George Lucas at the 77th Cannes Film Festival – Palme d’Or Winners PhotocallIMAGE CREDIT: Dave Bedrosian/Future Image/Cover Images
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Liz Declan
Published 54 minutes ago
Liz Declan is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant, primarily covering Star Wars. She is a massive fan of Star Wars, the MCU, and Supernatural. In addition to writing, Liz loves attending and covering conventions. Find her on TikTok and Instagram @va.va.vera
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Star Wars currently has several new movies in the works, but every single one breaks one of George Lucas' most basic rules, established from the very beginning of Star Wars' movies and TV shows. Keeping track of Star Wars' upcoming movies has proved a bit challenging of late.
Certain projects, like Rey's Star Wars movie, rumored to be titled Star Wars: New Jedi Order, felt like sure things only to go unacknowledged among the reveals at Star Wars Celebration 2025. Others, like Taika Waititi's movie, seem trapped in Star Wars' development hell.
For now, two movies have confirmed release dates: The Mandalorian and Grogu, releasing May 22, 2026, and Star Wars: Starfighter, releasing May 28, 2027. These many variables aside, though, it's clear that all upcoming Star Wars movies are going to be breaking one of George Lucas' biggest rules.
Star Wars' Upcoming Movies Have Nothing To Do With The Skywalkers
Din Djarin holds Grogu on his lap in the Razor Crest's cockpit, with Frog Lady sitting behind them.
With every upcoming Star Wars movie, it's clear that the Skywalkers are no longer the focus on the big screen. The Skywalker family has been at the center of Star Wars from the beginning, with the original trilogy increasingly revealing family members (Darth Vader as Anakin in The Empire Strikes Back, Leia as Luke's sister in Return of the Jedi).
The prequel trilogy doubled down on this focus, not only with Anakin being the focal point but also in that his relationship with Padmé, Luke and Leia's biological mother, was a significant aspect of the three-movie arc. At first, Disney Star Wars continued this pattern. Even as new characters were introduced, the Skywalkers remained central.
These fan-favorite family members are still playing some sort of role in Star Wars' TV shows—such as with Anakin's return in Ahsoka season 2—but they're not going to be having appearances in upcoming movies, at least from what we can tell. The next movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, is clearly focused on its titular leads.
Although the story details of Starfighter are few and far between at present, it's also safe to assume that this brand-new story will not be emphasizing the Skywalkers, and it very likely won't be including them at all (the cast of Starfighter suggests all new characters).
The only potential, and rather complicated, exception might be Rey's new movie or Simon Kinberg's Star Wars trilogy, which is said to star Rey. At the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rey controversially adopted the last name Skywalker, blurring the lines of whether the Skywalker Saga was really over, as it was said to be.
Even with that complication on the table, though, it's clear that Star Wars movies are about to change forever, in a way that is completely different from any of George Lucas' Star Wars movies.
George Lucas' Star Wars Movies Were The Story Of Anakin Skywalker
Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith looking angry
Particularly notable, regarding this change, is the fact that George Lucas' Star Wars movies weren't just about the Skywalkers in general—they were really about Anakin. Yes, Luke Skywalker was technically the protagonist of the original trilogy, and Leia, as a Skywalker by blood, was certainly a major focus too.
Yet, even with the twins front and center throughout those three movies, the original trilogy arc was really the story of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker being saved by his son and returning to the light side of the Force. The prequel trilogy reinforced that this was really Anakin's story as well.
After all, Anakin's Star Wars timeline is the one that most dominates George Lucas' Star Wars movies. This only draws an even greater contrast with Star Wars' upcoming movies, as it's next to impossible that Anakin will be making another big screen appearance (he wasn't even in the sequels, in fact).
The Rise Of Skywalker Put The Future Of Star Wars Movies In Check
Ben Solo fading away as he dies in The Rise of Skywalker
If there was any doubt that Star Wars was moving away from the Skywalkers, even with The Rise of Skywalker being billed as the end of the Skywalker Saga, the conclusion of that movie certainly drove the point home. That is, The Rise of Skywalker killed the last Skywalker by blood, Ben Solo, bringing a true end to their line.
Disney has also reinforced the sense that the Skywalker family is being left in the past, based on the news that Adam Driver's Star Wars movie, The Hunt for Ben Solo, would have seen Ben resurrected, thus bringing the Skywalkers back. Not only did Disney shoot the idea down, but they also rejected the completed script—one Lucasfilm had approved.
It's more than a little shocking that Disney would reject an entire script with the key actor signed on, Lucasfilm's seal of approval, and even Steven Soderbergh involved. This was apparently the first time Disney had ever rejected a completed, Lucasfilm-approved script, actually. This just goes to show, Star Wars movies seem done with the Skywalkers.
Star Wars Doesn't Have To Be About The Skywalkers
Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin with his helmet off and tears in his eyes in The Mandalorian
Although it's not easy to let go of the Skywalkers—and I'm personally more than a little salty about the rejection of The Hunt for Ben Solo—this doesn't mean the end of Star Wars or that the future for Star Wars movies is bleak. On the contrary, what these movies need is the basic framework the Skywalkers established.
Namely, Star Wars movies need to keep the themes of found family and friends, which is something The Mandalorian and Grogu seems absolutely primed to do. That was a massive element of the show's popularity, with Din Djarin even formally adopting Grogu in season 3, which bodes well for the new movie.
In that sense, while Star Wars' upcoming movies will be breaking with George Lucas' decades-long focus on the Skywalker family, the core of the franchise is (thankfully) likely to remain the same.
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