So Disney Investor Day hit on Thursday and just knocked every pop culture fan right on their ass. They wowed folks with several Marvel Studios announcements, which we covered here on the site, but also blew us away with some BIG Star Wars news. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy revealed ten, count them TEN new series coming to Disney+, and that doesn’t include THE MANDALORIAN, which of course is already kicking butt. They also confirmed the 5th and final INDIANA JONES movie starring Harrison Ford is indeed on the way, and will be released in 2022, and there’s a WILLOW series on the way too featuring Warwick Davis… what a time to be a fanboy, right? Take a look below and what you can expect from the Lucasfilm universe…
THE MANDALORIAN will of course continue, and we’ll be seeing TWO spinoff series in the form of AHSOKA (starring Rosario Dawson) and RANGERS OF THE REPUBLIC (which is somehow tied in with the Cara Dune character played by Gina Carano). Here’s a Season 2 recap of the show, which you might want to avoid if you’re not caught up:
LANDO – yes, a series about that smooth talkin’ Lando Calrissian, who we assume will be played by Donald Glover, but how cool would it be if Billy Dee Williams was involved as well? Maybe they can find a way to use both actors to make things really interesting. This comes from DEAR WHITE PEOPLE creator Justin Simien.
THE ACOLYTE comes from RUSSIAN DOLL co-creator Leslye Headland, said to be “a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era” – this may be the most intriguing of the new announcements, as it sounds like a spy movie more than science fiction. And “the High Republic era”? Yes, please. More of that and less of the stuff we’ve seen 100 times before!
ANDOR follows the ROGUE ONE character of Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna. Andor was one of the fan-favorite characters of that film, and there’s certainly plenty of history to cover with him. Here’s a sizzle reel first look preview of the series.
We’ll be getting two new animated shows titled STAR WARS: VISIONS and A DROID STORY. I’m wondering if Anthony Daniels will be voicing C-3PO in the latter, not much more info at the moment. VISIONS is said to be an Original Series of animated short films that celebrates the Star Wars galaxy through the lens of the world’s best Japanese anime creators. Coming in 2021.
Let’s not forget the awesome news that Ewan McGregor will once again be playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in a series (we assume to be titled OBI-WAN), but there’s new info to get fans excited. He’ll be joined by none other than prequel co-star Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. Seriously, that’s pretty cool.
WONDER WOMAN director Patty Jenkins is going to helm STAR WARS: ROGUE SQUADRON, and produced a teaser video that is all kinds of great. I’m honestly most excited about this, as I think Jenkins is terrific, and I just love the idea of a series that centers around Rebel fighter pilots. Check out her teaser here:
For those of you who were fans of THE CLONE WARS, check out the trailer for the spinoff series titled STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH, which follows a group of clones navigating terrain after the events of The Clone Wars. This comes from the great Dave Filoni (THE MANDALORIAN) will a strong executive producing team comprised of Athena Portillo, Brad Rau, Jennifer Corbett, and Carrie Beck.
The series follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch (first introduced in “The Clone Wars”) as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War. Members of Bad Batch – a unique squad of clones who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army — each possess a singular exceptional skill which makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew. In the post-Clone War era, they will take on daring mercenary missions as they struggle to stay afloat and find new purpose.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
