Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, a new feature film inspired by the Rebel Alliance starfighter group that was first introduced to audiences in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, is back on the table following what was reportedly the movie’s cancellation, director Patty Jenkins has revealed. Jenkins, who shared the news in a new episode of the TCM/Max podcast this week, confirmed that she was able to return to the project and develop its script after Wonder Woman 3—a third installment of the superhero film franchise that was supposed to reteam her with star Gal Gadot—fell through due to the shakeup at DC.
Jenkins said:
- “…when I left Star Wars to do Wonder Woman 3, I thought maybe I’ll come back to Star Wars after Wonder Woman 3. So, we did a deal for that to happen, started a deal, but I thought I was doing Wonder Woman.”
- “When that went away, Lucasfilm and I were like, oh, we gotta finish this deal. We finished the deal right as the strike was happening. So I now owe a draft of Star Wars…”
- “They have other directors who have been working, but I am now, you know, I’m back on doing Rogue Squadron and we’ll see what happens. We need to develop, you know, get it to where we’re both super happy with it.”
Deadline noted:
We hear from sources that Rogue Squadron was never dead or re-ignited: it’s status quo as far as development is concerned. No new release date for Rogue Squadron since it was pulled from the schedule back in 2022.
Jenkins on why she decided to purse a Rogue Squadron film back in 2020:
It’s been a lifelong dream as a filmmaker to one day make a great fighter pilot film. As the daughter of a great fighter pilot myself, some of the best memories of my life are of seeing my father’s squadron take off in their F4s every morning, and hearing and feeling the awe-inspiring power and grace. When he passed away in service to this country it ignited a burning desire to one day channel all of those emotions into one great film. When the perfect story arrived in combination with another true love of mine, the incomparable world of Star Wars, I knew I’d finally found my next film. I’m extremely honored and excited to take it on, and grateful to Lucasfilm, Disney, and the fans for extending that thrill to me.