Recapping All The 'Star Wars' News From Disney Investor Day Including 'Ashoka', Patty Jenkins, and Hayden Christensen's Return

Like I did with all the Marvel stuff announced at Disney's Investor Day, I've decided to just condense everything we heard into one article. You'd think Star Wars lineup would pale in comparison to the heavy weights over at Marvel, but they proved they also had a lot in the works that even fans hadn't guessed. The success of The Mandalorian and backlash over the sequel trilogy has led to Disney changing their approach to Star Wars, specifically moving towards Disney Plus series rather than movies. They're also looking to fill in gaps of story between the past movies, and further exploring the world of Star Wars during that golden era which means familiar faces can show up at any point.

Hayden Christensen Will Return As Darth Vader

I figured I'd start with the biggest news of the day, as Katheleen Kennedy confirmed production of the Obi-Wan Disney Plus series is under way. She revealed it will take place ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, and that Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen would be playing Darth Vader. She also teased a "rematch of the century" which means the series will probably lead up to an inevitable face to face reunion between the two. Its unknown how much of Christensen will be seeing as he'll obviously be under the mask and be voiced over by James Earl Jones, but we will probably see Hayden as the burned Anakin in scenes with Ewan McGregor's Obi Wan.

Patty Jenkins Will Direct Rogue Squadron 

Kennedy confirmed that Taika Waititi would be working on an unknown Star Wars film which had been rumored for some time now, but she also revealed Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins would be helming her own movie. It will focus on a team of Rebel pilots and will be released Christmas of 2023. 

Lando Disney Plus Series

Little information was released for this one other than it of course will be about Lando Calrissian going on his own separate adventures. Its unknown whether the series will star Billy Dee Williams as the original Lando, or Donald Glover as the younger version from Solo. It honestly could even include both, but we'll have to wait and see.

Ashoka And Rangers Of The New Republic

Following the appearance of fan favorite of the Clone Wars animated series Ashoka in the recent Mandalorian episode, Rosario Dawson will be playing the character in an upcoming series. This could of course lead to her tracking down General Thrawne and Ezra Bridger, as well as learning more about Anakin since they last saw each other. Rangers of the New Republic will also be set in The Mandalorian timeline and focus on the Rebels seen in the show, with all three shows eventually leading to a crossover event. 

Andor

Andor will serve as a prequel series to the film Rogue One focusing on Diego Luna's character of Cassian Andor who is a Rebel spy during the rise of The Empire. A sizzle reel for the show was shown which will be released on Disney Plus in 2022. 

Other series The Bat Batch, The Acolyte, A Droid Story, Star Wars: Visions

So what do you think of all this Star Wars news? Which project excites you the most? let us know below!

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Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige Developing A New 'Star Wars' Movie For Disney With Kathleen Kennedy

Kevin Feige's name has been in headlines more than usual lately, with his name having come up in all the back and forth between Disney and Sony over the rights to Spider-Man on screen. Feige is of course known as the mastermind behind the MCU, a producer who worked his way up from working on the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy to becoming the architect behind one of the biggest franchises in the world. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that yet another Disney owned franchise finely came knocking on Mr. Feige's office door, and thats none other than Star Wars.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Feige is attached to an all new Star Wars film thats in the works over at Disney. This project will be separate from the current trilogy which is coming to an end this year with Rise of Skywalker, and also will have to relation to the upcoming Star Wars films by Rian Johnson or the one being written by D.B. Weiss and David Beinoff (Game of Thrones). Its unknown what this project will actually be about but it will likely also focus on new characters as the franchise looks to move on from the Skywalker saga.

Feige's involvement make come as a surprise to some Marvel fans who are surprised to see him crossover into another franchise, but he will still remain the head of Marvel Studios and for now isn't taking on a bigger role at LucasFilm. Kathleen Kennedy who has assumed a similar position to Feige's MCU role and the overseer of the Star Wars films has taken some criticism in the last few years, specifically with fans frustration over the direction of the new trilogy, and lack of creative control given to directors working on their projects. Bringing Feige on board should be a relief to fans who know he has already proven he has a way for crafting cinematic universes, and will hopefully see his impact felt in other upcoming Star Wars projects.

Reports have also suggested Feige already has a big name star lined up to star in the project, and that it may be an actor he has already worked with in the MCU. Feige's passion for Star Wars as a fan apparently drew him to eventually get involved in a project with them and ultimately led to this partnership with Kennedy. The Star Wars films have been not only distancing themselves from the Skywalker saga, but also any prequel or spinoff films following the disappointing performance of Solo: A Star Wars story. The franchise has instead turned to Disney+ for many of their projects such as The Mandalorian and the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series, so we can expect all of these new projects to be completely new stories with all new characters just set in the Star Wars universe. 

So what do you think of Kevin Feige's involvement with Star Wars? Do you hope he'll take on a bigger role at LucasFilm? Let us know below!

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'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Solo Movie May Be Converted Into A TV Series For Streaming Service Disney Plus

Despite the gripes fans have with the prequel trilogy of Star Wars George Lucas developed in the early 2000s, most of them will agree Ewan McGregor made a pretty damn good Obi-Wan Kenobi. Disney has apparently taken notice of the desire from audiences to see more of this younger version of the character, and an explanation of what he was up to between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Its a part of Star Wars mythology that has been up in the air for years, and with Boba Fett and Han Solo movies in developed it looked like it was right around the corner. Sure enough, the failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story halted the breaks on any future spin-offs.

But apparently the Obi-Wan Kenobi story may still have some life to it according to Star Wars News Net, only this time as a series on the new Disney streaming service Disney Plus. The company has already shown their willingness to tell big budget stories on this platform, with a Jon Favreau helmed Star Wars series called The Mandalorian set as one of its main features. With a strong Star Wars presence already on Disney Plus, it wouldn't be surprising to see it become the home of more of their properties. Its certainly much more low risk than releasing another full spin-off film and having it flop, something that already proved costly for the studio with Solo. 

The studio is apparently waiting to see how well The Mandalorian does before green lighting the project. Currently The Mandalorian has some great buzz around it with other talented directors like Taika Waititi and Bryce Dallas Howard involved alongside Favreau, as well as big name stars like Pedro Pascal (Narcos) and Gina Carona (Deadpool). Where as The Mandalorian is based on completely new characters, an Obi-Wan series would obviously be focusing on one of the most beloved and famous characters from both trilogies. Add into that the likely hood that Ewan McGregor, now a much bigger name than he was in the early 2000s, returning to reprise his role and you have a big draw for fans to join the subscription service and watch the show.

This just adds to the already exciting programming Disney Plus will have to offer, with Marvel Studios already announcing they will have several series focusing on their smaller characters like Loki and Vision and Scarlett Witch. There's also been rumors that all the recently canceled Netflix Marvel shows such as Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Punisher could find new life on the platform. With so much already in the works for Disney Plus, it'll likely be a while before things move any further on an Obi-Wan series. But there's no doubt the studio would bring on the talent and provide the budget to do the character the justice a movie would, given the effort they're already putting into their other projects. 

So what do you think of the idea of an Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney Plus? Would you rather see his story on the big screen? Let us know below!

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Jon Favreau's 'Star Wars' TV Show Will Be Titled 'The Mandalorian'; Images, Details, and Directors Revealed

Since the moment Disney bought LucasFilm, the company hasn't stopped producing as much Star Wars content as they can. But unfortunately following the disappointment of Solo: A Star Wars Story early this year, the studio has scrapped plans for other spin-off projects and has decided to focus on the current trilogy of films. But this recent news certainly doesn't apply to TV shows, as Jon Favreau's long awaited live-action Star Wars series finally found a perfect home with Disney's new streaming service. Now we have gotten new details about the show including what it will be about, what big name directors are on board, and who may be starring as the lead. 

Favreau who is executive producing and writing the series revealed that it will in fact be called The Mandalorian, who exist as a race of warriors in the Star Wars universe that includes the likes of Jango and Boba Fett. This of course explains why the main character we see in the first image from the show (Which you can see above) is wearing their same armor. The series will be taking place three years after the events of Return of the Jedi, with the galaxy now under the role of the New Republic. This is a time period that hasn't yet been explored in the Star Wars films, and could also tease some things that happen in the current trilogy. 

The plot description seen above explains that the lead will be from the Mandalorian planet, but is described as a lone gunslinger. Despite this, we're sure to get some more insight into this person's past and the civilization they came from through some kind of flashbacks or backstory. Dave Filoni is apparently going to direct the pilot episode, and he's someone who is best known for his work on the successful Disney XD series Star Wars: Rebels, and Clone Wars. The Mandalorian culture is something that Filoni already has explored in Rebels, and will more than likely re-explore here. Other big time directors who have come on board include Bryce Dallas Horward (Solemates), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones), and fan favorite Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok).

Its unknown just how many episodes each director will be working on, but we're expecting about a ten episode season considering the length of the Marvel shows that are going to be on Disney Plus. Waititi particularly is someone who Star Wars fans have even wanted to see play Boba Fett, but had ultimately said he wouldn't work on a film in the series. Well I guess this technically doesn't count. Rumors have also suggested that the main role of the show will be played by Pedro Pascal, but this has yet to be confirmed. The role certainly seems like something up Pascal's alley given the type of morally ambiguous yet charismatic characters he's played on shows like Narcos and Game of Thrones.

So are you excited about The Mandalorian? What other directors would you have liked to see work on the show? Let us know below!

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