The Star Wars galaxy just got a whole lot larger. During Disney's investor day presentation, a slew of new projects taking place within the iconic franchise was announced. Among them were Star Wars: Visions, a new anime series, and A Droid Story, an animated movie that will bring C-3PO and R2D2 back for more action. These join shows such as The Mandalorian, as well as some newly-announced spinoffs, as part of the growing Disney+ lineup.
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy was on hand for the virtual presentation. It had been revealed ahead of the event that the Star Wars universe would be getting a massive expansion. Though it was still difficult to imagine just how massive that was going to be.
A Droid Story will be the first Star Wars feature developed for the Disney+ streaming service. Per Lucasfilm, as they continue "to develop new stories, the intersection of animation and visual effects offers new opportunities to explore." Lucasfilm Animation is set to team up with the studio's legendary visual effects team, Industrial Light & Magic, to develop the special Star Wars adventure for Disney+. Plot details are mostly being kept under wraps for now but it is described as an epic journey that will introduce us to a new hero, guided by the legendary duo of R2-D2 and C-3PO. It has not been revealed yet if Anthony Daniels will reprise his role, though the actor has declared that he has no plans to retire.
This comes in the wake of the success of The Mandalorian, which debuted when Disney+ launched last year. To that end, Lucasfilm also announced spin-offs such as Ahoska, which will bring back Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, and Rangers of the New Republic. A Lando series was additionally confirmed, with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor on the way. Leslye Headland's female-led series, The Acolyte, was also revealed. Plus, we got a teaser trailer for The Bad Batch, which was announced over the summer. Safe to say, Star Wars isn't going anywhere, any time soon.
Not only that but the movies aren't done yet either. Disney and Lucasfilm decided to take a break following the release of The Rise of Skywalker last year. But it has been revealed that Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins is directing Rogue Squadron, which will arrive in December 2023. As had previously been reported, Taika Waititi, who directed Thor: Ragnarok, is co-writing and directing a new movie within the franchise as well. Though the nature of his projects remains shrouded in mystery. We'll be sure to keep you posted as further details on these projects are made available. This news comes to us via StarWars.com.