Star Wars fans have learned not to trust big promises from Disney. Each new announcement from Lucasfilm about “a bold new era” ends up sounding a lot like the last one. The studio keeps circling back to nostalgia plays or “girl power” branding instead of rebuilding the kind of storytelling that made the franchise matter in the first place.
After The Rise of Skywalker fizzled, Star Wars has mostly lived on Disney+. The company has released several series, including The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and The Acolyte. Meanwhile, the much-promised return to theaters has been nothing but shifting deadlines and vanished projects. On paper, there are still a few upcoming features. The Mandalorian & Grogu is set for 2026, and a Shawn Levy–directed Star Wars: Starfighter is supposed to hit in 2027. But most fans have stopped holding their breath for anything beyond streaming filler.
At one point, Lucasfilm had announced a full slate of films destined for theaters. James Mangold was developing Dawn of the Jedi, Daisy Ridley was pegged to return in a new Jedi Order movie, and Patty Jenkins was once steering Rogue Squadron. Every one of those projects has either been canceled or stuck in limbo. Now, rumors say another abandoned idea—the Lando movie—may be back from the dead.
Industry leaker Daniel Richtman claims the Glover-led project is once again in active development. This report should be taken with a grain of salt, but for die-hard fans of smooth-talking Lando Calrissian, it’s at least a flicker of life. The last real news came more than a year ago when Donald Glover told The Wall Street Journal that if the movie happened, he wanted it “to be fun.” That was hardly a commitment, but in the Star Wars rumor mill, even a shrug counts as momentum.
Lando was first announced as a Disney+ series five years ago before being shifted to a theatrical release under Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy’s “back to the big screen” plan. Yet since that pivot, the project has stalled with no filming dates, official updates, or creative direction made public. Glover’s portrayal of the character in Solo: A Star Wars Story was well received, and the idea of him writing the film with his brother interested many who are tired of yet another Skywalker retread. Still, Disney’s recent track record suggests the odds of the movie actually reaching theaters are uncertain at best.
For all its talk about bold new stories, Lucasfilm looks trapped in a loop. Instead of building fresh worlds and heroes, executives keep trying to sell recycled ideas to fans who remember when Star Wars stood for innovation. Whether Lando actually moves forward or becomes another press-release mirage, the franchise’s future remains murky. Disney may still have the most powerful brand in sci-fi, but maintaining it requires more than nostalgia and hashtags.
The truth is simple. Fans have been patient, but patience is running thin. A functioning Star Wars movie should not feel like a miracle, yet under Disney’s stewardship, that’s exactly what it has become.
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