Should Star Wars fans expect Ahsoka Season 2 before The Mandalorian Season 4?
In 2023, Lucasfilm ramped up its expanding MandoVerse - the era and Disney+ narrative first begun by The Mandalorian - with The Mandalorian's fourth season, news of a MandoVerse movie, and now Ahsoka.
Now that Ahsoka has come and gone, the question is what the MandoVerse project timeline looks like and which Star Wars story comes next.
What Releases First: Mandalorian Season 4 or Ahsoka Season 2?
Following the cliffhanger conclusion of Ahsoka Episode 8 and Lucasfilm's possible signaling of an Ahsoka Season 2, the question now is what does Lucasfilm's MandoVerse timeline look like?
At the moment, Disney+'s next Star Wars series set within this particular timeline is Skeleton Crew.
The Jude Law-led series wrapped filming earlier this year and was slated for a late 2023 premiere. However, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, coupled with a lack of promotion, suggest Disney and Lucasfilm may push the show to early 2024.
While Vane, one of the pirates from The Mandalorian Season 3, is confirmed to appear in this new series, just how this new narrative connects to Mando, Ahsoka Tano, and Boba Fett is unknown.
Following Skeleton Crew, the next MandoVerse series to drop on Disney+ is likely to be The Mandalorian's fourth season.
Prior to Mando's Season 3 debut, and the subsequent strikes, Jon Favreau confirmed that "[he's] written [Season 4] already" and reports suggested a September or October 2023 start date for filming.
That timeline has understandably changed now. But even so, the odds are in favor of The Mandalorian Season 4 getting underway prior to Ahsoka's second season which, it's worth noting, Lucasfilm has yet to officially announce.
But even so, the events of Episode 8 not only allowed for further storytelling but demanded it.
While it's true that Dave Filoni could forgo an Ahsoka Season 2 to resolve the series' new issues and loose threads in his MandoVerse movie, Rosario Dawson teased the possibility of a second season even before the show's premiere saying that if fans love the show, "we get to do more:"
"I really, really hope the fans love it. That means A) we get to do more and B) we’ve honored the legacy of this character and this journey, and I know that’s what we intended to do."
Regardless of whether Ahsoka's obstacles are revisited in a second season or on the big screen, it's unlikely they will be resolved before Mando and Grogu's return.
The MandoVerse Timeline and Dave Filoni's Movie
According to Star Wars, the Dave Filoni-helmed MandoVerse movie focuses "on the New Republic" and looks to "close out the interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka" and other Disney+ shows.
Apart from Filoni hinting at Thrawn being the film's big bad, little else - including a release date - has been revealed.
However, if the film is the MandoVerse's "endgame," it's expected to follow The Mandalorian's future seasons, as well as whatever additional seasons await Ahsoka and possibly Skeleton Crew.
Speaking of which, Skeleton Crew being a new story with new characters may actually provide fans with an idea of how many Disney+ seasons stand between the present and Filoni's film.
If so, the Star Wars faithful should have a clearer grasp on the franchise's future in the months to come.
All episodes of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka are now streaming on Disney+.
