Disney Unveils 2023 Movie Lineup At CinemaCon, 'Rogue Squadron' Still On Track For 2023
Disney unveiled a new timeline of their upcoming movies today at CinemaCon, along with the first twenty minutes of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Lightyear, and first looks at Avatar 2: The Way of Water. The Bespin Bulletin reported on the displayed infographic, which included releases into 2023. Conspicuously absent from Disney’s timeline, though, was the logo for Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, helmed by Patty Jenkins and slated for release in December 2023. This set off some speculation as to the reason behind the movie’s absence from the release timeline, which is now the norm for Rogue Squadron news.
Over the last six months, there have been rumors of the upcoming movie. The Hollywood Reporter discussed the movie’s delay, sparking all sorts of rumors from Jenkins parting ways over creative differences to reporting the movie was shelved completely. Those rumors turned out to be false as it was later reported that Jenkins had stepped down from directing Cleopatra to focus on Wonder Woman 3 and Rogue Squadron.
RELATED:
According to SlashFilm, Disney has come out with an updated release list, and Rogue Squadron is still on the board for December 2023 release. It is important to note that the scale of the timeline in the infographic seems to only cover the first half of 2023, which does not necessarily negate Rogue Squadron's release at the end of the year. The space devoted to 2022 is twice as long as 2023 so it is entirely possible that there is simply not enough space to include their lineup for the second half of 2023. With a quick search for release dates on the other movies shown (The Marvels, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Indiana Jones V, The Little Mermaid, The Haunted Mansion, and Ant-Man and the Wasp 3: Quantumania) in the 2023 section of the graphic, all these films have release dates in the first half of 2023, thus confirming that assumption. The large Star Wars fan base is always eager for more information, so it is understandable that the absence of Rogue Squadron from the timeline was noteworthy. With Star Wars Celebration Anaheim coming up next month, fans hope that there will be more news about the project at the convention.
The Rogue Squadron moniker has achieved legendary status in the Star Wars universe. Made famous in A New Hope as the call sign for the X-Wing assault group on the Death Star, they reappeared in The Empire Strikes Back on Hoth and in Return of the Jedi during the assault on the second Death Star. The fighter group then saw a full series of novels devoted to the leadership of Wedge Antilles in Aaron Allston and Michael A. Stackpole’s X-Wing series. A pair of video games bearing the name were also developed for the Nintendo GameCube.
Rogue Squadron is set to be directed by Patty Jenkins, who is known for her work on the Wonder Woman franchise with Gal Gadot. Jenkins' role in the film was announced at Disney Investor Day 2020 where she donned a flight suit and cited her father’s role as a fighter pilot as an inspiration for her. She also announced that she would be honoring past works in her depiction of one of the most famous fighter groups in Star Wars history. While the books and games are now considered Legends, perhaps the movie will go the way of Grand Admiral Thrawn and bring some of the elements of the series into the new canon.
READ NEXT:
Source(s): Bespin Bulletin, Variety, ComicBook.com, The Hollywood Reporter, AP