For quite some time, Star Wars fans have been waiting for Dave Filoni to assume his rightful place and rule the Star Wars galaxy.
What was unknown to most, was that it happened last year.
Yes, the George Lucas protégé and mind behind Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and The Mandalorian was promoted to executive creative director for the studio back in 2020. And the internet just found out.
But along with discovering Filoni's status within the company, the status of Lucasfilm's upcoming slate of new projects was also confirmed.
And for some fans, there's a surprise to be found there too.
STAR WARS: RANGERS OF THE NEW REPUBLIC ON PAUSE
In an article from Variety about Dave Filoni's promotion, updates on projects announced last December were provided, and it appears that one of the previously announced Disney+ series is now "not currently in active development."
"In December, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced that Filoni and [Jon] Favreau are executive producing several 'Mandalorian' spinoffs for Disney Plus, including 'The Book of Boba Fett,' which is currently shooting and premiering in December, and 'Ahsoka,' starring Rosario Dawson, and based on the character Filoni created in 'The Clone Wars.' (A third announced spinoff, 'Rangers of the New Republic,' is not currently in active development.)"
When Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic was first announced during the Disney Investor Day Event, Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy claimed that Filoni and Jon Favreau were jointly developing the spin-off. Kennedy also stated that the series would be set within the timeline of The Mandalorian and would tie into the upcoming Ahsoka series to culminate into a storytelling event.
Reportedly, Rangers of the New Republic was the show that would focus on New Republic Marshals like Gina Carano's Cara Dune who assumed the role of marshal during "Chapter 14" of The Mandalorian's sophomore season.
RANGERS OF THE NEW REPUBLIC IS OLD NEWS?
This news isn't exactly a huge shock?
After Cara Dune's Gina Carano was fired by Lucasfilm, a report in March claimed that it would be some time before production on Rangers of the New Republic got underway.
And it was also said that the studio was considering replacing Dune with Hera Syndulla, the Twi'lek pilot from Star Wars Rebels.
In addition, Lucasfilm has their hands full with The Bad Batch currently airing on Disney+, along with The Book of Boba Fett, the aforementioned Ahsoka series, Season 3 of The Mandalorian, Andor, and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Just to name a few.
It's a new era for Lucasfilm, and a great time to be a Star Wars fan. And to date, Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau have yet to let fans down with their storytelling.
So if a project isn't working or could distract from this culminating, crossover event, it's probably best to keep it on the back burner until it serves a purpose.