George Lucas has said he’s let go of his instinct to manage Star Wars, 13 years after selling the sci-fi universe to Disney.
Lucas, now 81, sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $4 billion back in 2012, handing over everything from Industrial Light & Magic to Skywalker Sound as part of the deal. Since then, Disney has released the Sequel Trilogy and a number of TV shows set in the Star Wars universe, including The Mandalorian, Andor, and Ahsoka.
Now, he’s opening a museum he’s spent nearly $1 billion putting together. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is set to open in Los Angeles in 2026 and showcase a collection Lucas has been working on for 60 years.
It’s a departure from his filmmaking roots, and, based on a profile piece in The Wall Street Journal, Lucas is keen for it not to be dubbed ‘the Star Wars museum.’
While it does have the likes of the N-1 Starfighter that debuted in 1999’s The Phantom Menace, only one inaugural exhibit will feature the designs of Star Wars vehicles. “It’s one gallery out of 33. And I did it grudgingly,” Lucas said. “I didn’t want people to come to the museum and say, ‘Where’s the Star Wars?’ ”
The Wall Street Journal then asked Lucas if he has let go of his instinct to manage the Star Wars universe now, 13 years after selling up.
“Disney took it over and they gave it their vision. That’s what happens,” he replied. “Of course I’ve moved past it. I mean, I’ve got a life. I’m building a museum. A museum is harder than making movies.”
George Lucas says he’s moved on from his instinct to manage Star Wars. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.
So, it sounds like Lucas has indeed moved on from Star Wars. But fans often lament Disney’s stewardship of the franchise since buying Lucas out. Certainly Star Wars has had its ups and downs since Disney took over. 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, for example, was a costly failure. 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker sparked a backlash from fans and we haven’t seen a new Star Wars movie since.
On the TV show side of things, while the likes of The Mandalorian and Andor enjoyed critical acclaim, The Book of Boba Fett, The Acolyte, and Obi-Wan Kenobi look to be one and done. Still, Lucasfilm is soldiering on, with new Star Wars movies and TV shows coming from next year.
Last year, Lucas suggested Star Wars’ new bosses got a lot wrong with the Sequel Trilogy. “I was the one who really knew what Star Wars was,” he said, “… who actually knew this world, because there’s a lot to it. The Force, for example, nobody understood the Force. When they started other ones after I sold the company, a lot of the ideas that were in [the original] sort of got lost. But that’s the way it is. You give it up, you give it up.”
Andor, Ahsoka, Boba, Mandalorian, Obi-Wan and of course The Acolyte… what’s the best Disney+ live-action Star Wars show? What’s the worst? We think we know!
It’s hard to imagine that a show where Boba Fett rides into battle on a rampaging Rancor would come in dead last here, but that’s the way frustrating detour series The Book of Boba Fett ultimately lands.
Boba Fett’s role in Season 2 of The Manadalorian was very well-received, as was Attack of the Clones’ Temuera Morrison returning to play the grown clone surrogate son of Jango Fett. Boba Fett had been an insanely popular character for decades based on very little. Mostly his armor. He looked f’n cool. And that was enough to captivate ’80s kids. He was never a full, fleshed-out character, so The Book of Boba Fett was a chance to do just that. And it… just kind of didn’t. Both Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen’s icy bounty hunter Fennec Shand were grim, stoic badasses who offered little emotional payoff, and Boba’s plan to become a “nice” crime lord, who we guess would only allow nice crimes in Mos Espa, was an unsatisfying goal.
Bizarrely structured, The Book of Boba Fett also devoted two of its seven episodes to Din Djarin, taking us out of Boba’s story completely. And if you didn’t watch The Book of Boba Fett then you would have no idea why Grogu was back with Din Djarin when The Mandalorian: Season 3 started. There were some cool things like live-action Cad Bane, knee rockets, and a more in-depth look at Tusken Raiders (who Boba spent five years with, even though it felt like a few months), but ultimately The Book of Boba Fett was calorically empty.
Set a century before the rise of the Empire, The Acolyte was a family drama-mystery that contained cool ideas, awesomely impressive fight scenes, and the hottest Sith since Anakin got melted on in the molten fires of Mustafar. And if you thought the Jedi were flawed and feckless in the Prequel Trilogy, wait until you see them as lying murderers covering up the accidental slaughter of an entire community. Yes, if you ever considered rooting for the Dark Side, The Acolyte’s here to push you toward those red kyber crystals.
However, despite its badass lightsaber battles, Red Wedding-style mid-season massacre, and expansion of engaging concepts – like large pockets of Force energy being used to created a life or the presumed reveal of “Sith Lord Who Can Also Do That” Darth Plagueis – The Acolyte was inconsistent or incomplete with its characters and disjointed in its execution (yes, we’re looking at you “Flashback Episode to the Flashback Episode that revealed all the things purposefully held back from us in the Flashback Episode”). There was an easier, less-gimmicky way to tell this tale, but The Acolyte opted for obfuscation.
Hopefully there’s a Season 2 on the horizon since there are many lingering threads leftover from the finale but as it stands if you’re looking for ferocious fights, brutal kills, and a gaggle of morally compromised Jedi Knights who probably should sign their own version of the Sokovia Accords, then The Acolyte’s your bag, baby.
Of these six shows listed, Ahsoka was the one that came with the most “homework” – you know, if you consider homework watching two incredible Star Wars animated series, or even reading Timothy Zahn’s awesome Thrawn Trilogy from the early ’90s. But yes, bottom line, Ahsoka was a live-action sequel to Star Wars Rebels. Filled with impressive action, stunning visuals, and Hayden Christensen returning as Clone Wars-era Anakin, Ahsoka was a blend of Jon Favreau’s Mando-verse and Dave Filoni’s animated triumphs.
Animated Star Wars characters had made it to live-action crossovers before, like Saw Gerrera appearing in Rogue One. But it was really The Mandalorian that made major strides in blending the two worlds by first bringing Katee Sackhoff in as a live-action Bo-Katan Kryze and then Rosario Dawson as Anakin’s former padawan, Ahsoka Tano. The Ahsoka series would then take it a step further by bringing in Sabine, Hera, Ezra, and Grand Admiral Thrawn for what’s almost a Star Wars Rebels: Season 5.
Ahsoka’s soaring adventure took her and Sabine Wren to a galaxy even farther, farther away to stop the evil machinations of Thrawn, though as far as cliffhanger resolutions go we’ll have to wait for Ahsoka: Season 2, which Lucasfilm confirmed Dave Filoni was developing back when The Mandalorian & Grogu movie was announced in January.
“Hello there.”
The hype for the Obi-Wan series was rightfully insane, as not only did it tout Ewan McGregor’s big return to the role, but it also landed in the wake of the prequel trilogy being reevaluated and reclaimed by the generation that grew up with it. Everyone wanted to see Ewan’s Obi-Wan back in action, having adventures like he did in the better parts of Attack of the Clones. And while Hayden Christensen would have a more satisfying return as Anakin on Ahsoka, he first came back as Darth Vader for this series, which picks up 10 years after Revenge of the Sith and finds Obi-Wan learning for the first time that Anakin WAS Vader.
In the midst of all the buzz generated around Obi-Wan and Vader being back in this series, they managed to keep it a secret that Leia was a big part of it too, as a revenge-bent Inquisitor uses the feisty Alderaanian princess to lure Obi-Wan out of his life as a hermit on Tatooine, watching over 10-year-old Luke from afar. There’s some clunkiness to the series – which was developed to be a movie at first so there are definitely moments where the story feels stretched – and some fans didn’t enjoy some of the retconning aspects of Obi-Wan and Leia having this big adventure (or even Luke getting chased down by a maniac with a red lightsaber) before the events of A New Hope, but the emotional highs here really worked and the two Obi-Wan/Vader showdowns were pretty epic.
Bookended by strong opening and closing chapters, Obi-Wan did right by the prequelness of it all, including a shame-spiraling Obi-Wan, Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Bail and Breha Organa, the Grand Inquisitor (timeline-wise, before he’d appear in animated form on Star Wars Rebels), Emperor Palpatine, and… yes, Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn’s Force Ghost.
The phenomenon that kicked off the ongoing run of Disney+ Star Wars shows, The Mandalorian was hailed as a return to form for Star Wars, as it debuted a month before The Rise of Skywalker’s release, and was still airing acclaimed, well-received episodes when that movie was in theaters. It also gave us the franchise’s biggest cash cow in decades: Baby Yoda. Which is what we all called Mando’s tyke, knowing he wasn’t actually Yoda. His real name, Grogu, wasn’t a notable improvement, but his sick Force skills, insatiable hunger for all things cute critter, and his rad IG-12 mech suit more than made up for it.
Set a few years after Return of the Jedi, and offering up a deeper dive into Mandalorian culture – including its hardline rules and internal strife – The Mandalorian was a look at the far, far away galaxy post-Battle of Endor as everyone tried to find their way in the midst of a rebellion victory. And also as remnants of the Empire, led by a warlord named Gideon, tried to reclaim power from the New Republic. The series was an instant hit, delivering two wild seasons before going a bit askew with its spinoff series, The Book of Boba Fett.
In Season 3, focus shifted to Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan and her quest to unite her people under one uneasy creed and reclaim Mandalore, sparking some fun debate over who actually was the titular Mandalorian. From post-Jedi Luke Skywalker in action to Timothy Olyphant playing a Tatooine marshal to Boba Fett joining the fray to impressive recurring roles for Bill Burr, Mercedes Mone, Amy Sedaris, and the late Carl Weathers, The Mandalorian was event TV and remains some of the best Star Wars to ever bullseye womp rats in a T-16.
Andor was always going to be an outlier among the rest of the live-action Star Wars shows, and the biggest risk. But the gamble paid off, maybe not in terms of viewers, but on the quality front. Andor presented us with a top-tier drama more reminiscent of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos than the soaring swashbuckling tone we’d usually recognize as “A Star War.” Rogue One writer Tony Gilroy – who also wrote four Jason Bourne movies as well as writing and directing Michael Clayton – crafted a complex, grim antihero story about Cassian Andor, a fugitive-turned-bagman for the Rebellion during the five years before Rogue One. The show depicts the true cost of fighting back, and the abhorrent tactics that must be used against the stealthy slow-roll of tyranny.
Andor is exceptional Star Wars, with a divergent tone and style and truly matched the subject matter, which just so happened to be the most relevant to our modern life than anything that had preceded it in the franchise. A masterfully constructed political and espionage thriller unafraid to tackle real-world issues, Andor made quick believers out of fans who weren’t initially excited for a Cassian origin story. The only Star Wars series to get an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy nomination, and the winner of IGN’s own TV Series of the Year for 2022, Andor’s first season featured phenomenal performances from Diego Luna, Fiona Shaw, Andy Serkis, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Stellan Skarsgård – who gets a killer speech in the middle of the season about the humanity he’s had to shed and collateral damage he’s had to cause in order to spark citizens into action. Yes, the magnificent “I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see” monologue.
But the exemplary writing doesn’t end there. Let us never forget the timeless words of Nemik’s manifesto:
Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. … The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that.
In July, Lucas made his first ever appearance at San Diego Comic-Con to reveal some of the items headed to The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. A special video preview of the museum showed guests can expect to see Luke’s X-34 Landspeeder from A New Hope, General Grievous’ TSMEU-6 Wheel Bike, and even the Speeder Bikes from Return of the Jedi. There will also be concept art and much more from that galaxy far, far away.
In February, current Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy responded to reports that she was set to retire later in 2025 after it was indicated that the veteran film producer was looking to move on at the end of her contract this year.
Deadline reported that Kennedy was working with Disney boss Bob Iger on a succession plan 13 years into the job, with Star Wars Rebels creator and current Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni apparently in a “strong position” to take on the role. However, she insisted: “The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring.”
“I will never retire from movies,” she continued. “I will die making movies. That is the first thing that’s important to say. I am not retiring.”
From TV shows to brand new movie sagas, here’s every Star Wars movie and TV show that’s headed your way at hyperspace speed (and a couple of maybes too).
An Obi-Wan Kenobi solo project has been rumored for years, and now it’s actually happening as a series on Disney+. Production has apparently been delayed from a summer 2020 filming date to January 2021, following reports that Lucasfilm was unhappy with the scripts and proposed storyline. Ewan McGregor will return as the famed Jedi Knight, with the show set 10 years after Revenge of the Sith. Surprisingly, Hayden Christensen will also return as Darth Vader, which could mean Obi-Wan and Vader had a pre-Episode IV showdown we never knew about. Previously, unconfirmed reports said that Stephen Daldry (The Hours, The Reader) would direct an Obi-Wan movie, but McGregor eventually denied that any such project was in development. (He later admitted he’s been lying for years about the project!) Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian) is directing the series. Joby Harold has reportedly been hired as the new writer, taking over for Hossein Amini, who left the project in January 2020.
The next Star Wars animated series will hit Disney+ in 2021. The Bad Batch focuses on the elite Clonetrooper unit introduced in the final season of The Clone Wars. Set shortly after the end of the war, the series will explore the team’s new existence as mercenaries and their struggle to find a new purpose.
The series will be helmed by a number of Star Wars veterans, including executive producers Dave Filoni, Athena Portillo, Brad Rau and Jennifer Corbett, co-executive producer Carrie Beck and producer Josh Rimes.
Diego Luna’s rebel spy Cassian Andor will be the star of his own live-action Star Wars series on the Disney+ streaming service. Andor will focus on Cassian’s exploits before the events of Rogue One. Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly (Mon Mothma) and Alan Tudyk (K-2SO) will reprise their roles from Rogue One, with the hope that others like Alistair Petrie (General Draven) might also return. The series is described by Disney as a “rousing spy thriller” and will explore some of the dangerous missions carried out by Andor and his allies during the early days of the Rebellion. The cast also includes Stellan Skarsgard and Kyle Soller. Rogue One’s Tony Gilroy was serving as showrunner, but he’s backed out of the project and has been replaced by Black Mirror’s Toby Haynes.
The first live-action Star Wars series proved to be a big hit with fans, as well as arguably the biggest selling point for the fledgling Disney+ streaming service. Disney greenlit a second season before the first even premiered, and showrunner Jon Favreau revealed a Fall 2020 release window the same day the Season 1 finale landed. Pedro Pascal returned as bounty hunter/Baby Yoda-protector Din Djarin, along with Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon and a variety of other Season 1 characters. Pre-production and writing is reportedly already underway on Season 3, though no release date has been made public yet.
As announced in the post-credits scene of The Mandalorian Season 2 finale, rumors of a Boba Fett spinoff are apparently true, although it remains to be seen whether “The Book of Boba Fett” is intended as a limited series like Obi-Wan Kenobi, an ongoing series like The Mandalorian, or a standalone movie. Either way, it seems that Boba and Fennec Shand intend to set up shop in Jabba the Hutt’s palace and redeem the bounty hunter’s name following his trip into the sarlacc pit.
While Lucasfilm seems to have no immediate plans for a sequel to 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, Lando Calrissian is set to get his own live-action series. Little is known about the project other than that it’s being developed by Dear White People’s Justin Simien. Presumably, the series will see Donald Glover reprise his role as Lando.
In September, 2019, Marvel Studios overlord Kevin Feige was revealed to be working on a mysterious new Star Wars movie with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. This was a noteworthy shift in the relationship between Disney siblings Lucasfilm and Marvel, and not surprisingly it has spurred rumors that Feige could be on his way to taking on a bigger role on the Star Wars side of things, especially in the wake of the news that the Weiss/Benioff series has been shelved.
Following months of rumors, Disney confirmed Thor: Ragnarok’s Taika Waititi has been tapped to direct a live-action Star Wars movie. Waititi is also co-writing the film alongside 1917’s Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Nothing else is known about the film yet, including when it’s set in the Star Wars timeline or which of the mystery release dates it’ll end up claiming.
A new Star Wars movie is reportedly in the works from director J.D. Dillard (Sleight) and writer Matt Owens (Luke Cage), according to The Hollywood Reporter. It’s unclear whether this new Star Wars film will be a theatrical release or if it will debut on the Disney+ streaming service. With Lucasfilm currently planning the next phase of Star Wars movies, executives are reportedly trying to decide which characters and stories are right for theaters and which would be better suited as a Disney+ exclusive, says THR. Dillard wrote and directed the sci-fi thriller Sleight, and while he is one half of the team developing this new Star Wars movie, it’s unclear whether he will be the one to direct it should the project move forward.
After writing and directing The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson was given “all the freedom in the world” to oversee an entirely new non-Skywalker standalone trilogy. We haven’t heard much about this project since it was first announced, and there remains no word on when these will be released, so…
Game of Thrones executive producers and showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff were hired in February, 2018, to write and produce a new trilogy of Star Wars films that reportedly would be set during the Old Republic era. But in October of 2019 it was announced that they would not be proceeding with the films due to scheduling conflicts with their production deal with Netflix.
Disney has carved out release dates for three new Star Wars movies after The Rise of Skywalker. The first of these was to have been the first film from Game of Thrones executive producers and showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff, coming on December 16, 2022. Weiss/Benioff’s films have since been cancelled, however. The other two dates were December 20, 2024, and December 18, 2026, but it’s not clear what films these dates would now apply to. In any case, on July 23, 2020, Disney announced changes to its release schedule due to the ongoing pandemic, including these Star Wars movies which are now planned for December 22, 2023, December 19, 2025, and December 17, 2027.
While Kennedy confirmed that Lucasfilm has “every intention of making an announcement months or a year down the road” on an eventual succession, she is “continuing to stay at Lucasfilm.” That involves producing the upcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu movie and Star Wars: Starfighter.
It sounds like plans are very much in the works for Kennedy to step down from her current role as president of Lucasfilm, but that doesn’t mean she is leaving the company behind or retiring from the movie business.
“I’m not going to be here forever,” she said. “George [Lucas] asked me 13 years ago to step in, and now I’m looking at who’s going to replace me. And as I said, we have a bench of people internally to handle the business, the creative side. The job has grown also since I stepped in. There was no streaming, there weren’t a lot of the things that we’re involved in right now going on. So it has grown.”
Kennedy also denied she was being “pushed aside” or “in need of being replaced,” insisting that was “absolutely not the case” and “could not be further from the truth.”
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
