Anna Daniels
Baby Yoda might be destined for the big screen. The cute little co-star of The Mandalorian stole the hearts of audiences who flocked to the Star Wars live-action series on Disney+, proving that the sci-fi franchise can still take over the pop culture zeitgeist outside of the movie theaters. But with the Skywalker Saga coming to an end, is TV and streaming where Star Wars is destined to reign for the next couple of years? Not if Disney CEO Bob Iger can help it. The ever-shrewd Disney chief is teasing that there could be a future on the big screen for the beloved Star Wars Disney+ TV shows.
Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, and since have ushered in a new era for Star Wars — introducing the sci-fi franchise to the modern era with a new feature film trilogy and wrapping up the 40-year Skywalker Saga this year with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. That’s in addition to greenlighting multiple Star Wars TV shows and launching a brand new Star Wars theme park land. But Iger said that Disney is “just getting started” with the franchise.
When asked by The Star Wars Show (via Inside the Magic) if TV was going to be a major part of the franchise moving forward, Iger replied in the affirmative, echoing comments he’s made before. But hit TV shows like The Mandalorian likely won’t be contained to the small screen for long.
“I don’t look at it as just television, I look at it as an extension of Star Wars storytelling. What Disney+ has given us the ability to do is to do just that, is to bring Star Wars to people in new ways, and to bring new Star Wars to people. It’s not the same places or the same characters. Just look at Mandalorian. While, obviously, there’s a lot shared, there’s a lot that’s really fresh, and I love that.
I love the ability to really be agnostic in terms of what platform it’s being made for. And so it could be, down the road, that a TV show becomes a movie and a movie becomes a TV series. I’m not making any announcements here or not, but I think it’s important for us to be agnostic.”
While Iger didn’t single out a particular TV series as being considered for a feature film spin-off or adaptation, it’s hard not to look at the viral popularity of Baby Yoda, the lovable little muppet from The Mandalorian. The breakout character was introduced in Jon Favreau-created Disney+ series and took the Internet (and the world) by storm, even appearing in a Time Magazine illustration with Iger himself. The Mandalorian has introduced a slew of other original fan-favorite characters as well, including the titular bounty hunter played by Pedro Pascal, the Rebel shock trooper Cara Dune (Gina Carano), and bounty hunter guild head Greef Karga (Carl Weathers).
With season 2 on the way, could the cast of The Mandalorian make appearances in the next Star Wars feature film? Iger was vague on that too, but with the future of the Star Wars film slate unplanned, he seems to leave the door open for it.
“The beauty of all this is that we’ll continue to tell stories between now and whenever the next film is, and while we’re doing that, we will work to find what makes the most sense to be released as a big screen experience,” Iger said. “And there are a number of choices, there are a number of discussions, there are a number of very talented people, and that to me is very exciting. In the meantime, fans of Star Wars are being well-served, I believe, with The Mandalorian and with what’s to come with the prequel to Rogue One and with Obi-Wan and with Clone Wars.”
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