Here's What To Expect From Disney And Lucasfilm's STAR WARS Plans In 2019
2019 is going to be a huge year for superhero movies and comic book adaptations but what about the Star Wars franchise? If 2017 and 2018 disappointed you, then you'll be glad to know things are looking up!
Much to the dismay of a lot of snobbish film critics out there, superhero movies and comic book adaptations are going from strength to strength and clearly aren't going anywhere. 2019 looks set to be a banner year for both Marvel Studios and Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe, while everything is about to change at Fox and Sony Pictures forges ahead with its Spider-Verse. Then, there's Star Wars.
After a rocky 2018 thanks to Solo: A Star Wars Story, Lucasfilm is looking to rebound in a big way with a theme park, a new movie, a number of TV shows, video games, comic books, and novels.
Here, we delve not only into the projects we know about but also those which have been rumoured, not to mention some speculation about what could be on the way once Episode IX wraps up the Skywalker Saga and those live-action stories coming to the Disney+ streaming service.
So, to take a look, all you guys have to do is click on the "View List" button to check it out in full.
Vader Immortal
Do you have a spare $400 lying around? If so, you may want to pick up the Oculus Quest when it goes on sale this spring because virtual reality title Vader Immortal is being released for it.
Written and executive produced by The Dark Knight's David S. Goyer, players will be taken to Darth Vader's castle on Mustafar for a showdown with the Sith Lord on his home turf. Two more instalments are said to be in the works and this could be the closest we get to a Vader spinoff movie of any sort.
VR isn't quite as popular as it once was but developers are still trying to make it happen so it may be worth keeping an eye on this.
The Mandalorian
One of the biggest draws on Disney+ when it launches later this year, The Mandalorian is being overseen by Jon Favreau and a number of A-List directors are attached to take the helm of episodes (including Taika Waititi and Dave Filoni).
Narcos star Pedro Pascal is taking on the role of the masked gunslinger you see above and the series will be set after the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi and before the events of The Force Awakens. The impressive supporting cast includes names like Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito, and Nick Nolte.
This should be good and it will be well worth signing up to Disney+ just to check it out.
The Clone Wars Season 7
When Disney purchased Lucasfilm, The Clone Wars came to an abrupt end. One of the biggest stories in 2017 came when we learned that Disney+ has commissioned twelve new episodes to finally continue the story of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Whether this will be the end of the series or the start of a number of new seasons remains to be seen but fans are understandably excited and this was a smart move by Disney to bring fans of the show to its new streaming service when it finally launches in 2019.
Star Wars Episode IX
Well, duh! Star Wars Episode IX is coming this December and J.J. Abrams will be at the helm.
After Rian Johnson's divisive middle chapter, the filmmaker will need to do an awful lot if he hopes to win back fans and deliver a satisfying conclusion to a trilogy which has arguably been dividing fans from the very start. We know that Carrie Fisher will appear thanks to footage shot for The Force Awakens, while Billy Dee Williams will finally reprise the role of Lando Calrissian.
Disney probably won't start promoting this one until the second half of 2019 but we'll almost certainly get to see a trailer either at Star Wars Celebration or when Avengers: Endgame is released.
Star Wars: Resistance
Disney's Star Wars: Resistance hasn't been as well-received by fans as Star Wars Rebels and it's hard to say just how long the series will be around for as a result (it could be one and done).
If you've been watching from the start, though, the final batch of episodes in season one returns to the Disney Channel on January 13th and the first of the final three episodes are going to include the return of Elijah Wood as JaceRucklin.
Star Wars Celebration
This year's Star Wars Celebration takes place in Chicago from April 11th - April 15th and we're bound to get some updates on any number of upcoming Star Wars projects. The most likely reveal, however, is bound to be the title and trailer for Star Wars Episode IX as this is the perfect place for that to premiere, especially as it can then play in front of Avengers: Endgame later that same month.
Galaxy's Edge
Galaxy's Edge, a.k.a. Star Wars Land, will be opening in Disneyland California this summer before reaching Disney World Orlando in the fall. A whole chunk of both theme parks will be devoted to the franchise and it promises to be the most interactive experience you'll ever have somewhere like this.
There will be a number of rides (including one in the Millennium Falcon) and the demand for tickets is expected to be huge. I already have mine ready for my honeymoon in December but will you be getting there the second these new parks open later this year?
New Star Wars Comic Books
Marvel Comics has a number of Star Wars titles on the way in 2019, including an Age of the Republic special featuring stories based on characters like Mace Windu and Captain Rex.
That's not all, though, as the prequels will be revisited courtesy of a new batch of series featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jango Fett, Anakin Skywalker, Count Dooku, Padme Amidala, and General Grievous. These will be followed in the second half of 2019 by comics focusing on characters from the original trilogy.
We'll also have Vader: Dark Visions #1 from Dennis Hopeless and Paolo Villanelli, a series which will reportedly tell new stories of the Sith Lord as he travels to some of the worst places in the Galaxy.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
In exciting news for gamers, EA is developing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a title which will focus on a Padawan who managed to survive Anakin Skywalker's massacre seen in Revenge of the Sith.
We've seen nothing beyond that and while a release date hasn't been confirmed, it's said that it will be here in time for the holidays, so expect it to be one of the season's most sought-after games.
Master & Apprentice
A number of Star Wars novels have been announced for the first half of 2019 but perhaps the most exciting and intriguing is Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray.
According to the synopsis, "An unexpected offer threatens the bond between Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi as the two Jedi navigate a dangerous new planet and an uncertain future." For fans of the prequels, it's going to be a lot of fun exploring the history between these two before Episode I.
Other books on the way include Thrawn: Treason and The Queen's Shadow.
About Those Future Trilogies...
In recent months, Rian Johnson has been hard at work on Knives Out with Daniel Craig while David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have obviously been finishing off the final season of Game of Thrones.
As a result, none of them will have had much time to develop the new Star Wars trilogies they're attached to and that probably means we can forget about seeing a new Star Wars movie in 2020 (the first time since 2015). Work on one or both of these is bound to begin before 2019 is over, though, so we'll hopefully get some updates whether it's casting or the official start of pre-production.
Disney+'s Rogue One Prequel
This won't be released in 2019 but production should definitely begin on it before the year is over.
Diego Luna will be reprising his Rogue One: A Star Wars Story role in a series which will obviously be set before the events of that spinoff and while plot details are scarce, this would be the perfect place to bring back Darth Maul following his surprise appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Even if the focus remains solely on Cassian Andor, this should be a lot of fun and the casting process will be particularly interesting as we'll finally find out whether any familiar faces will be returning.
A Long Overdue Update On Obi-Wan Kenobi?
With Solo proving to be a box office disappointment (especially after Lucasfilm spent so much money essentially reshooting half the film), Disney is reportedly holding off on any future spinoff movies. That means Boba Fett isn't happening for the time being but there's no way the studio is unaware of how much fans want to see a standalone adventure with Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Will 2019 finally be the year we get a long overdue update on the status of this project? Regardless of whether it's completely dead or there's still a chance it will happen, it would be great to find out if those years Obi-Wan spent on Tatooine will ever be explored.