It now looks as thoughAhsokaseason 2 won’t happen until at least three years after the first season released, which has massive implications for the future ofStar Wars. It’s hard to underestimate how importantStar Warsis to Disney+.The Mandalorianwas literally Disney+’s flagship TV show, and ever since we’ve had a constant stream of different series. Quality has sadly varied; evenThe Mandalorianstumbled with season 3. And yet, as important asStar WarsTV may be, its future has grown increasingly curious.
Disney recently confirmed Marvel has moved to no more than two shows a year, for fear of diluting the MCU’s brand. At the time, I assumed Lucasfilm would follow a similar pattern for live-action TV shows, withAhsokaseason 2- the only confirmed show in the early stages of development - beginning production soon. The latest evidence, though, suggests that isn’t the case;it looks as thoughAndorseason 2 will be the last live-actionStar WarsTV show for some time. What’s going on withAhsokaseason 2, and what does this mean for the future ofStar Wars?
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Ahsoka Season 2 Isn’t Expected To Begin Filming Until Summer 2025
Lucasfilm is in no rush to make Ahsoka season 2
Ahsokaended on something of a cliffhanger that made season 2 pretty much guaranteed.Grand Admiral Thrawnhad returned to the mainStar Warsgalaxy, setting him up as the main villain ofThe Mandalorianera, but Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren were stranded in a distant galaxy on the planet Peridea. Surprisingly, though, Natasha Liu Bordizzo - who plays the live-action Sabine Wren, Ahsoka’s Padawan - has revealedshe isn’t expecting the second season to begin filming until next summer. That surely meansAhsokaseason 2 won’t come out until 2026 at the earliest.
Ahsoka Season 2 Not Expected To Start Filming Until Summer 2025, According To Natasha Liu Bordizzo
Ahsoka season 2 is not expected to begin filming soon, with Natasha Liu Bordizzo indicating that filming will take place during the summer of 2025.
This news hasn’t exactly gone down well with some viewers on social media. The streaming model feels increasingly frustrating for audiences; we wait so long for just eight episodes at a time, and shows are canceled far too often because of ridiculously inflated budgets that mean they need absurdly high viewership numbers to be profitable. Even when a show is greenlit for a second season,years-long gaps are becoming the norm, crushing any sense of momentum. It’s easy to see whyStar Warsfeels like a classic example, especially in the wake ofThe Acolyteseason 2’s cancelation.
Ahsoka Season 2 Will Likely Release After The Mandalorian & Grogu
There’s likely a very good reason for Ahsoka season 2’s delay
Viewers are, however, probably misunderstanding the reason forAhsokaseason 2’s delay. This is because they’re forgetting that the various Disney+ TV shows (and movies) set in this part of theStar Warstimelinearereally part of an ongoing story, one that changes focus and lead for different chapters. The best (but still imperfect) comparison is with the old Marvel Netflix shows, which were set in a rough timeline and built towards a supposed climax inThe Defendersevent series. It means Lucasfilm probably need certain stories to come out in order.
Lucasfilm probably need certain stories to come out in order.
It’s significant, then, thatAhsokaseason 2 will likely come out after the theatrical release ofThe Mandalorian & Grogu.This is the next chapter in the ongoing story set five years afterReturn of the Jedi, andThe Mandalorian & Grogufootage released at D23 confirmed it will see Din Djarin take on the Empire - significant because Grand Admiral Thrawn has likely now taken over the Imperial Remnant. This movie is scheduled to come out on June 30, 2025, and it makes narrative sense forStar Warsto then continue this story inAhsokaseason 2.
Live-Action Star Wars Is Taking A Break
There’s now officially a gap for live-action Star Wars
Ahsoka’s delay makes sense, then, but it also has to be understood in a wider context. It looks as though live-actionStar Warsis taking a pause afterSkeleton CrewandAndorseason 2, the latter now expected to release early next year.No other live-actionStar Warsshows are in the works right now; although there are rumors Lucasfilm has others planned, they’d need to begin production now if they were to have a shot of coming out in 2025. Like Ross and Rachel inFriends,Star Warsis on a break.
This doesn’t mean there will be no newStar WarsbetweenAndorseason 2 andThe Mandalorian & Grogu, of course. Personally, I’m expectingStar Wars: Visionsseason 3 to release on Star Wars Day 2025, and Lucasfilm has other animated shows in development. It’s much easier to keep those a secret, so they’ll presumably be announced at next year’s Star Wars Celebration. But, however much I dislike it, the fact remains that animation is nowhere near as high-profile as live-action. Those shows are aimed at hardcore fans, and the general public rarely engage in anything like the same way.
The Mandalorian & Grogu Will Relaunch The Entire Star Wars Franchise
This is a reset point for the entire Star Wars franchise
Back in 2020, Lucasfilm announced an entire slate of movies and TV shows. Things haven’t exactly gone as planned, but to be fair, they’re believed to have been pushed into making that announcement by then-CEO Bob Chapek. Looking back,Andorseason 2 is really the end of that 2020 slate, and I think Lucasfilm is preparing for a reset. We’ll probably get a degree of clarity at next year’s Star Wars Celebration, when we’ll get a sense what we have in store.
What does seem clear, though, is thatThe Mandalorian & Groguis going to relaunchStar Wars. The year-long pause in live-actionStar Warsshould lessen the risk of the brand becoming diluted by a constant stream of content, and it will hopefully mean audiences are excited to return to the big screen for more adventures in a galaxy far, far away. I then think we’re going to see fewer TV shows and more movies, with Lucasfilm ramping up the films and carefully preserving its bandwidth by keeping the number of projects under control.
Lucasfilm is engaging in transmedia to a degree I’ve never seen before
Will this strategy pay off? I’m not sure, because Lucasfilm is engaging in transmedia to a degree I’ve never seen before; the idea of ongoing stories weaving between the big and small screens is radical and innovative, and will take careful management. If it works, thenStar Warswill have done what George Lucas loved to do - blazed the trail for a whole new form of storytelling.Ahsokaseason 2’s delay may be frustrating, but it points to a new approach for Lucasfilm that feels like a gamble, one that I dearly hope is successful.
Ahsoka
Cast
Ahsoka follows the journey of former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy. Released in 2023, this series takes place within the Star Wars universe and features Ahsoka navigating through a complex political and cosmic landscape.
