Star Wars Canceled An Infinitely Better Idea Than Resurrecting The Skywalker Saga 3 Times

Published Oct 3, 2026, 11:55 AM EDT

Simon Gallagher has worked in movie and TV journalism for more than 17 years. He has written more than 6000 articles and reviews, and edited thousands more. He is an expert in the entertainment industry, particularly in the golden age of screen superheroes. Simon is also a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic.
 

It seems to come up a lot, but Star Wars is once again at a crossroads. 2027 will see not only the release of Shawn Levy’s (allegedly) standalone Starfighter with Ryan Gosling, but also the long-awaited original theatrical cut re-release of the 1977 original. That image of a franchise with one foot rooted firmly in the past and one in the future might as well be Star Wars’ logo at this point.

Beyond those confirmed releases lies an almost dizzying slate of promised and half-promised Star Wars projects, which included Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s New Jedi Order, James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi epic, Dave Filoni’s Mandoverse culmination, and Taika Waititi’s long-gestating project, as well as Simon Kinberg’s new trilogy. Now that it appears Star Wars Episode X will be the next project, with Jon Watts directing, the Rey-starring New Jedi Order is apparently now not happening, but she is said to be appearing in Watts’ movie.

That means, of course, that Star Wars X will be the continuation of the Skywalker Saga, the single most defining storyline in the franchise that is both its greatest strength and its biggest perceived vulnerability. According to KnightEdgeMedia, who broke the news, Rey won’t appear significantly in Episode X, but is likely to step back up in the sequels, but as long as it’s a Skywalker movie, we’re treading familiar water.

The issue for Star Wars is that the big announcements at Star Wars Celebration that included Rey’s movie promised expansion into uncharted territory. Yes, both Filoni and Mangold’s movies would be tied to the Skywalker legacy indirectly, but they were not actively presented as part of the Saga. Somewhat inevitably, a fair amount of backlash has now met the confirmation that Star Wars X will do the opposite. And frustratingly, LucasFilm had the perfect antidote to another Skywalker Saga movie that was unfairly canceled years ago: Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron.

Rogue Squadron Went Through Three Iterations

Before it completely collapsed, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron went through three different life cycles. The first concept dated back to 2018, as an untitled movie, directed by J.D. Dillard, which reportedly drew heavily on his background as an aviator’s son and his love for the classic TIE Fighter PC game. When Dillard became one of many filmmakers who left LucasFilm’s umbrella, the project went on ice.

Two years later, it was reborn thanks to a very public announcement by Patty Jenkins, who suited up as a starfighter pilot and announced the Rogue Squadron title. At that point, it was intended to be the first Star Wars movie to come after The Rise of Skywalker, with an initial release date of December 2023. The original story - framed as a personal story to Jenkins, whose father was a fighter pilot - was very much Top Gun in space, with a new generation of pilots earning their wings. Again, LucasFilm pivoted away to concentrate on Disney+ releases, and Jenkins went off to make the canceled Wonder Woman 3.

Only recently, it’s been revealed by KnightEdgeMedia that a third iteration existed in 2022, when LucasFilm flirted with the idea of turning Rogue Squadron into a Disney+ series, with Rick Famuyiwa and Rayna McClendon showrunning. The series would have been part of the Mandoverse timeline, possibly as a replacement for the scrapped Rangers of the New Republic. Ultimately, that also didn’t happen, and despite Jenkins claim she’d resigned with LucasFilm in 2024 to oversee Rogue Squadon’s fourth life, we’ve had nothing but some details this year on the canceled project.

Star Wars' Lost Rogue Squadron Movie Is A Much Better Idea Than Star Wars X

When Patty Jenkins first unveiled her Rogue Squadron teaser back at Disney’s 2020 Investor Day, it felt like exactly the breath of fresh air the franchise desperately needed. On top of being an excellent sounding concept, it was different, and after the Sequel trilogy, a side step felt very welcome.

Rogue Squadron would have been completely detached from the Force, ancient Jedi prophecies, and generational family trauma - though are we ever completely removed from that? The premise was smaller scale, but could deliver on the Star Wars title in a more literal way, with dogfights, military campaigns and the kind of ground-level camaraderie we only got to see flashes of in passing.

Moving away from powerful Force-wielders to ordinary soldiers had been excellent in Rogue One - and proved to be even better with Andor - and the idea of mere mortals throwing themselves into battles where the odds were heavily stacked against them completely changes the dynamic. I don’t know about you, but I want to see more of the heroes making their name in the moment, not just legends and already infamous bloodlines.

The Skywalker Saga doesn’t even need to go away: it would be idiotic not to accept that the brand is incredibly strong, but forcing another story there feels less organic than a simple, exciting premise like fighter pilots in space in the midst of a huge intergalactic war. The action alone would have been completely different to seeing another Force user wrestling with their moral conflict and emerging powers. I like all of that, but we have a literal galaxy of stories to pull from: we mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger.

Like It Or Not, The Skywalker Saga Returning Was Inevitable

Let’s get to the elephant in the room: Hollywood is little more than a Moneyball equation. The Rise of Skywalker, by conventional quality measurements (at least for the critics) was a delinquent property, but absolutely none of the story issues matter when the box office passes a billion. It’s like a cognitive reset that means the machine clicks into gear and looks for a way to pull off a viable repeat victory. Boil Rise of Skywalker down and you get the message that the Skywalker Saga is what the audience wants.

And to be fair to LucasFilm, it’s not an unfair assessment. The box office haul is compelling evidence, obviously, but even the Rotten Tomatoes audience score is currently on 86% - 35% more than the critics score. We all fall into the trap that the loudest voices in the discourse are reflective of a consensus that doesn’t always exist, and that seems to be the case with Star Wars more than any other IP.

Look at the reaction to Jon Watts being hired to direct Episode X. He is an excellent film-maker who steered Tom Holland’s Spider-Man through an entire trilogy, and was a key part of the creative team on the acclaimed Skeleton Crew. As soon as he’s given a shot at a Star Wars movie, like Shawn Levy before him, pitchforks come out and suddenly loud voices question his credentials. It’s nonsense.

Don’t be fooled into thinking Star Wars fans don’t want Skywalker Saga movies. I concede that many will want them more than they want Rogue Squadron, but the best outcome would be for LucasFilm to find a way to balance the old and the fresh. You can break the cycle without throwing the whole thing out, and as long as the Skywalker brand continues to be profitable, it’s just not going away.