According to reports, The Walt Disney Company has decided to scrap the upcoming fourth season of its smash Star Wars show, The Mandalorian. In a sprawling feature, The Hollywood Reporter claims that The Mandalorian Season 4 is a non-starter, while the second season of Ahsoka Season 2 will go into production next year.
With the New Republic era reportedly losing one of its main (and flagship projects), Disney–and Marvel–have quietly launched a brand-new trilogy featuring familiar faces like Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa.
Disney’s Star Wars has hardly been a success story. While animated shows like Star Wars Rebels became fan favorites and ushered in new characters and stories in the sprawling sci-fi saga, Disney’s live-action projects haven’t received such wide acclaim.
It all began with Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens (2015) from director J.J. Abrams, which, for the most part, regaled a tale not too dissimilar to George Lucas’s original 1977 Star Wars movie (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope): A young, unknowing hero is thrust into an adventure on a galactic scale only to discover they have power beyond anything they could have imagined.
Instead of Luke Skywalker, though, Disney’s sequel trilogy found its unlikely hero in the form of Daisy Ridley’s Rey. In what became the sequel trilogy, Rey is joined by fellow heroes Finn (John Boyega) and Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).
Of course, it wouldn’t truly be the Skywalker Saga without Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford, who reprised their roles of Luke, Leia, and Han Solo.
Disney’s Star Wars hit the hurdles rather dramatically with Rian Johnson’s follow-up to The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII–The Last Jedi (2017), and if the fissure wasn’t big enough, Abrams’ return to the franchise with Star Wars: Episode IX–The Rise of Skywalker (2019), gripped both sides and tore it open.
There was a bright spark in the chaos of Disney’s Star Wars sequel trilogy: The Mandalorian.
The flagship series for Disney’s then-fledgling Disney+ streaming service quickly became a success, with fans–new and old–lauding its gritty neo-Western tone and interesting dynamic between Pedro Pascal’s lone wolf Din Djarin (the titular Mandalorian) and his ward, the green alien initially known as “The Child” (or “Baby Yoda”) whose true name was later revealed as Grogu with the help of former Jedi Padawan, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson).
The Mandalorian, created by Jon Favreau and steered by Favreau and Dave Filoni, enjoyed a successful season run–although the latter chapters stirred more unrest than usual for the bounty hunter series.
It was during the third season that Pedro Pascal confirmed he was now just essentially the voice of Din Djarin, with body doubles Lateef Crowder and Brendan Wayne wearing the Beskar suit.
The third season also featured The Mandalorian‘s most divisive episode, which saw Jack Black and singer Lizzo appear in the franchise for the first time.
And while The Mandalorian Season 3 largely set up Katee Sakhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze as the new central Mandalorian in the story, it is now reported that Season 4–once teased by series producer and director Rick Famuyiwa as happening–has been scrapped.
The Hollywood Reporter claims that The Mandalorian Season 4 is being replaced with The Mandalorian and Grogu, the movie announced in January this year.
If true, the replacement of The Mandalorian Season 4 is not a complete surprise, considering the aforementioned movie—which is slated for early May 2026 and will “lead” Lucasfilm’s feature-film slate—and the previously announced New Republic movie.
At Star Wars Celebration 2023, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy revealed that the studio was developing three new live-action movies. James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will helm each project, with Filoni’s set during the New Republic era.
The Star Wars movie will seemingly center on the battle between the Republic and Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), who, as fans found out just months later in Ahsoka Season 1, has returned to the galaxy after being banished to Peridea with Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi).
While the majority of the noise is coming from these live-action projects, Star Wars has actually just launched a brand-new trilogy set during the New Republic era, starring the likes of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Mon Mothma, and more classic characters from the franchise.
Commencing in early October, Marvel Comics will depict “the legendary battle that bridges the Star Wars trilogies.” Beginning on October 2, 2024, the new trilogy commences with a four-issue run titled “Insurgency Rising” before continuing with “Republic Under Siege” in November.
“Three limited series will tell the story of the BATTLE OF JAKKU, the epic final battle of the Galactic Civil War and the saga that is one of the key events set between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy,” Marvel.com writes.
Marvel’s claims that this is the first time in canon history that fans will get to see this epic battle seem to make this comic series required reading.
“First introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as Rey scavenged amongst its wreckage, the Battle of Jakku was a pivotal turning point for the galaxy,” Marvel.com adds.
“On the sandy dunes of Jakku, the remnants of the Empire made their desperate last stand after their secret base was discovered by the Rebellion, who were determined to destroy them once and for all so that the New Republic can thrive!”
Written by Alex Segura, the “Battle of Jakku” trilogy will also target existing lore and retell it for a new audience.
“We’ll not only give readers a front-row seat to the final battle of the Galactic Civil War–we’ll reframe the aftermath of the Battle of Endor and introduce a new, menacing threat that will keep our heroes guessing,” Segura says of the sequel to Star Wars: Episode VI–Return of the Jedi (1983).
“The goal for all of us is to turn up the volume and make sure this adventure stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the other stories of the era. As the Empire collapses, a new darkness arises!”
“Republic Under Seige” will commence on November 20, following the climax of “Insurgency Rising” on November 6.
The news of The Mandalorian Season 4’s apparent abandonment at Lucasfilm comes after the Star Wars studio canceled its latest project, The Acolyte.
Leslye Headland’s High Republic era series was always going to be up against it. Ever since its announcement years ago as a female-centric Star Wars show, discourse commenced about Disney’s diversity and inclusion in its projects. The so-called “woke agenda” was cited, and thus began the decline and backlash of a show that had not even been released yet.
When it did finally hit Disney+ earlier this year, toxicity escalated with cast members like Amandla Stenberg (Osha and Mae Aniseya) and creator Leslye Headland, who is queer, bearing the brunt of malicious online attacks–something that Stenberg spoke out about on social media.
The Acolyte introduced characters like Darth Plagueis for the first time in live-action and ended on multiple cliffhangers (the appearance of Jedi Master Yoda and the joining of Osha and The Stranger, played by Manny Jacinto, to name a few). But it would all be in vain as Lucasfilm canceled The Acolyte, citing low viewership as the main factor in the Star Wars story’s fate.
Related: Confirmed: The ‘Star Wars’ Show That Riled Traditionalists Will Be Replaced in December
This leaves Star Wars with just Ahsoka Season 2 as its sole confirmed live-action Disney+ project following this December’s Skeleton Crew series, also set during the same time as The Mandalorian. When analysing the franchise in 2024, the Star Wars saga has never been so unstable
How do you feel about Star Wars retooling the end of Return of the Jedi and showing the Battle of Jakku in a comic book series? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!