It’s been an interesting time for Star Wars fans ever since Disney purchased the rights to the massive space opera franchise. One of the first things Disney announced after the purchase was made is that they’d be producing a sequel trilogy of Star Wars films. And now with the recent release of The Rise of Skywalker, that trilogy has been completed. But, as you could have probably guessed, that doesn’t spell the end for the Star Wars franchise. It’s being reported that Disney is working on a new series of Star Wars films which will take place during the “High Republic” era.
The rumor comes from MakingStarWars, and as they’ve stated, it seems that Disney intends to show audiences what the Star Wars universe looked like around 400 years before the events of The Phantom Menace. That’s a pretty large time gap, with plenty of history to fill. So it would make sense for Disney to go back and show fans something that hasn’t yet been introduced on the big screen.
As it’s also being reported, it appears that this entry won’t only stop with three films. It looks like Disney could be trying to launch an entirely new saga here, one which MakingStarWars suggests will be an entire series of interconnecting films. If true, the series would take place not long after Darth Bane establishes the Sith Rule of Two and the Jedi’s reign across the galaxy. And given how far back the story would take place, it’s unlikely we’d be seeing very many if any returning characters from the Skywalker Saga (besides maybe a younger Yoda.)
As of right now, the proposed release date for whatever Disney’s next Star Wars film is will be 2022. As we approach that date, we can assume Disney will likely be making some major announcements regarding the project. And by then we should know whether or not these High Republic rumors are true and how exactly the films for the Star Wars franchise will be handled going forward.
Until then, Disney Plus has a variety of Star Wars television shows in the works, both animated and live action, with the recently released series The Mandalorian receiving nearly universal acclaim.