Jeff Sneider of The Hot Mic has taken to his podcast to share an update on the next Star Wars movie which might come as a shock to some readers, but not to all that have been following this site in recent months.
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Before delving into what he has heard, Sneider shared on the latest episode of his podcast, The Hot Mic, which he co-hosts with John Rocha, that things in the film industry have changed including plans due to the Writers Guild of America strike and SAG-AFTRA strike and that this in particular has impacted Star Wars. Pre-strikes, Sneider reported that the Daisy Ridley led untitled Star Wars movie was set to be the next Star Wars film to be released and that Lucasfilm were eyeing an April 2024 start. Sneider as well as the Hollywood trades and various insiders all pointed towards the Ridley film being the first Star Wars movie to release since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, that is what I had been hearing myself. However, Sneider is now hearing that the Ridley led New Jedi Order movie, is seemly no longer the next Star Wars film looking to release in theatres.
“I think we’ve all been operating under the impression that the Daisy Ridley movie was going to be the next Star Wars movie, I know I certainly was. They announced like three movies and it was like, ‘okay, the Daisy Ridley one is the furthest along I think.’ It has a director and all that. Anyway, it doesn’t sound like that may be the next one.” – Jeff Sneider
The news that the Ridley film may come as a surprise given that just recently the films lead, Daisy Ridley herself, shared that she believes her Star Wars film set to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, was set to be the next Star Wars movie released in theatres. The next Star Wars film slated to be released is on May 22nd, 2026. However, Sneider is now hearing from his Disney source that this is no longer the case and went on to share that the next Star Wars film to be released will actually be the fourth season of The Mandalorian, which is now taking shape as a movie instead of a season of TV. Sneider said:
“A couple of months ago I shot this one down, that there were rumours that season four of The Mandalorian could be turned into a movie. I think at the time I didn’t think that was necessarily the case. However, that is now what I am starting to hear. That the odds are in that projects favour, whatever season four of The Mandalorian turns out to be, whoever is in it, what it turns out, whatever shape it takes, it is looking like that could be the next Star Wars movie and that might be the thing that’s announced before the end of the year.” – Jeff Sneider
You may be thinking that this Mando season four turning into a movie rumour sounds familiar, and that’s because it is. In July, five months ago, MakingStarWars reported that Lucasfilm and Disney were considering turning the fourth season of The Mandalorian into a feature film and that executives quite liked the idea. MSW stressed that this was simply an option that Disney were considering and was dependent on how significant of an impact the strikes had on The Mandalorian seaosn four’s production and other Star Wars productions. The five month report lines up perfectly with what Sneider is reporting today, though no credit was given to MakingStarWars during The Hot Mic initially, but was done so once a viewer, and co-host of The Making Star Wars Show, Sketchcraft, sent in a super chat to the show to credit MSW.
The Hot Mic conversation moved onto if the Mando’s leading man, Pedro Pascal, would be available to star in the film given his commitments to Fantastic Four and The Last of Us season two, both of which begin filming early next year, and Weapons, a movie he shoots later in 2024. John Rocha stressed his concerns about the supporting cast not having enough of a draw at the box office including Katee Sackhoff and Rosario Dawson, but Sneider seemed baffled as to how Pascal could be available for the film, something I’ve been saying for quite some time.
“I don’t know how you get him [Pedro] on camera if this movie winds up being next given his schedule for the next four to six months. Maybe it is another person in the suit and he comes in and does voiceover – I don’t know.” – Jeff Sneider
The conversation between The Hot Mic hosts then shifted between the idea of The Mandalorian season four becoming a movie not seemingly like a billion dollar film idea, but Sneider added that he think that Lucasfilm are anxious to get a movie out into theatres and that this is the quickest way given the world building that’s gone into this time period with multiple seasons of The Mandalorian as well as spin-off’s such as The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka. Sneider added that perhaps the expectation of this release isn’t to make a billion dollars, but to just start the ball rolling in regards to finally getting Star Wars films back in theatres with a more modest budget and goal.
I’m sure a question many readers have, as I have it myself, is…is this film going to act as The Mandalorian crossover event film that was ancient at Star Wars Celebration back in April that was to be directed by Dave Filoni, or is this something else? I don’t know and Sneider didn’t have the answer either. It would make sense that this effort becomes the Filoni direct MandoVerse film as The Mandalorian season three and Ahsoka both end in a way where you could just simply jump to the Filoni flick.
The next Star Wars movie is currently dated for release on May 22nd, 2026.
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