It increasingly feels as though Andor season 2 marked the end of an era for Star Wars on Disney+. Star Wars may traditionally be seen as a movie franchise, but the last six years have essentially been the Disney+ era. The Mandalorian was the flagship TV show for the streamer, and Star Wars has remained dominant ever since.
The latest rumors suggest that’s coming to an end, with the Mandoverse Updates Twitter account sharing a rumor that Lucasfilm intend to shift away from Disney+ and back towards the big screen.
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It’s only a rumor, of course, but it fits perfectly with what we know of Lucasfilm’s direction. What’s going on?
The Original Disney+ Star Wars Slate Is Well & Truly Over
The Mandalorian premiered alongside the launch of Disney+, with the unexpected debut of Baby Yoda helping make the streamer a success. Fast-forward to December 2020, and then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek pushed Lucasfilm to make an ambitious announcement. No less than ten Star Wars TV shows were announced at a Disney Investor Day.
Not everything proceeded as foreseen, of course; Rangers of the New Republic was canceled after Lucasfilm parted ways with Gina Carano, the Lando Calrissian show still hasn’t happened, and A Droid Story has been forgotten. Still, Andor season 2 marks the end of that announced slate… and it’s notable that a new one hasn’t been made.
In fact, all the signs suggest that Lucasfilm intend to shift to just one live-action Star Wars TV show a year. Ahsoka season 2 is the only thing known to be in the works right now.
Star Wars Is Heading Back To The Big Screen
Meanwhile, two years ago, there were reports that Lucasfilm had been told to “ramp up” the movies. It was no surprise, then, that the studio used Star Wars Celebration 2023 to announce three upcoming Star Wars films – one featuring Daisy Ridley’s return as Rey, another revealing the dawn of the Jedi, and another Mandalorian-era movie by Dave Filoni himself.
Plans have changed since then, of course. Jon Favreau’s scripts for The Mandalorian season 4 were dropped in favor of The Mandalorian and Grogu, which comes out next year; Shawn Levy is now filming Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling, which will release in 2027.
As amusing as it may be to note that progress seems to have stalled on all the movies announced at Celebration 2023, the direction seems clear. It’s also significant that, in an inversion of the original Disney+ slate, we’re now seeing TV shows adapted into movies.
All this suggests the latest rumors are indeed correct; Lucasfilm’s focus has shifted back to the big screen, and Andor really does mark the end of an era for Star Wars on Disney+. Going forward, we’re anticipating something of a “less is more” strategy – one that should prove more sustainable, and likely more profitable to boot.
