Disney may drastically lessen its Star Wars television output, a new report claims. In 2024, Disney has already put out several animated Star Wars shows, including Tales of the Empire. On the live-action side of things, the first (and only) season of The Acolyte released to divisive reviews. Audiences will be able to stream Skeleton Crew on Disney+ later this year, but the mega corporation is looking to release even less Star Wars TV on a yearly basis.
Insider Daniel Richtman (via The Direct) has reported that Disney is still currently developing a few new shows, but they look to only release one live-action television series per year. The rumor leaves out animated shows, so it is safe to assume that the department will not see a major shift in the release schedule. However, Disney is now taking a much slower, spread-out approach to live-action television that coincidentally mirrors the current state of their movie slate. Richtman stated the following:
“I’m hearing that several series are in development, but it seems they plan to release only one live-action series per year starting in 2025.”
This latest reporting tracks with the recent news that the second season of Ahsoka will start filming in the summer of 2025. That timeline will likely have fans wait for more Ahsoka episodes until early 2026, if not in late 2025. With The Mandalorian & Grogu movie acting as a de facto Season 4 set for release in 2026, it certainly seems Disney is pumping the brakes on its Star Wars television output. The long wait between seasons continues to be an issue that plagues these kinds of big-budget streaming shows.
Star Wars TV is Afraid to Let Go of the Past
In its current state, Star Wars is heading towards an inflection point. Ever since The Last Jedi, Disney and Lucasfilm have been less subversive when it comes to Star Wars, but they still at least attempted to think outside the box for projects like Andor and The Acolyte. With the recent cancellation of the latter, Star Wars is leaning towards being a safer, less imaginative universe. A part of it is a portion of the fanbase detesting anything remote challenge towards the Star Wars mythos, going as far as sending hate messages to its stars.
Despite its star holding out hope for a renewal, The Acolyte will not be getting a second season, Star Wars television is now mostly reduced to what is familiar to the audience (especially if it’s Clone Wars-related). The one outlier seems to be Skeleton Crew, which arrives this year on Disney+. But even that show, which takes inspiration from the classic Amblin film The Goonies, has fans divided over the show’s tone and portrayal of a more grounded Star Wars world. With Disney lessening Star Wars TV output, the question is what will be the priority from now on. Will it be safe stories about beloved characters from various Star Wars media, or will they delve into braver storytelling that expands the galaxy that was meant to seem far, far away? Those paths are not mutually exclusive, either.
