Disney and Lucasfilm confirmed the release dates for the next three Star Wars movies.
Who remembers when the next Star Wars movie after The Rise of Skywalker was meant to be the first in a new trilogy from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and was set to release in 2022?
Well, Disney and Lucasfilm have been on a rollercoaster since then in a struggle to get Star Wars back into theaters, having parted ways with countless creatives and canceled several projects with still no new movie in sight.
Star Wars Sets Dates for 3 New Movies: But What Are They?
In June 2023 in the early days of the Hollywood writers' strike, before the SAG-AFTRA strike, and long before it became clear just how drastically the two labor disputes would impact Hollywood, Lucasfilm announced dates for three new Star Wars movies.
This came after the studio revealed three new movies at Star Wars Celebration 2023 from directors Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Dave Filoni, and James Mangold, leaving fans to assume each would grab one of these dates.
But Lucasfilm threw a curveball into the mix in January 2024 in announcing The Mandalorian & Grogu as a big-screen offshoot of the Disney+ hit series, set to begin filming in 2024 and head up a new era of Star Wars movies.
With the two Hollywood strikes now concluded, Disney updated its upcoming theatrical schedule - via Fandango's Erik Davis - and held on to the same three dates for Star Wars movies, indicating they remain on track despite the strikes.
But with four movies announced and only three release dates currently on the table for the coming years after the once-planned December 2025 date was scrapped from the schedule last year, which will release when?
As of now, Lucasfilm has not yet confirmed which of the four announced movies will grab each date. However, based on past comments, reports, and production updates, The Direct has some predictions:
May 22, 2026 - The Mandalorian & Grogu
Lucasfilm dropped a bombshell in January 2024 after announcing The Mandalorian & Grogu as a feature film tied to the Mandalorian Disney+ series from director Jon Favreau that will be the next Star Wars movie to release.
Upon announcing The Mandalorian & Grogu, Lucasfilm confirmed plans to go into production in 2024 under Favreau and producers Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni, with no official release date listed originally.
As Disney reaffirmed during its latest earnings call, The Mandalorian & Grogu will headline the next theatrical slate after starting filming in 2024, making it a safe bet to grab the May 22, 2026 date.
December 18, 2026 - Rey's New Jedi Order
Before the news of The Mandalorian & Grogu, the untitled movie from Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was expected to be the next Star Wars movie.
The blockbuster will take place after the Skywalker Saga as Daisy Ridley's Rey returns and attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order.
Peaky Blinders' Steven Knight was brought onto the project in March 2023 after original writers Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson departed - or were "asked to leave" - the untitled Star Wars movie.
It is unclear where development on the "New Jedi Order" project sits now, but past rumors noted a possible April 2024 production start date, although the Hollywood strikes could have pushed this back even if it was accurate.
Regardless, the Daisy Ridley-led epic looks to be the furthest along of the three movies announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023 and, as such, appears most likely to grab the December 18, 2026 date if all goes to plan.
December 17, 2027 - MandoVerse Crossover or Dawn of the Jedi
This is where things get complicated because Lucasfilm has already announced two more Star Wars movies, but only one more release date - December 17, 2027.
The first is a MandoVerse crossover directed by Dave Filoni that will "close out the interconnected stories" being told in the New Republic era on Disney+. The second comes from Logan director James Mangold and will explore "the birth of the Force" and the first Jedi over 25,000 years before the Skywalker Saga.
Speaking with Collider in April 2023, Mangold confirmed he was writing Swamp Thing for James Gunn's DCU and "Dawn of the Jedi" for Star Wars, but he was uncertain "what's gonna blossom first:"
“The truth is, I’m writing both right now, and who knows what’s going to happen and what’s gonna blossom first or second?”
On the front of the MandoVerse crossover, Filoni is currently working on Disney+'s Ahsoka Season 2 and will be assisting with more projects, including The Mandalorian & Grogu. As of now, the MandoVerse is showing no signs of slowing down, and there is seemingly plenty still to tell before its grande big-screen finale.
As such, comparing the current status of the two projects, Mangold's "Dawn of the Jedi" appears more likely to hit December 2027. But this could very much go either way depending on many factors, and one of these dates or movies could even find itself scrapped altogether based on Lucasfilm's history.
Star Wars' next movies are set to hit theaters on May 22 and December 18, 2026, along with December 17, 2027.
