"Star Wars" has been having a rough time on the silver screen lately. Director Patty Jenkins' latest comments have only raised more questions, even as it appears her movie has been revived.
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:00 Star Wars has been having a rough time on the silver screen
00:03 lately.
00:04 Director Patty Jenkins' latest comments
00:06 have only raised more questions, even as it appears
00:08 her movie has been revived.
00:11 For fans anxiously awaiting Lucasfilm's next big move
00:14 after The Divisive, The Rise of Skywalker
00:16 brought an uncertain end to Star Wars on the big screen,
00:19 well, this next update only kind of clears things up.
00:22 [LAUGHTER]
00:24 Back in December 2020, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins
00:28 was the star of a breathless Lucasfilm announcement, which
00:31 revealed that she would be directing a Star Wars film
00:33 about a squadron of X-Wing pilots.
00:35 Tentatively titled Rogue Squadron,
00:37 the movie was due for release at the end of 2023.
00:40 And that obviously didn't end up happening,
00:42 probably because the title was quietly
00:44 removed from the studio's release schedule
00:46 after months and months without a single update.
00:48 It was subsequently revealed that Jenkins' Star Wars movie
00:51 had been unceremoniously shelved, possibly
00:54 in response to the poor reception to Wonder Woman 1984.
00:57 As it turns out, though, that wasn't the end
00:59 of the story of Rogue Squadron.
01:01 In a thoroughly unexpected surprise,
01:03 Patty Jenkins has seemingly confirmed that the movie
01:06 is still in the works.
01:07 While talking to the Talking Pictures podcast,
01:09 the director dropped the bombshell
01:11 that her Rogue Squadron project is apparently back on track.
01:14 Jenkins said, "I thought maybe I'll come back to Star Wars
01:18 after Wonder Woman 3.
01:19 So when that went away, Lucasfilm and I were like,
01:22 oh, we got to finish this deal.
01:23 We finished the deal right as the strike was happening.
01:26 So I now owe a draft of Star Wars.
01:28 And so we will see what happens there."
01:30 Of course, while Star Wars may be thriving on streaming lately,
01:33 it's been a much different story on the big screen.
01:36 A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
01:43 As of this moment, the only productions
01:44 we know the studio is currently focusing on
01:46 are the Daisy Ridley-starring Rey film, that Donna the Jedi
01:50 movie from James Mangold, and of course,
01:52 the Mandalorian and Grogu.
01:54 For the dreamers among us, there's
01:56 just enough reason to hold out hope for that untitled project
01:59 from writer-director Taika Waititi.
02:01 Or if you're feeling especially daring,
02:03 the technically yet to be canceled trilogy
02:05 from Last Jedi mastermind, Rian Johnson.
02:08 Now, however, it seems one blockbuster previously
02:11 left for dead has suddenly risen back to life.
02:13 Still, you have to admit, this Rogue Squadron news
02:16 is a bit strange as far as production updates go.
02:19 For one thing, you may have noticed
02:20 that Lucasfilm hasn't given any official word
02:23 about any of this.
02:24 Jenkins claims she originally parted ways with Lucasfilm
02:27 in order to focus on a third Wonder Woman movie.
02:29 And when those plans were scuttled by new DC boss,
02:32 James Gunn, she then returned to the Star Wars fold.
02:35 There's also the matter of how vague
02:37 the director's comments are, leaving
02:39 quite a bit of room for interpretation
02:40 in various directions.
02:42 And then there's what she said next.
02:45 "Lucasfilm have other directors who have been working,
02:47 but I am now back on Rogue Squadron
02:49 and we'll see what happens.
02:51 We need to develop and get to where
02:52 we're both super happy with it."
02:54 That implies some serious work ahead of both parties.
02:57 So for now, it's safe to assume there's
02:59 a lot left up in the air.
03:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:05 (upbeat music)