Since making its debut in 1978, Star Wars has become one of the biggest multimedia brands in the entire world. It has conquered theaters, streaming services, comic books, video games, and more. At this point, it would be impossibly time-consuming to list it all. But as big as Star Wars has been over the past few decades, 2022 could prove to be a huge year for the franchise.
The crazy part of this is how it plays out remains to be seen. Pandemic issues continue to plague production and release schedules in all parts of the media landscape. Star Wars is not immune to that reality. While there aren’t specific release dates for everything, there’s a lot of potentially huge releases on the horizon. And some of them just might be game-changing.
No Star Wars movies in 2022
Sometimes the best thing to do is to just rip the bandaid off and get things out in the open. There are no Star Wars movies on the horizon in 2022. Frankly, it’s really hard to say when Star Wars will make a return to movie screens. The sequel trilogy left a bad taste in some fans’ mouths. That being said, Rogue One is a hell of a movie, and Solo: A Star Wars Story is a lot better than some people seemed to think.
There are a variety of projects that are under discussion but little or nothing firm has been announced. That will eventually change but the focus of Star Wars is definitely on other mediums for now. Sometime down the road, Star Wars will make its return to movie theaters around the world in a big way. As far as fans know, it just won’t be in 2022.
Video Games
The dominance of Star Wars in the world of video games is huge. It might not be as visible as movies or TV series but they are there and they are popular. As is often the case, there are a lot of projects on the table but few of them have official release dates. That being said, there are a few things for Star Wars game fans to look forward to in the next year.
A big one is the 2022 release of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. LEGO video games were huge for a number of years, though their popularity has waned somewhat more recently. This new release will contain all nine main films. A central hub world will allow players to select which movie they want to play and the order they want to play them in. It could be pretty cool.
Back in 2021, a new game was announced called Star Wars: Hunters. This arena fighter is coming to Nintendo Switch as well as mobile devices.
There are also several other intriguing games on the way, though they are unlikely to appear in 2022. That includes the Knights of the Old Republic remake, a follow-up to Fallen Order, a new game from Ubisoft, and a game set in the High Republic called Eclipse.
Disney+ Series
Star Wars changed it’s own destiny with The Mandalorian on Disney+. This was key after the franchise’s problems in theaters. It had already found success in building a universe of animated shows but this was the first of the new era of live-action series. And it was a massive success. That has directly led to a growing roster of new Disney+ live-action shows, each one of them focusing on a different part of the Star Wars mythos.
This year has opened strong with The Book of Boba Fett. It focuses on Boba Fett and Fennec Shand as a spinoff of The Mandalorian. It’s getting solid reviews, setting the stage for what’s to come in 2022.
That will include Ewan McGregor’s return to the galaxy far, far away in the upcoming series Obi-Wan Kenobi. Set 10 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, it will give fans a clear image of what he was up to during that era.
At some point in 2022, fans can also look forward to a prequel series to Rogue One. Andor will focus on the life of Cassian Andor before the events of the movie.
The Mandalorian season 3 is expected to release at the end of 2022 although no official date has been provided at this time. The series will continue to follow now Grogu-less Din Djarin as he faces his biggest challenge yet as the owner of the Darksaber and ruler of Mandalore. Expect fireworks.
Just in case fans are jonesing for some sweet Star Wars animation, The Bad Batch Season 2 is also expected to hit this year.
If that’s not enough, this doesn’t even take into account all the comic books and novels on the way this year if you’re so inclined.
