New Disney+ 'Star Wars' Show Gets Later Than Expected Release Window

As major Hollywood studios begin the slow recovery to normalcy after the now-resolved WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought productions to a complete standstill for nearly four months, the latest Disney+ Star Wars show is undoubtedly feeling its effects. According to a new report, it sounds like we might only get one live-action TV series in 2024 — a drastic departure from the Disney era of George Lucas’ galaxy far, far away.

Related: New Star of ‘The Mandalorian’ Shoots Down ‘Star Wars’ Fan Hopes for Season 4

It’s safe to say that Star Wars fans have been spoiled in recent years in terms of new content, with Disney+ entries, including live-action spinoffs like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Ahsoka, and animated shows such as Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and the Tales of the Jedi anthology series steadily gracing our screens since late 2019.

For better or worse, Disney has indeed doubled down on expanding the Star Wars universe, though many projects — most notably, The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi — remain somewhat of a mixed bag with fans. And with many more movies and TV shows currently in the pipeline, Lucasfilm is booked and busier than ever.

Related: ‘Star Wars’ Actor Reportedly Playing Droid Character in New Series

However, due to the Hollywood strikes, many Star Wars projects have been forced to hit pause on production. The sophomore season of Tony Gilroy’s Andor has yet to resume filming in the U.K., while Season 4 of The Mandalorian has yet to make any substantial progress at all in terms of principal photography. With the future of the galaxy far, far away seeming increasingly like a big question mark, it’s hard to say when exactly we can expect to see the next film or TV project arrive on screens.

For now, our best bet is either Leslye Headland’s The Acolyte, Tales of the Jedi Season 2, or the third and final season of The Bad Batch. But one contender could still possibly arrive towards the end of 2024, according to a recent report: the Jude Law-fronted Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

Skeleton Crew, which co-showrunner Christopher Ford has described as a coming-of-age “adventure” story in the vein of the 1980s Amblin movies, was originally scheduled for release in 2023 but was unfortunately delayed into next year. However, according to reputable insider The Bespin Bulletin, multiple sources had claimed the show could be delayed by an entire year, pointing towards a November 2024 release window. Now, another reliable outlet is reporting that Skeleton Crew might be arriving even later than expected, aiming to release in the latter stages of next year.

MakingStarWars, who has a pretty solid track record when it comes to Star Wars leaks, recently took to his live YouTube show to share that he had heard from sources close to the series created by Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) duo Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, that it would look to release closer to the 2024 holiday season:

Yeah, it’s not what I want, and what Bespin Bulletin has heard and what I have now heard from two separate sourcesis it would be out like after Halloween. Today, I spoke to somebody that said that they, this is a Lucasfilm person, expect it to be Holiday 2024. Christmas season. When I hear holiday season, I expect between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

If these rumors are true, this means that The Acolyte would now be on track to premiere before Skeleton Crew, and it also suggests that Andor Season 2 likely won’t fit into 2024 and could slip into 2025. However, there’s still the off chance that Skeleton Crew could premiere in early 2025 if Lucasfilm decides to spread out their 2024 projects, as the show certainly isn’t the only one being hit with delays. With Skeleton Crew thought to have been farther along than The Acolyte, it seems like a substantial reshuffling of the studio’s release slate is imminent.

Luckily, The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew take place during wildly different points on the official Star Wars canon timeline, meaning show creators won’t have to worry about any interconnected narratives or continuity errors. And with plenty of animated TV shows hopefully arriving throughout 2024, hopefully, this will be enough to satisfy Star Wars fans before The Mandalorian Season 4, a rumored Ahsoka Season 2, and possibly even Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey (Daisy Ridley) solo movie arrive in 2025.

Ultimately, it’s unfortunate that we might not see Skeleton Crew for an entire year or possibly even later, especially as it’s one of the more anticipated series since a teaser trailer was screened at the most recent Star Wars Celebration Europe. Still, 2024 looks to be a great year for Star Wars content. Hopefully, it will allow show creators to take a bit of a breath before a slew of exciting high-profile projects, including Dave Filoni’s “Mando-Verse” crossover event, premiere in the coming years.

What upcoming Star Wars project are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below!