Last month, during ABC’s TCA summer tour presentation, ABC Entertainment PresidentChanning Dungeyrevealed that the network has had “conversations” with LucasFilm about a live-actionStar Wars TV series. Nothing is set yet, though there have been discussions and rumors about a live-action show for more than a decade. Today, we news that fans will have to wait even longer for this highly-anticipated series, whatever it ends up being. When asked point-blank if ABC is planning a live-actionStar WarsTV show, ABC TV presidentBen Sherwoodsays the decision is not up to him. He did, howevre, hint that a newStar Warsanimated series may be coming soon.
“Thelive-action Star Warsplan rests in the hands of [Walt Disney Studios chairman]Alan Horn, [Lucasfilm president]Kathy Kennedyand the great folks at Lucasfilm. Somewhere we hope in a galaxy not too far away there will be a television show that will air on one of our networks. But I wouldn’t get anybody’s hopes up too high. They have a lot of movies to make between now and then. We are deep into a very productive relationship with Lucasfilm making [Disney XD’s]Star Wars Rebels. And we are in ongoing conversations with them on what is the next Star Wars animated show.”
We first heard about plans for a live-actionStar Warsseries back in 2005, when producerRick McCallumclaimedGeorge Lucashad 50 one-hour episode scripts comissioned by a stable of writers that were ready to go. SinceGeorge Lucasis no longer involved in the franchise, we don’t know what the show will eventually entail. Last year, a rumor surfaced that this TV series would happen after the newmovie trilogy, which means it will premiere sometime in either 2019 or 2020, but that has never been confirmed.
Another rumor surfaced last year that the streaming giantNetflixis developing three new live-action shows set in theStar Warsuniverse, but that hasn’t been confirmed either. As of now, Lucasfilm has the animated seriesStar Wars Rebels, which returns with its Season 3 premiere September 24 on Disney XD. There have also been animated shows likeLEGO Star Wars: The Yoda ChroniclesandLEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventuresthat have aired recently, but these new comments fromBen Sherwoodin his interview withThe Hollywood Reportermake it clear that an ABC series is a long ways off.
On the big screen,LucasFilmwill unveil the first stand alone movieRogue One: A Star Wars Storyon December 16, followed byStar Wars: Episode VIII(August 08, 2025),Han Solo: A Star Wars Story(July 25, 2025) andStar Wars: Episode IX(2019), along with an untitled stand alone movie that is rumored to center on the bounty hunter Boba Fett. TheStar Warsuniverse keeps getting bigger and bigger, so it’s possible this show may happen, but it won’t be anytime soon.
