skeleton Crew makes Season 2 very unlikely, and The Book of Boba Fett seems to have been put back on the shelf for good, with no movement since it aired in 2021.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 2 continues to be talked about by its stars, but it seems more in hope than anything tangible, though it wouldn’t be too surprising if Lucasfilm went back to it. Then there’s Ahsoka itself: could that get a third season? It’s not impossible, especially given how popular the character is. Still, with the current plan being that this builds to an event movie designed to serve as the culmination of the Mandalorian/New Republic story, it’s probably best not to expect it to do so. However, this is Lucasfilm, so those plans could definitely change.

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Disney+ had previously announced Lando, with Donald Glover returning, but the latest update on that was that it was also pivoting to become a movie, but it’s also not something with any momentum behind it or that seems likely to happen anytime soon (if ever). There was also Rangers of the New Republic, which was quietly scrapped when Gina Carano was fired by Disney. With her settling the lawsuit against them, a return could be possible, but it’d more likely be as part of a bigger movie/show than going back to the spinoff at this stage.

Still, presumably, there will be more live-action Star Wars shows at some point. Disney+ isn’t going anywhere, after all, so content will still be needed to satisfy subscribers and shareholders alike. But what does seem clear is that there will be a bit of a pause and a rethink, and the era we’ve been in since 2019, where it was such a major focus for the franchise, is gone. And if that means getting Star Wars movies back, getting future shows right, and releases feeling like an event again, then there should be no bad feelings about it.

Ahsoka Season 2 is currently in production, ahead of a release on Disney+ sometime in 2026. The Mandalorian and Grogu will land in theaters on May 22nd, 2026, with Starfighter following a year later on May 28th, 2027.

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