Kevin Feige and Patty Jenkins’ ‘Star Wars’ Films No Longer in Active Development, Taika Waititi Potentially Starring in His
Lucasfilm has reportedly been rethinking its entire Star Wars film schedule, and they are taking no prisoners. According to a new major story from Variety, Rogue Squadron, Patty Jenkins’ co-written-and-directed film, which was once supposed to roll out in December 2023, has been put to rest by the studio, as is the once-upon-a-time-announced film by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
Feige’s project has been silent for a while — it got a small boost in early 2021 when reports came out about Loki showrunner and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness screenwriter Michael Waldron tackling the script, and then in mid-2022 when Waldron, in a post-Multiverse of Madness world, said he’d started work on it. However, something might have happened along the way, because a couple of months later, the writer signed on to scribe Avengers: Secret Wars, the epic conclusion to the current Saga of Marvel movies, currently scheduled for a May 1, 2026 release. In an interview conducted in March 2022, and published by Vanity Fair on May 17, 2022, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy stated that said the film was part of the “rumor mill” (ignoring the fact that then-Disney Studios chief Alan Horn had announced it himself in September of 2019).
As far as Jenkins goes, the history of Rogue Squadron is a tumultuous one, to be generous. The film was announced by Kennedy in December 2020, and it was said at the time it would be targeting a December 2023 release date. Jenkins was to co-write and direct the film, but weeks before pre-production was to begin, the studio halted the process for yet-unspecified reasons. Jenkins moved on to develop Wonder Woman 3, which was ultimately killed off by the newly-created DC Studios in late 2022; in a statement, the filmmaker said she was back at the Lucasfilm camp and continued to develop the film. Whether that was true or not, according to Variety, she’s no longer working for them either. (We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors, obviously.)
Only three Star Wars feature films that we know of remain in active development. One of them, which was once supposed to be the next in line, is Taika Waititi’s film, officially announced on May 4, 2020. The Oscar-winning filmmaker is attached to co-write and direct an untitled film for the studio, and according to Variety, he may be looking into starring in it as well — they are comparing it to the part he played as Adolf Hitler in 2019’s Jojo Rabbit, which earned him a screenwriting Oscar.
The other two films are the Damon Lindelof-Justin Britt-Gibson-written movie, that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is reportedly directing, and which hasn’t been acknowledged by any of the parties involved (filmmakers or studio). That is supposed to be the next in line, with production likely beginning this year. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is heavily speculated to be playing the male lead.
And last but not least, Shawn Levy confirmed on social media reports that he will be taking on the Star Wars IP following his work on Deadpool 3, which is scheduled to bow in theaters in November of 2024.
Film news are expected to be announced during Friday’s Lucasfilm Studio Showcase panel at Star Wars Celebration next month, possibly clarifying some of the assertions in this report, and paving the way for the future of the franchise on the big screen. Reading between the lines, this comes across as housecleaning on Lucsfilm’s part, as they refocus their efforts to tell a coherent story throughout their next slate of films, and stop with disconnected properties. Taika Waititi, however, has stated before that he intends to keep his film separate from any pre-existing characters and stories, so we shall see if that remains the case. We will find out exactly what is going on soon enough.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
