Star Wars: Disney To Announce Plans For Significant Franchise Expansion

By David Thompson Updated:
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The Disney Investor Day this Thursday is a highly anticipated event for fans of Disney, and specifically those with an affinity toward Marvel and Star Wars. Movie pundits and investors are expecting major news from the Walt Disney Company on the future of the company. With the recent juggernaut announcement from Warner Media about bringing all their 2021 films to HBO Max, all eyes are on another streaming service heading into Thursday: Disney+.

Star Wars has been the marquee piece of content for Disney+ in its first year. The final season of Clone Wars and especially the first two seasons of The Mandalorian have been two of the most popular original pieces of content to debut on the relatively new streaming service. Star Wars has officially found a home on the small screen, but their future on the big screen is cloudy up to this point. That could all change on Thursday. 

NEWS

A recent New York Times article reports that "a significant expansion of the “Star Wars” universe" will be announced during Thursday's Disney Investor Day meeting. The "four-hour investor presentation" will be "focused on streaming," according to NYT sources.

WHAT THIS MEANS

We know that big Star Wars announcements are coming, but how many? Here's what fans should expect:

Official The Mandalorian season 3 announcement

Obi-Wan Kenobi series update and/or release date

Cassian Andor series update and/or release date

Star Wars: The Bad Batch update and/or release date

 

However, this list would leave many Star Wars fans let down by the lack of new projects that have been previously rumored or reported on. Here is what fans could look out for and hope to hear about:

Taika Waititi's upcoming movie's title, description, and release date

The Mandalorian prequel series announcement

Ahsoka Tano spin-off Disney+ series or movie announcement

Rumored Boba Fett spin-off series announcement

Rumored The High Republic Disney+ show announcement

The Rian Johnson trilogy that is still reportedly in the works

More Star Wars film announcements

 

Some of these are more likely than others, but with the extreme four-hour runtime for the Investor's meeting, it is hard to not dream big.

It is clear that Disney+ is a major part of Disney's television and movie future, but knowing that Marvel's Black Widow is still set to only release in theaters, we should expect more Star Wars projects for theatrical release as well.

After an official announcement in 2017 about an upcoming Rian Johnson trilogy of movies, there has been seemingly no progress. Currently, the only two Star Wars movie we know for fact to be in the works are Taika Waiti's film and Kevin Feige's project. It is hard to imagine with eight confirmed MCU films on the way, Disney surely has more Star Wars films to announce. Due to no San Diego Comic-Con or D23 event in 2020, it looks like the Mickey Mouse company is putting all their eggs in the Investor Day basket. 

- About The Author: David Thompson
As an editor, writer, and podcast host, David is a key member of The Direct. He is an expert at covering topics like Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and business-related news following the box office and streaming.