What's Next for Star Wars Now That "The Mandalorian and Grogu" Is Out?

Now that Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu has been released into theaters by Lucasfilm, let's take a look at what's ahead for the Disney-owned media company and its Star Wars franchise over the next year or so.

The next Disney+ project likely to arrive from Lucasfilm is the animated series Star Wars: Visions Presents The Ninth Jedi, which was announced for a 2026 release and was created by the Japanese studio Production I.G. This limited series will continue the story of the short films "The Ninth Jedi" and "The Ninth Jedi - Child of Hope" from the first and third volumes of Lucasfilm's animated anthology series Star Wars: Visions. I'm personally pretty excited for this, having been a fan of those two previous shorts and the Visions project as a whole, though we don't have an exact release date just yet.

After that will be the second season of Lucasfilm's live-action Disney+ series Star Wars: Ahsoka, which is set for an early 2027 release. Season one left off with Ahsoka Tano (played by Rosario Dawson) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) stranded on the Peridea, while Baylan Skoll (now played by Rory McCann) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) follow their own individual paths elsewhere on the planet. Meanwhile back in New Republic space, Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) has reunited with General Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), as Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) arrives at Dathomir with the Great Mothers. Could a new war be brewing between our heroes and villains?

If this year's established pattern holds, we'll hopefully be getting the second season of Lucasfilm Animation's Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord just before the theatrical release of Star Wars: Starfighter, though it could just as easily come afterward as well. Maul - Shadow Lord season one left off with (SPOILER ALERT) Master Eeko-Dio Daki dead at the lightsaber blade of Darth Vader, Jedi Padawan Devon Izara having been taken under Maul's nefarious wing, and Brander Lawson's fate unknown. We also saw the introduction of the character of Dryden Vos from Solo: A Star Wars Story into the series, bringing the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate into the mix. Fans reacted extremely positively to this show, so I'd say many of us are looking forward to its continuation.

Then we have the next big live-action movie from Lucasfilm, entitled Star Wars: Starfighter, which is set to hit theaters on May 28, 2027-- just a few days after the 50th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise. Not a whole lot is known about the plot of this film, except that it takes place after the events of the sequel trilogy, stars the actors Ryan Gosling, Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, and Amy Adams (among others) and is being directed by Deadpool & Wolverine helmer Shawn Levy. Obviously there are a lot of unknowns here, but Levy has established a reputation of delivering crowd-pleasing action/comedies (including Free Guy, The Adam Project, and Night at the Museum), so I'm cautiously optimistic about what he might bring to the next big-screen Star Wars outing.

Beyond those live-action and animated projects, there are Star Wars comic books on the way such as the conclusions of Marvel's Shadow of Maul, Galaxy's Edge - Echoes of the Empire, and Rogue One 10th Anniversary miniseries... plus a new limited series entitled Star Wars: The Fall of Kylo Ren will launch this August. In July, the new novel Star Wars: Legacy will zoom in on Rey's Jedi training under General Leia Organa between Episodes VIII and IX. Celebration. Then in September, we'll get the second novel in the Andor-adjacent Reign of the Empire trilogy, entitled Star Wars: Edge of the Abyss. And in April of 2027, Star Wars fans from all over the world will gather in Los Angeles California for the 50th anniversary edition of Star Wars Celebration.

Just recently, Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan took over Lucasfilm as President / Chief Creative Officer and Co-President / General Manager of Business, respectively, after former President Kathleen Kennedy stepped down. What this means for the franchise going forward remains to be seen, as we likely won't see the full effect of the company's new leadership for at least a couple of years. But as a lifelong fan, I remain hopeful as always that those in charge have the best interests at heart for the George Lucas-created Star Wars franchise. And as 2027 approaches, I'm extremely excited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of A Galaxy Far, Far Away!