Star Wars Disney+ plans revealed: ‘Rogue One’ prequel set for late summer, ‘The Mandalorian’ back as early as end of the year

The galaxy far, far away is sitting in your living room.

In a lengthy cover story at Vanity Fair, a slew of actors and producers from across the “Star Wars” galaxy all have the same message: the future of the franchise lives on television.

Whereas George Lucas’s 1977 space fantasy turned theatrical filmgoing on its ear, the current plan, post-“Rise of Skywalker,” is to dominate streaming. And like the Rebellion with stolen plans that took down the Death Star, fans now have access to a blueprint.

While the return of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen in May’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” set a decade after “Revenge of the Sith,” has been known, the cover story digs into details of “The Mandalorian” (Season 3 is back potentially this year), “Andor” (a “Rogue One” prequel from Tony Gilroy), “Ashoka,” (a spin-off of “The Mandalorian” with connective tissue to the “Clone Wars” cartoon and starring Rosario Dawson), and “The Acolyte” (a long-planned show from “Russian Doll” co-creator Leslye Headland set during the “High Republic” era which pre-dates the Skywalker saga by a century). There’s also an unnamed series from “Spider-Man: No Way Home” filmmaker Jon Watts that has an apparent ‘80s Amblin vibe in development as well. (Watts recently left his post as director of Marvel’s Fantastic Four movie, but will remain an employee of Disney.)

“Andor,” in which Diego Luna will return as Cassian Andor (before he was killed in “Rogue One,”) will be available on Disney+ in “late summer” of this year. The show was developed by Gilroy, who worked on the much-discussed reshoots for “Rogue One,” and it will detail how the character “evolved from a self-serving nihilist into a selfless martyr.” Luna told “Vanity Fair” that needing to stay mum on “Star Wars” story details makes for a rough home life. “I have kids, man,” he joked. “It’s painful for them—and for me.”

Luna also described “Andor” as “a refugee story.” 

Continuity nerds will be delighted to know that Mon Mothma plays a big part in “Andor.” The Rebel leader in the white robe played by Genevieve O’Reilly in “Revenge of the Sith” and “Rogue One” (and was a callback to “Return of the Jedi”) will have a story that runs in parallel to Luna’s Andor. 

While discussing the future of “The Mandalorian,” producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni joked that there was never pressure to create a “Baby Ackbar” to follow the success of The Child a/k/a Grogu a/k/a “Baby Yoda.” (To which I say: rethink that!) The tech-heavy “volume” soundstage where the show is shot is described as having the “sterile, ozone scent of a Best Buy as millions upon millions of tiny light-emitting diodes embedded in the curved surface evoke alien landscapes.” Season three will debut in “late 2022 or early 2023.”

Dawson, who will lead the Jedi tale “Ashoka,” says that her casting is partially due to someone tweeting fan art her way. (With this admission, Dawson has condemned every actor in Hollywood to a 10 percent increase in spam—minimum!) She also recalled how she accidentally spoiled some “Star Wars” news on Instagram. “I looked in my email, and Star Wars was like, ‘You might want to take that down,’” she said. 

“Ashoka” will be out sometime in 2023. 

The big question mark is “The Acolyte,” described as “slightly further off” release-wise. It will likely star Amandla Stenberg. It will be set 100 years prior to “The Phantom Menace,” and, from the way Headland describes it, sounds like a bit of a blank slate. It will be more of a “mystery-thriller” than an action piece.

But first: “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which debuts on Disney+ on May 27. Despite its premiere arriving before the 2022 Emmy eligibility window closes, the series will not compete for Television Academy hardware this year. That show, and presumably “Andor” and “The Mandalorian” Season 3, will be on the ballot for the 2023 affair.

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