Disney has finally released some news about Rogue Squadron, the forgotten Star Wars solo film by Patty Jenkins that was initially set for release in theaters in 2023. Unfortunately for fans, Disney has removed the film from their release schedule as they keep shifting the future of the Star Wars franchise towards TV.
Rogue Squadron was first announced in 2020 when Disney was still trying to define the future of the Star Wars universe after the divisive release of The Rise of Skywalker. Back then, all that we knew about the project was that it was supposed to be helmed by the Wonder Woman filmmaker. Since then, we’ve learned that the film was supposed to follow a new generation of Rebels fighters as they become the fiercest pilots in the Galaxy. Still, the short synopsis released by Disney didn’t define where in the convoluted Star Wars timeline Rogue Squadron would be placed.
However, with a suggestive name such as Rogue Squadron, Jenkins’ Star Wars movie could only tell a story between the events of A New Hope and The Force Awakens. That’s because the Rogue Squadron is an elite Rebel attack unit created by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to destroy the first Death Star. And by the time Rey (Daisy Ridley) began her Star Wars adventures, the Rebels had already rebranded to the Resistance, as the First Order took the place of the Empire as the biggest threat to the galaxy.
It’s been more than a year since we got any official news about Rogue Squadron. In July 2021, Jenkins spoke about her experience working on the Star Wars film. As the director explained at the time:
“I had been on it already for six months before I even announced that, so we’re pretty deep into it. We’re finishing a script, crewing up, and it’s all going wonderful. I’m so excited about the story and excited that we’re in the next chapter of ‘Star Wars, which is such a responsibility and such an opportunity to really start some new things. It’s really exciting in that way.”
While the project seemed to be moving in Hyperdrive speed, Disney remained silent about the movie as Jenkins became busier with Wonder Woman 3 and the Cleopatra film for Paramount. Now, we know that the reason behind the silence is that the status of Rogue Squadron is currently up in the air, no pun intended.
