As the Star Wars franchise has been focusing more on developing content for Disney+, cancelling the 2023 release of Rogue Squadron was expected. In the recent D23 Expo 2022, the Star Wars panel were announcements for shows like Ahsoka, Andor, The Bad Batch, Skeleton Crew, Tales of the Jedi, and the third season of The Mandalorian.
According to a report, the projected release date for Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was pulled by Disney from their feature film calendar.
— Variety (@Variety) September 15, 2022 Although fans of the Star Wars franchise will find this disappointing, this recent development should not come as a surprise. Rogue Squadron has been mired by delays since it was announced. Patty Jenkins broke the news during the Disney Investor Day that she was developing a Star Wars: Rogue Squadron movie back in December 2020. The Wonder Woman director even presented a teaser for it at the time. Jenkins was excited to tell the story of the elite team of X-Wing fighter pilots in the Star Wars universe. As the director’s father was a U.S. fighter pilot, she was interested in sharing her similar experiences. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron has a long history within the sci-fi franchise. It had comic books, novels, and video games that explored adventures that occurred during and after the original Star Wars trilogy. The group has even included among its ranks Wedge Antilles and Luke Skywalker himself. However, many of the stories that depicted the Rogue Squadron is no longer in the current Star Wars continuity. These have been relegated to the non-canonical “Legends” timeline after the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. In relation to this, Patty Jenkins stated that her Rogue Squadron project would not be based on any prior stories.
— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) December 10, 2020 Rogue Squadron would have been the first full feature film based on the Star Wars franchise after the 2019 The Rise of Skywalker. Aside from Rogue Squadron, there was also a new trilogy to be directed by Rian Johnson and another unspecified film that was going to be helmed by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. But this is not the first time the project has encountered setbacks. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron already experienced an indefinite production delay back in November 2021. The reason for this was apparently due to scheduling conflicts. Given that the window for beginning production in order to make the December 22, 2023 projected release date is too small at this point, canning it is more of a formality from Disney. Although Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is no longer on Disney’s current release slate, there are also other movies that have had updated release schedules:
The Snow White live-action remake starring Rachel Zegler has moved to March 22, 2024. The sequel to Pixar’s Inside Out will now be released on June 14, 2024. Mufasa, the prequel to The Lion King, will now have a July 5, 2024 release date.
Note that this does not mean Rogue Squadron itself is cancelled, but it does mean that Star Wars fans will have to wait a bit longer for it. This may also open up the possibility of it being developed as a Disney Plus exclusive. As of the time of this writing, no new projected release date has been announced for Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.
