The future of Star Wars movies is finally getting clearer

Star Wars movie news was an absolute state in 2023, projects culled one after another, but a couple of recent announcements suggest the series may be back on track.

We’ve heard news about not just the next Star Wars movie, but one after that too.

First up, The Mandalorian & Grogu will come to cinemas on May 22 2026. This news came as part of a big slate of Disney release dates, including Toy Story 5, heading to the silver screen on June 19 2026. That’s a big couple of weeks in the cinema for Disney.

The Mandalorian & Grogu is a Star Wars spin-off movie, to be directed by Marvel veteran and The Mandalorian TV show runner Jon Favreau.

And, yep, Pedro Pascal is set to return as Din Djarin.

Heading back to the mainline Star Wars movies, we’ve also heard Beau Willimon has joined Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi as a writer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Star Wars fans may know Willimon from his work on the brilliant Andor. He’s credited as writer on three episodes of the first season.

However, Willimon was a venerated writer long before he joined the Star Wars universe. He wrote the play that became 2011 George Clooney movie The Ides of March, and created House of Cards.

Having someone like this onboard the next main Star Wars movie? It’s a pretty good sign.

James Mangold is to direct, known for making the “grown-up” superhero film Logan. More recently he was also at the helm of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

There’s no date for Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi movie yet. And that title has not been fully confirmed either, but we do know it’s expected to be set almost 26,000 years before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope. And, sadly, is unlikely to make it to screens before the end of 2027.

Dawn of the Jedi was also comic book series from 2012, although it’s not clear if the movie will follow that plot.

Can’t wait that long for more Star Wars? The next slice is Star Wars: The Acolyte, a TV show coming to Disney Plus on June 4.

• The best Star Wars movies: ranked in order of brilliance