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All the updates for Disney’s live-action Star Wars shows

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For Lucasfilm and fans alike, the idea of a live-action Star Wars TV series has been a longtime dream project. As far back as 2005, George Lucas mentioned his desire to produce such a show. His original plan was for a series called Star Wars: Underworld, set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. That project was ultimately shelved, but Disney’s ambitious plans to expand the Star Wars universe — especially now that it needs fresh content for its own streaming service, Disney+ — means live-action TV is back on the table.

Lucasfilm has already proved the appetite for Star Wars television, through animated shows like The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and Star Wars Resistance. The plan is to join those series with two live-action counterparts. The Mandalorian, written by Jon Favreau, is set in the post-Return of the Jedi era. And an untitled prequel to the standalone film Rogue One will follow that film’s character Cassian Andor, with Diego Luna set to reprise his role.

Follow along for all the updates, trailers, and commentary for Lucasfilm and Disney’s live-action Star Wars shows.

  • Wes Davis

    Nov 21

    Wes Davis

    Dave Filoni gets the keys to the Star Wars franchise

    Dave Filoni in front of a Star Wars Celebration backdrop. He’s wearing a cowboy hat, yeehaw.
    Dave Filoni in April at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London.
    Photo by Jeff Spicer / Getty Images for Disney

    Dave Filoni just got rewarded for the success of Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, and other Star Wars shows with a promotion to chief creative officer of Lucasfilm. According to details in a new Vanity Fair interview, he’ll work alongside head developer Carrie Beck, reporting directly to Kathleen Kennedy, and together, the duo will determine the direction of Star Wars overall — not just the streaming shows.

    Filoni told Vanity Fair he’ll now be involved “at the inception” of everything that happens in the franchise. He’ll keep his executive vice president title and his director role on the New Republic film that connects to the stories of Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett. For many fans, that’ll be a thrilling prospect — I know I’m not the only one who hopes to see Grand Admiral Thrawn on the big screen.

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  • Here's the full trailer for season three of The Mandalorian.

    Pedro Pascal already had one major premiere over the weekend as The Last of Us started airing on HBO / HBO Max.

    Now Disney Plus has released a full trailer (following an earlier teaser full of some familiar faces) for the next season of The Mandalorian. Season three will debut March 1st.


  • Apr 12, 2019

    Andrew Liptak

    Disney’s second live-action Star Wars show is set to premiere in 2021 on Disney+

    Disney provided some more details about its second live-action Star Wars series, a Rogue One prequel spinoff, during its Disney+ announcement yesterday. Alan Tudyk will be joining the cast of the series to reprise his role of the droid K-2SO. The company also revealed a planned 2021 release for the series, which goes into production later this year.

    The new series is being billed as “a rousing spy thriller will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of a ruthless Empire.” Stephen Schiff (who previously worked on acclaimed spy thriller The Americans) will serve as showrunner and executive producer.

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  • Nov 8, 2018

    Andrew Liptak

    Disney announces a second live-action Star Wars show

    Image: Disney

    Disney announced today that it is developing a second live-action Star Wars show for its upcoming, newly named streaming video platform, Disney+, with actor Diego Luna reprising the role of Rebel Alliance spy Cassian Andor.

    Andor was a pivotal character in the 2016 standalone Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. He played one of the Rebel Alliance spies who helped transmit the plans for the Death Star to his compatriots before perishing on the planet Scarif, setting up the events of A New Hope. In the announcement, Luna noted that he’s looking forward to reprising the character, and that “this new exciting format will give us a chance to explore this character more deeply.” Disney also confirmed that it’s developing a series based on Loki from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Tom Hiddleston set to reprise his role.

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  • Bryan Bishop

    Nov 7, 2018

    Bryan Bishop

    Industrial Light & Magic opens TV division just in time for Disney’s new Star Wars show

    Photo: Disney

    Industrial Light & Magic, the company that invented modern cinematic visual effects with its work on the original Star Wars trilogy, is embracing television with a new division it is naming ILM TV. According to a press release, the new group’s focus will be on episodic and streaming television series, and it already has two projects lined up: the second season of Syfy’s Krypton, and Jon Favreau’s upcoming live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

    “We are seeing a real convergence in our creative approach used on films and in our immersive entertainment division ILMxLAB,” ILM head Rob Bredow said in a press release, “and now we’re proud to be able to offer these ILM innovations in a way that’s suitable for streaming and television work to creatives around the world.”

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  • Oct 4, 2018

    Andrew Liptak

    Jon Favreau’s live-action Star Wars show will be called The Mandalorian

    the mandalorian
    Image: Lucasfilm

    Jon Favreau’s live-action Star Wars TV show for Disney’s streaming service finally has a name and a plot: The Mandalorian. In a post to his official Facebook and Instagram pages, Favreau posted a brief synopsis that offers a glimpse into what we might expect for the show, which will follow a Mandalorian gunslinger in the years following Return of the Jedi.

    There have been rumors in recent weeks that the show would be about the warrior culture exemplified by bounty hunters like Jango and Boba Fett. Favreau’s synopsis confirms that the show will follow one such renegade — but not, it seems Boba Fett.

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  • Aug 6, 2018

    Andrew Liptak

    Disney’s live-action Star Wars show might cost upwards of $100 million for 10 episodes

    Image: Lucasfilm / Disney

    Details on Disney’s forthcoming streaming platform are thin. We know it’ll have Star Wars and Marvel films and shows (although it appears that the original films won’t be exclusive to the service), it’s expected to launch in 2019, and it’ll be “substantially cheaper” than Netflix. A New York Times profile of the executive in charge of the platform sheds a bit more light, hinting that the company will put some incredible resources into its productions.

    Former film marketing chief Ricky Strauss will lead the service as its president of content and marketing. He has long overseen Disney’s larger marketing efforts, promoting movies like Black Panther and The Force Awakens.

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  • May 11, 2018

    Andrew Liptak

    Jon Favreau’s Star Wars series will be set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens

    Stars And Filmmakers Attend The World Premiere Of 'SOLO: A Star Wars Story' In Hollywood
    Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

    Solo: A Star Wars Story premiered last night, and on the red carpet, Iron Man director Jon Favreau revealed a bit of news about his upcoming live-action Star Wars show: it’ll be set in the period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

    Favreau spoke with Nerdist senior editor Dan Casey on the red carpet, telling him that the show will specifically be set three years after the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi, and that it’ll feature new characters utilizing the same sort of motion capture technology that he used in his live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book. He also indicated that half of the show has already been written.

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  • Mar 8, 2018

    Andrew Liptak

    Iron Man’s Jon Favreau will write the upcoming Star Wars live-action series

    The World Premiere Of Marvel Studios' 'Thor: Ragnarok'
    Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Disney

    Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau has been tapped to write and produce an upcoming live-action Star Wars show, which will debut on Disney’s still-unnamed streaming video platform, Lucasfilm announced today.

    In November, Disney announced two projects: a new trilogy of films written by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, and a live-action show for the company’s upcoming streaming service, which is expected to launch sometime next year. Disney also announced last month that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are developing their own series of films. In addition to a Star Wars show, Disney has also said that the streaming service will have other original content from its various holdings, including a live-action Marvel show.

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  • Nov 9, 2017

    Andrew Liptak

    Disney is planning a live-action Star Wars TV show for its streaming service

    Image: Lucasfilm / Disney

    During today’s quarterly financial call for the Walt Disney Company, CEO Bob Iger announced that The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson will be helming his own Star Wars trilogy. But that isn’t all: Disney also plans to create a live-action Star Wars television show for its upcoming online streaming service.

    There are no details on what this show might be about. But according to Variety, Iger also revealed that Disney is currently working on shows based on Monsters Inc., High School Musical, as well as a new series from Marvel. The streaming service is expected to launch in 2019.

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