What’s next for Star Wars? Who’s recently joined the cast of your most anticipated series or film? Where can you find the teasers and trailers? Look no further, true believers. Everything you need to know about the future of the Star Wars universe has been collected for you here. Click on each logo to learn what we currently know about the upcoming Star Wars projects.
As the Season 1 finale of Ahsoka wrapped up, Grand Admiral Thrawn found his way back from his exile. Thrawn’s return from Peridea to the familiar confines of the galaxy far, far away comes at a time when the Imperial Remnant’s Shadow Council’s plans are coalescing and Thrawn’s long-awaited homecoming will likely provide them enough confidence to emerge from the shadows. Of course, when they do there will be a group of heroes ready to oppose their efforts which means a war is coming to the Star Wars universe.
Lucasfilm’s Disney + Star Wars streaming series The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka have nicely set up the coming war under the watchful eye of the studio’s newly named Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni. That war is expected to unfold on screen in Filoni’s “Heir to the Empire” film but there’s still plenty of work to do before then with the live-action series Skeleton Crew (streaming sometime in 2024) and a fourth season of The Mandalorian (likely streaming in 2025) likely to continue to set the stage for Thrawn’s strategic strike. In an interview with Empire, Filoni teased what’s ahead for Thrawn and who will likely take the lead in opposing him.
“We set up Captain Pellaeon in The Mandalorian, and that’s a character that goes with Thrawn, so I’d love to see the two of them together,” said Filoni, referring to a character from Star Wars Legends that was introduced into canon in 2018 in Star Wars Rebels and made his live-action debut, played by Xander Berkeley, in Chapter 23 of The Mandalorian. Pellaeon was Thrawn’s right-hand man, remained loyal to him for years after he disappeared aboard the Chimaera and will certainly be by his side as the Heir to the Empire attempts to reestablish Imperial rule across the galaxy. But as teased in the closing moments of Ahsoka, one of Thrawn’s craftiest opponents will be ready to stand in his way.
While Ahsoka and Sabine were trapped on Peridea in the Ahsoka finale, Ezra Bridger was able to escape and reunite with the members of the Rebels crew now working with the New Republic, including Mary Elizabeth Winstead‘s Hera Syndulla who has proven to be a thrown in Grand Admiral Thrawn’s side. From what Filoni says, it sounds like that’s something that’s going to continue in the New Republic era stories yet to unfold. “His foil throughout Rebels was Hera“, said Filoni. “Pitting the two generals against one another is something that I find interesting.” And something Thrawn will no doubt enjoy.
Following Star Wars Celebration 2023, it was clear that Lucasfilm wanted Star Wars to make a triumphant return to theaters. The studio announced three new theatrical releases set to debut in three different era of the Star Wars timeline. Of those, it was widely believed that director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film–which will be set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker and see Daisy Ridley‘s Rey found a new Jedi Order–is Lucasfilm’s top choice to kick off their return to theaters. And right up until a pair of Hollywood work stoppages, that seemed to remain the case. However, a new report from insider Jeff Sneider indicates that Lucasfilm may have quickly pivoted to a project even further along in development as the one to get Star Wars back in theaters on May 22nd, 2026.
According to Sneider, Lucasfilm is making moves to reframe the fourth season of Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian as a film and have it ready to make the 2026 date. “I think we’ve all been operating under the impression that the Daisy Ridley movie was going to be the next Star Wars movie, I know I certainly was,” said Sneider. “They announced like three movies and it was like, ‘okay, the Daisy Ridley one is the furthest along I think.’ It has a director and all that. Anyway, it doesn’t sound like that may be the next one,” he teased before revealing the news from his source.
A couple of months ago I shot this one down, that there were rumours that season four of The Mandalorian could be turned into a movie. I think at the time I didn’t think that was necessarily the case. However, that is now what I am starting to hear. That the odds are in that projects favour, whatever season four of The Mandalorian turns out to be, whoever is in it, what it turns out, whatever shape it takes, it is looking like that could be the next Star Wars movie and that might be the thing that’s announced before the end of the year.
Sneider’s Star Wars source has proven to be fairly informative in the past, specifically around the Ridley-led film, and if it’s correct again here, fans may get news in the next couple of weeks. Favreau completed work on the scripts for Season 4 of The Mandalorian well before the WGA strikes and until the SAG strike backed up the production pipeline, principal photography was expected to begin this past fall. Given all those factors and where the current plot of the New Republic era stories have left off and the popularity of the ongoing series, it does seem possible Lucasfilm is making those moves.
However, with leading daddy Pedro Pascal heavily rumored to portraying Reed Richards in Marvel Studios Fantastic Four—said to be filming in the spring of 2024–and also set to be tied up on production of Season 2 of The Last of Us, it’s hard to imagine he’d have time to fulfill his duties as Din Djarin. Fortunately, it’s fairly widely known that Pascal mostly does voice work for the series while the Beskar suit is filled by Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder. With all the in mind, this sounds very much like a rumor worth paying attention to. Perhaps this is the way for Star Wars to get back to theaters!
Source: Hot Mic Podcast
Yes, you read the title right. Finally, a streaming service is listening to fans and is giving some of its projects the physical releases they deserve. As many shows and projects are seemingly getting cut for tax reasons, this is great news for those hoping to at least ensure they still have access to these shows no matter what happens to Disney+, Netflix, or whatever streaming service that is out there.
Disney already hinted at this move with the recent reveal they are releasing Prey, the Predator prequel film, for physical. Shortly after, they have now unveiled that the same is planned for some of their first big releases on the platform. The Mandalorian is finally getting a physical release for its first two seasons with some beautiful-looking artwork that’ll surely make collectors happy.
And we also have the physical release of the Disney+ Marvel shows. Loki and WandaVision are the first batch to make their way online and into shelves later this year. It seems that it’ll only be available as a Steelbook packaging with 4K and Blu-ray being available. DVD sale seems very unlikely and it’s unclear if they might also offer some regular Blu-ray boxes later down the line. Though these steelbooks are definitely something one wouldn’t want to miss out on in their collection.
Source: Collider, Twitter
With Chapter 24 of The Mandalorian now streaming, Season 3 of the series is now in the books! Though the finale made good on several season-long arcs, made some major moves and significantly changed the status quo of the New Republic era, it probably won’t erase some of the hard feelings fans felt towards some of the other episodes along the way. Now that all eight episodes have been etched in beskar, we take a look back and the best and the worst of Season 3.
One of the best episodes of the entire series, The Mines of Mandalore was the highlight of Season 3. This chapter saw Din Djarin, Grogu and still reluctant Bo-Katan Kryze take the first step in restoring Mandalore to its former glory. The episode’s exploration of the mythology and culture of Mandalorians was something hardcore fans loved and are still buzzing about even after the finale.
Kicking off the second half of the season, The Pirate was a remarkably well-made episode that firmly grounded the events of the series in the larger universe of the New Republic and set in motion the march to the finale. While it started off as the story of Grogu and Din Djarin, The Mandalorian has grown into something much bigger as has its central cast of characters. Just as everything seemed to be trending up for everyone, The Pirate reminded everyone it’s not always so easy to put the past behind you.
The Shadow Council. The revelation that Gideon had set up shop deep within Mandalore. Din Djarin’s impassioned speech to Bo-Katan. The sacrifice of Paz Viszla. The Spies was about as good of a penultimate episode as we could have hoped for and was the perfect bridge between Chapter 22’s feel-good story and Chapter 24’s finale.
Before Chapter 20 streamed, fans had spent the better part of a week bemoaning its short run time. And then the episode spent almost every second of that runtime with its ears pinned back and having a helluva lot of fun. A huge episode for Bo-Katan’s redemption; an incredible action sequence with some crazy birds of prey; more of Grogu’s story complete with the live-action introduction of Jedi Master Kelleran Beq. Just a great all-around Star Wars story.
While it lacked the big cameo appearance of the Season 2 finale, The Return gave fans everything they’d been asking for in Season 3 and somehow still made them unhappy. The Mandalorian Renaissance has officially begun with the destruction of the Darksaber symbolically ushering in a new era free of the prejudices of the past. Mando and Grogu kicked ass together and left to begin their journey anew in Season 4. Big action and big heart came together for a fun and fulfilling Season 3 finale.
Though it felt like a sluggish start to Season 3, in hindsight, The Apostate laid the foundation for a great season of The Mandalorian. Not only did it remind us of just how big the galaxy in which this story is told is, it subtly set us up to see what had previously been a story with a pretty small scope expand into one that has major consequences for the New Republic era of storytelling.
Notable for establishing the hypocrisy of the New Republic and establishing it as anything but safe, The Convert took the focus off of Din and Grogu in lieu of some time with Doctor Pershing and Elia Kane. If the characters of The Mandalorian were ever going to start impacting the galaxy on a larger scale (spoiler, they were) then making sure the audience has a good grasp on the goings on of that galaxy matter. So while this episode seemed pretty humdrum, not every episode can be action-packed.
Memorable for is wild cameos and the hatred they inspired online, Chapter 22 actually had quite a bit to say for anyone paying attention to the story rather than than the players. From beginning to end, Guns for Hire actually served as a reminder of just how big of a mess the galaxy is and how hard it is for the wounds of war to heal. Unfortunately, the episode relied too heavily on fans being both savvy and pretty deeply immersed in Star Wars lore to be able to read between the lines of the over the top cameos of Jack Black and Lizzo and will probably continue to be used as an example of “Disney Star Wars bad” for years.
For the better part of three seasons of The Mandalorian, Giancarlo Esposito‘s Moff Gideon was the thorn in the side of Din Djarin, Grogu and Bo-Katan before seemingly meeting his ultimate fate in Chapter 24, The Return. While Gideon put up a good fight against the trio of heroes in the Season 3 finale, his part in their story looks to have come to an end but not before his true nature was revealed, not only to the heroes but also to the audience. As threatening as he may be, Gideon was really just a big nerd obsessed with all the cool stuff in the Star Wars galaxy. Behind all his deception, treachery and posturing, it turns out Moff Gideon is just an 80’s kid.
While most fans guessed it some time ago, The Return confirmed that Gideon had hoped to use Grogu’s blood to infuse himself with The Force. More accurately, Gideon had hoped to infused himselves with The Force as the season finale revealed that Gideon and Doctor Pershing were not working with Shadow Council member Brendol Hux on Project Necromancer but rather putting the finishing touches on what he viewed as his ultimate form. But as it turns out, his ultimate form is essentially an 80’s Stars Wars kid’s fantasy come to life.
For all of Esposito’s talk about how Gideon was the galaxy’s “top warden” looking to restore order to the galaxy after the fall of the Empire, the character’s true nature turned out to be much more selfish and his goals seemingly much smaller in scope. Gideon, like me and many of you, is a collector. While we collect action figures and memorabilia from the fictional Star Wars universe, Gideon was doing the same thing inside the Star Wars universe. His obsession with the Sith, Jedi and Mandalorian cultures–all the cool tricks, toys and trinkets that come along with them–is no different than ours. At some point, alone in his room at the ISB, Gideon definitely tried to summon something to his hand using The Force; while holding a broomstick in a mirror, he absolutely “bzzzzzzd” up a lightsaber and took a few swings; and he most definitely wondered how cool it would be to be screeching across the sky wearing a jet pack and suited up in Mandalorian armor.
The difference, of course, is that Gideon lived within that world and had the means and willpower to make those fantasies real. For Gideon, that meant being a Force-wielding, beskar-wearing bad guy: the best of all worlds! While the rest of the Shadow Council waited for the return of Thrawn or for Project Necromancer to be completed, Gideon used his considerable resources to set up shop on Mandalore and put together the coolest damn cosplay costume he could imagine in his very own bad guy lair. While it’s unclear exactly what was left undone, it’s clear his plan didn’t come to completion. Perhaps Project Necromancer’s work was necessary to transfer his consciousness into his clones? A bunch of Gideons without his memories wouldn’t be of much use, after all. It seems like we’ll never know exactly what his grand plan for the galaxy was (although…you never know) but as he went down in a blaze of glory, he did it in style and I, for one, am extremely jealous of his collection.
Led quite intentionally astray by some aspects of Chapter 23, The Spies, and comments by the cast and crew of the series, fans had put together some pretty wild theories about what to expect in the Season 3 finale of The Mandalorian. Suffice it to say, by the time the title of the episode (The Return) was revealed just a touch over five minutes in, it was pretty clear where the episode was headed and that no betrayals or heart-wrenching deaths were coming; instead, Chapter 24 was a spectacle-filled finale that significantly changed the status quo of the New Republic era of the galaxy far, far away and a promise of a return to a more episodic adventure in Season 4.
For much of the most recent season, The Mandalorian has been criticized for spending too much time on characters other than Din Djarin and Grogu. In some ways, the finale served as a very direct response to that criticism, bringing the duo back into the spotlight with an action-packed escape followed immediately by a battle with the galaxy’s biggest fanboy, Moff Gideon, and his Praetorian Guard. While many fans waited much of the season for Bo-Katan Kryze to betray Din Djarin, her well-timed intervention Din’s fight with Gideon allowed her to try to exact her revenge on the Moff while allowing for Din and Grogu to work side-by-side taking down the guard. The relationship between Bo-Katan and Din–which was developed on screen over several episodes while fans all threw their hands up and complained that nothing was happening–bore fruit when Din and Grogu joined Bo-Katan in holding off Gideon long enough for Axe Woves’ kamikaze mission to take him out. Teamwork makes the dream work.
Mandalorians are stronger together.
Bo-Katan Kryze
That sentiment, shared by Bo-Katan while Din and Grogu joined her against Gideon, should have resonated strongly with the audience as a measure of the incredible growth made by the character since she first showed up in Season 3. Sitting alone in her throne room, Bo-Katan had given up on…pretty much everything. The weight of her past failures had become an anchor preventing her from moving forward and, having lost everything, she was content to pout in her big chair. Now, Bo-Katan has relit the Great Forge of Mandalore and stands ready to lead her newly reunited people into a new age of Mandalorian glory. In summation, it’s almost as if every minute of her journey over the course of Season 3 helped shape her into exactly the type of leader her people needed her to be.
With Mandalore’s future in the best of hands, The Return also promised a return of what made fans fall in love with the series in the first place: the adventures of Din Djarin and Din Grogu. After quickly convincing Carson Teva to let them take care of some of the New Republic’s dirty work, the Dins get a storybook ending to Chapter 24. What does that mean for Season 4, which is already in pre-production with cameras slated to roll this Fall? With Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew set to bear some of the world-building weight of the New Republic era and help move things toward Dave Filoni‘s “Heir to the Empire” film, the next season of The Mandalorian might look a whole lot more like Seasons 1 and 2, with several chapters devoted to taking the Dins on new adventures each week, allowing for Grogu to continue learning and evolving as a Mandalorian.
The Return certainly moved fast, packing a spectacular aerial battle of Mandos vs. Dark Troopers, the presumed death of Gideon and the retaking of Mandalore into 42 minutes but make no mistake, those 42 minutes changed the status quo of the New Republic era of stories. With Gideon, who was revealed only to be serving his own interests rather than that of the Shadow Council, now dispatched, there’s room for a new threat to emerge. With Bo-Katan and crew reconstructing Mandalore, a new and powerful force will continue to emerge on the other side of that threat. As far as a season finale goes, The Return seemed to deliver on just about every level: big action, resolution and the promise of what comes next. It may not have been what fans theorized but it seems to have delivered what they’ve all ben asking for all season.
During Star Wars Celebration 2023, it was revealed that Dave Filoni was set to direct a film that would serve as the denouement of the story he and Jon Favreau have been and will continue telling through their “Mando-verse” streaming series. While it’s easy to look at that film as the end of the stories told in the New Republic era, it’s also important to remember that, at present, two additional eras are open to the telling of further stories set in a galaxy far, far away. Given that the New Republic era can now be seen as a bridge connecting Luke Skywalker’s Age of Rebellion stories to his epilogue in the Rise of the First Order stories, it is worth considering if Filoni, who has shown a penchant for bringing non-canon/Legends characters into the modern Star Wars canon may choose to use his film to bring one of the most popular Legends characters into canon.
An increasingly popular theory is that Filoni’s New Republic-era film will be an adaptation of Timothy Zanh‘s 1991 now non-canonical novel, Heir to the Empire. That novel, set nine years after the Battle of Yavin, introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn, who has since been adopted into canon and will soon be portrayed in live-action by Lars Mikkelsen. During the Ahsoka trailer which debuted at Star Wars Celebration, the phrase “heir to the Empire”, uttered by Rosario Dawson‘s titular character, created a significant buzz that the next chapter of stories in Filoni’s Mando-verse might be an adaptation of Zahn’s iconic Thrawn trilogy and, if that is the case, Thrawn will hardly be the only major character making a canonical live-action debut.
Further evidence that the Mando-verse stories might begin to adapt and include Zahn’s trilogy came in Chapter 23 of The Mandalorian when Gilad Pellaeon made his live-action debut as part of the second iteration of The Shadow Council. While Pellaeon played a minor role Star Wars Rebels, he played a much larger role in Thrawn’s plans in the non-canon Zahn trilogy. If Pellaeon is going to play a role, no matter now small, in Star Wars canon, it’s possible another of the Emperor’s servants–indeed the Emperor’s Hand–could appear in Filioni’s film.
There is, perhaps, no Legends character whose addition to canon is more anticipated than Mara Jade’s. Once one of Palpatine’s most trusted assassins tasked with killing Luke Skywalker, Jade eventually married Luke and played a key role in the foundation of the New Jedi Order. Jade played a major role in one of the non-canonical novels’ most well-known conflicts, the Yuuzhan Vong War, which, coincidentally, would bridge a major gap in the current canonical eras. Would Filoni introduce Mara Jade/Mara Skywalker into the Star Wars canon? Given the work he and Favreau have done with Legends characters and concepts over the years, it’s nowhere near out of the question that Jade could soon be introduced into their Mando-verse and then quickly become a main character in the Rise of the First Order and New Jedi Order timelines.
I saw it coming. You saw it coming. We all saw it coming. Everyone saw it coming except for Bo-Katan, Din Djarin and the dozen or so other Mandos who walked right into Moff Gideon’s trap. Things were going far too well for the Mandalorians in their quest to reclaim Mandalore and in a galaxy where peace is not an acceptable status quo, things were bound to take a turn for the worse. After several episodes established Din, Bo-Katan and Grogu as a functional unit at the center of the Mandalorian Renaissance, Chapter 23, The Spies, saw it all taken away from them at the hands of Gideon, calling into question if Mandalore might not just be cursed after all.
While Gideon’s return was already advertised, the live-action debut of the Shadow Council–a group of Imperial loyalists working behind the scenes to ensure the return to power of the Empire–serves as an interesting parallel to the work being done by the Mandalorians. Just as Bo-Katan, Din Djarin and the Armorer seek to round up and reunite Mandalorians from across the galaxy, Gideon seeks to amass the resources of the Imperial remnants from across the galaxy to stop them. Having Gideon launch his plan–and his trap–from the depths of Mandalore, indeed from the heart of their once great civilization, just adds another notch on the belt of this wonderful bastard.
The fallout from the events of this episode promises to be nothing short of transformational for the next arc of the series. Bo-Katan–whose desire to lead again had to be stirred extrinsically–has now led her newly formed army into a trap that cost her the life of Paz Vizsla and steadying influence of Din Djarin. How those losses will impact her next move and how an increasingly independent Grogu will respond to the capture of his father are major questions that will define not only Chapter 24, the Season 3 finale, but also next season and, ultimately, the Mandalorian-centric film set to be directed by Dave Filoni.
While the finale of the episode feels like the beginning of a slow march to the creation of the First Order, their canonical birth is still 5 or so years away and, so far as we know, Gideon is not a part of their sequel trilogy story. So, as parallel as their paths may seem at the moment, Bo-Katan and Gideon are certain to come together again. Will that be the time that Bo-Katan’s song is finally written? As Din Djarin said, Bo-Katan is defined by honor, loyalty and character–all things Gideon knows nothing about. While their goals may seem superficially similar, Bo-Katan’s quest to reclaim Mandalore is done selflessly for the good of her people while Gideon looks to amass the resources of the Empire for his own selfish ends. While the Shadow Council was swayed to play along for now, it’s safe to say that while Thrawn may see value in eliminating the Mandalorians, Gideon won’t find him so easy to manipulate. As things move towards their inevitable end and Bo-Katan and Gideon are positioned against one another, this episode will be noteworthy for its subtle conveyance of the idea that while Gideon seems to have the upper hand, he rules from a throne of fear and manipulation while Bo-Katan has grown from her mistakes and seeks not to lead but is called to it. Short of the Darksaber, which has slowly lost its meaning, Gideon now has everything Bo-Katan, Grogu and The Mandalorians desire. Has that put him in a good place or a very bad place? Place your bets and let’s see what surprises are in store for the season finale!
Chapter 22 of The Mandalorian saw Bo-Katan reclaim her fleet, take possession of the Darksaber and become the chosen one to lead the Mandalorian Renaissance. It was all too easy. Chapter 23, The Spies, brought all the good Mandalorian mojo to a quick halt. While fans expected the episode to feature the return of Mandalorian archnemesis Moff Gideon, the episode also contained a delightful surprise that portends continuing bad news for the heroes of the story.
The opening moments of The Spies not only quickly added Gideon back into the mix but also introduced a group of high-ranking Imperial loyalists known as the Shadow Council. The Shadow Council made its first canonical appearance in Chuck Wendig‘s 2017 novel Aftermath: Life Debt where, led by Admiral Gallius Rax, they planned to overthrow the New Republic. The machinations of the Shadow Council, which consisted of Rax, Rae Sloane, Brendol Hux, Ferric Obdur, Grand Moff Rand and Hodnar Borrum, were thought to be thwarted with their defeat at the Battle of Jokku, however, as seen in Chapter 23 of The Mandalorian, it has been reformed.
While the identities of every member of the Shadow Council weren’t revealed, their goals–by in large–remain the same: reestablish the Empire. Two members of the council, Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Number 2, Gilad Pellaeon, and soon-to-be First Order General Brendol Hux, who is heading the mysterious Project Necromancer, seem to be allotted a disproportionate amount of the resources available the Imperial loyalists as they work. As seen in The Spies, however, Gideon is less than impressed with his fellow council members, who seem content to wait for the return of the Heir to the Empire, Thrawn.
Gideon’s speech in the opening moments of Chapter 23 certainly stirred the Shadow Council to action as the agreed to move on the accumulating Mandalorians before they were able to rise to their full strength and offer a much more real threat to the reemergence of the Empire. Given what’s known about the future of the Star Wars universe, Hux’s work on Project Necromancer, likely being done in the Unknown Regions, will lead to the creation of Snoke, a reborn Emperor and the rise of the First Order. However, with Thrawn set to make his return in Ahsoka and the future of Gideon’s feud with the Mandalorians yet to be written, there are certainly some tense moments ahead for the beskar warriors.
