Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins is directing a Star Wars: Rogue Squadron movie, and while Rogue Squadron is known to many as a video game franchise (not to mention a series of tie-in novels), her film will feature an original story rather than a direct adaptation of pre-existing narrative. Even so, Jenkins assures the movie will honor everything in the Rogue Squadron franchise that came before it.
“[In the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron movie] we’re doing something original with great influence from the games and the books,” Jenkins told IGN in an interview. “There’s a lot of things being acknowledged and understood about the greatness of all of those things, but yes, it’s an original story and I’m so psyched to do it.”
The Rogue Squadron video game series first launched in 1998, featuring Luke Skywalker’s team of ace Rebel pilots taking on the Empire. The games featured iconic starfighter battles seen in the Original Trilogy like the Death Star trench run and the Battle of Hoth, as well as original ones created for the games. The first game’s plot took place during and after the Original Trilogy. It followed Luke and his trusted friend and fellow pilot Wedge Antilles as they attempted to destabilize the Galactic Empire by carrying out hit-and-run missions and escorting Imperial defectors to safety within the Rebel Alliance. The game featured main antagonist Moff Kohl Seerdon and culminated in a battle on Mon Calamari to stop the planet-destroying World Devastators.
While the games have become classics in the eyes of Star Wars gamers, fans should expect Jenkins to build a fresh story from the ground up. The film is slated for a Christmas 2023 release.
Two Rogue Squadron game sequels followed in the form of Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, as well as the spin-off Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo. The games were praised for their faithful attention to detail with the various Star Wars spaceships such as the X-Wing, A-Wing, and Y-Wing, as well as their fun, arcade-style flight action gameplay.
Deborah Chow and Bryce Dallas Howard are notable for being the first female directors to play in the live-action Star Wars universe by taking on episodes of The Mandalorian, and now Jenkins continues to break new ground for the franchise by being the first woman director to helm a live-action Star Wars movie.
Jenkins’ upcoming film Wonder Woman 1984 is a sequel to her 2017 hit that grossed $821 million worldwide. The sequel reunites Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman with the mysteriously returned Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine, and pits her against Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord and Kristen Wiig’s Barbara Minerva aka the Cheetah. The film releases on December 23, 2020, both in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was one of the many Star Wars announcements revealed during Disney Investor Day 2020, including an Ahsoka Tano Spinoff, Rangers of the New Republic, a Star Wars: Lando Calrissian series, a High Republic series called Acolyte, an anime called Star Wars: Visions, Star Wars: Andor, and Hayden Christensen’s return as Darth Vader in Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
Joshua is a Senior Editor and Producer of Features at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Star Wars are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.
Source: IGN