Grace Carbone
Patty Jenkins is heading to a galaxy far, far away for her next feature film. It was announced at Thursday’s Disney Investor conference that, amid an array of new Star Wars series headed to the streaming platform, Patty Jenkins would take the reins for the next foray into the Star Wars universe.
The film is to be titled Rogue Squadron and will follow pilots across the Star Wars universe. The film is slated for a Christmas 2023 release. The concept of making a film about pilots is personal for Jenkins, as her late father was a fighter pilot, and she has wished for a long time to make a film about fighter pilots to honor him.
Jenkins’ latest feature, Wonder Woman 1984, was pushed back several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was the first film announced for what became the new Warner Brothers release method of day-and-date streaming on HBO Max. She also directed the 2003 Academy Award nominated Monster, and the commercial and critical success Wonder Woman, with which she became the first woman to direct a superhero film and the first woman to make a film with a budget over $100 million.
By directing this feature, Jenkins has yet another cinematic milestone under her belt, as it will make her the first woman to helm a Star Wars feature. The closest the franchise had gotten to it before was Victoria Mahoney serving as second unit director on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. They also had Deborah Chow helm an episode of their acclaimed Disney+ series The Mandalorian, and she will be helming their newly announced Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
On the streaming front, Disney also announced 10 Star Wars shows for their streaming platform. In addition to the aforementioned Obi-Wan Kenobi, there is a Lando, based on the Lando Calrissian character and developed by Dear White People’s Justin Simien, a Rogue One prequel starring Diego Luna titled Andor, and The Acolyte, a series from Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland. There are also two series in development from The Mandalorian executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka (based on the beloved character played in The Mandalorian by Rosario Dawson), both of which take place during the same timeline as the hit Disney+ series.
Read more about the Star Wars news extravaganza, including Rogue Squadron, at The Hollywood Reporter here.
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