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Since 2019, Kevin Erdmann has been one of Screen Rant's Senior Staff Writers, covering all kinds of Superhero and Star Wars media with Easter egg breakdowns, theory pieces, breaking news, and more. A huge Star Wars & MCU fan, Kevin also loves Batman (because he's Batman), but could talk for hours about why Nightwing is DC's greatest hero.
With 8 years of total experience covering entertainment and pop culture, Kevin has gotten the chance to interview top creatives and talent, and has also attended major media events like Disney's D23 convention.
Majoring in Cinema Studies with a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife, adorable dog, and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.
Star Wars is entering a major year that will reignite the franchise in some pretty exciting ways. Even before the recent news that Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan are set to take over from Kathleen Kennedy as the new heads of Lucasfilm, Star Wars was already primed for a banner year.
Thanks to three major releases, 2026 is primed to reestablish greater confidence in the Star Wars brand. Not only are we getting a long-awaited return to the big screen, but we'll also see some exciting continuations and some major firsts for beloved characters. Here's our breakdown of what's ahead for the galaxy far, far away.
The Mandalorian & Grogu Will Be The First Star Wars Movie Since 2019's Rise of Skywalker
The Mandalorian & Grogu marks Star Wars’ long-awaited return to theaters, becoming their first new film to grace the big screen since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. That alone makes it quite significant, though it will also serve as a key bridge between the success of The Mandalorian on Disney+ and a renewed desire to continue Star Wars' legacy of theatrical storytelling.
As one of the first and more successful live-action Star Wars shows, it makes sense to translate the goodwill gained with The Mandalorian to the big screen, allowing Lucasfilm to reintroduce a Star Wars movie as a major event without the pressure of trying to launch an entirely new saga.
Crucially, The Mandalorian & Grogu doesn’t necessarily need to overextend itself either. It can simply be a crowd-pleasing adventure set in the New Republic Era starring two of the most popular characters, reminding audiences what modern Star Wars does best.
At the same time, the new movie will help reopen the door for future theatrical releases that can be even bolder, like 2027's Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, which is confirmed to be set after the events of the sequel trilogy.
With The Mandalorian & Grogu, Lucasfilm should have a decent win on their hands at the box office. After all, it's a pretty bankable (and safer) idea compared to anything else they might have tried to bring Star Wars back to the big screen.
Presently, Din Djarin and Grogu are among the franchise’s most recognizable modern icons. Even if viewers haven't seen the prior Disney+ series, there's a strong mainstream awareness of the Star Wars duo overall. It also doesn't hurt that Pedro Pascal is one of the biggest actors in Hollywood right now.
While The Mandalorian & Grogu is less about reinventing the Star Wars franchise, which is not what Lucasfilm needs in 2026. It's about generating a renewed sense of stability and trust in the brand following some more divisive releases the past few years, something the upcoming Star Wars movie should be able to secure.
Ahsoka Season 2 Is One Of The Most Anticipated Star Wars Shows
Ahsoka season 2 is also arriving in 2026, with the live-action series expected to serve as a key puzzle piece in Filoni’s broader Star Wars vision ahead of his reported Star Wars movie set to culminate the entire New Republic Era.
As seen at the end of the first season, the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn to the Star Wars galaxy will elevate the stakes of the New Republic Era considerably. Furthermore, the first season also ended with major lore teases (The Mortis Gods), connecting to Filoni's biggest supernatural concepts first seen in the animated Clone Wars series.
Ahsoka season 2 will benefit from the success and solid reception of the first season. Filoni no longer needs to set the table, allowing the story to move faster, darker, and more decisively toward major confrontations and events that will likely define the Star Wars timeline in some pretty big ways.
As seen in Ahsoka's first season and in past Star Wars projects, Dave Filoni does a great job of rewarding the investment of longtime fans without fully alienating new viewers, a balance that is incredibly valuable for the franchise across the board. As such, one can imagine that Ahsoka season 2 will be no exception.
That balance is also a big reason why Filoni taking the creative reins at Lucasfilm is so exciting.
Maul: Shadow Lord Is Star Wars' First Villain-Led Animated Series
Maul: Shadow Lord stands out immediately as Star Wars’ first animated series centered entirely on a villain. Maul has always been one of the franchise’s most sinister yet tragic figures, evolving far beyond his original live-action film role in The Phantom Menace.
Shadow Lord also offers a chance to further explore Star Wars' criminal underworld, Sith ideology, as well as the power vacuums left behind during major galactic transitions, and how someone like Maul (once Palpatine's apprentice) responds to such a huge new regime change and massive shift in power.
Together, these three major releases suggest Star Wars finally has a clear foundation to renew trust and greater fan engagement with the brand. However, there's plenty of other Star Wars releases to get excited about in 2026 as well.
2026 will also see the non-canonical limited series The Ninth Jedi (a continuation of key Star Wars Visions episodes), the upcoming video game Galactic Racer, and plenty of canonical comics and novels to get excited about as well. All things considered, it feels like 2026 is going to be one of the best Star Wars years yet, and an exciting turning point for the franchise overall.
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