A Fresh Look at Disney+'s Star Wars Future and the End of an Era in Live-Action TV

By  Published May 14, 2026, 3:30 PM EDT Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones, and also writes some features and reviews. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2026, became a news writer in 2026, a senior staff writer in 2026, and an editor in 2026.  follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Disney+ is changing forever after the confirmation of season 2's release window. Season 1 of the live-action was released in 2026 and told the story of Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) reuniting with Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) as they investigate the potential return of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).

While hiatuses of more than a year have become common for many streaming shows, the wait for has been particularly long. At this point, fans have been waiting approximately three years to discover what happens next with Ahsoka, Sabine, Thrawn, Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), and Baylan Skoll, the last of whom was recast with Rory McCann following the death of original star Ray Stevenson.

After being expected to return in 2026, has now been revealed to be early 2027. With no other live-action Star Wars shows confirmed to be in development let alone being released in the near future, Ahsoka not coming back until 2027 is the end of an era for Disney+.

2026 Is Disney+'s First Year Without New Live-Action Star Wars TV

Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano in a promotional image

Since Disney+ was first launched in November 2019, at least one new season of a live-action Star Wars series has debuted each year. This includes The Mandalorian season 1 in 2019, The Mandalorian season 2 in 2026, The Book of Boba Fett in 2026, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor season 1 in 2026, The Mandalorian season 3 and Ahsoka season 1 in 2026, The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew in 2026, and in 2026.

Ahsoka season 2 was expected to continue the consistency of new live-action Star Wars releasing every year, even if it was only one episode, as was the case with The Book of Boba Fett premiering at the very end of 2026 on December 29. That is no longer the case, as Ahsoka's early 2027 premiere means that 2026 will be the first year in Disney+ history without any new live-action Star Wars television.

[SITEURL] | SW Holocron Archive Interactive Quiz ScreenRant/ Movies/ Star Wars/ Trivia A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away · Eight Questions How Well Do You Know Star Wars? “The Force will be with you. Always.” 🗡️Jedi OrderLight-side guardians ⚡The SithRule of two ⚙️The RebellionA new hope 🪓Bounty HuntersThis is the way 👑The EmpireOrder 66 PUNCH IT! → QUESTION 1 / 8A NEW HOPE 01 The original Star Wars film — later retitled Episode IV: A New Hope — opened in just 32 American theatres and proceeded to become the highest-grossing film of its era, redefining what summer blockbusters could be. In which year did it premiere? A1975 B1977 C1979 D1980 ✓ Correct! 1977 — specifically May 25. 20th Century Fox had so little faith in the project they only opened it in 32 theatres at first; queues quickly stretched around the block, and the film expanded to over 1,000 screens within months. It earned $307 million in its initial domestic run, won six Academy Awards (with another four nominations) and inverted Hollywood’s economics for the next 50 years. ✗ Wrong. The answer is 1977. 1975 is when the script was being shopped around. 1979 is when Star Trek: The Motion Picture released as a Star Wars-shaped countermove. 1980 is The Empire Strikes Back. The original Star Wars is May 25, 1977. NEXT → QUESTION 2 / 8THE CREATOR 02 A New Hope’s writer-director was a then-32-year-old American Graffiti veteran who’d struggled to get the project greenlit and famously took back-end profit and merchandising rights in lieu of a higher salary — the deal that would build a billion-dollar company. He returned to direct the prequels but stepped away from the original-trilogy sequels. Name him. ASteven Spielberg BGeorge Lucas CFrancis Ford Coppola DIrvin Kershner ✓ Correct! George Lucas. The merchandising rights he kept (because Fox didn’t value them) became the financial bedrock of Lucasfilm and the basis of the modern toys-and-licensing megabusiness. After A New Hope, Lucas produced but didn’t direct Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner) or Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand), then directed all three prequels (1999–2005). He sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 and stepped away from creative control of the sequels. ✗ Wrong. The answer is George Lucas. Steven Spielberg was Lucas’s close friend (and the godfather of his post-A-New-Hope career) but never directed a Star Wars film. Coppola was Lucas’s mentor at USC and at American Zoetrope. Irvin Kershner directed Empire Strikes Back. The original is Lucas’s. NEXT → QUESTION 3 / 8THE TWIST 03 In 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader delivers cinema’s most-misquoted line at the climax of his Cloud City duel with Luke Skywalker. Vader severs Luke’s hand and reveals their relationship. The exact line is — for the record — “No, I am your father.” What relationship does it confirm? AVader is Luke’s uncle BVader is Luke’s father (Anakin Skywalker) CVader is Obi-Wan’s brother DVader is Han’s father ✓ Correct! Vader is Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s father. The reveal was so jealously guarded that Mark Hamill was only told the real line on set the day they shot it (the script said “Obi-Wan killed your father”), and even James Earl Jones recorded the dub without knowing the full plot context. The line — commonly misquoted as “Luke, I am your father” — rewrote what trilogies could pull off and is broadly considered cinema’s most famous twist. ✗ Wrong. The answer is that Vader is Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker. The whole foundation of the Skywalker saga collapses to this single twist: Anakin (the Jedi prodigy of the prequels) becomes Vader after his fall. Luke and Leia are revealed in Return of the Jedi to be his twin children, separated at birth. NEXT → QUESTION 4 / 8THE GREEN MASTER 04 Yoda — the green, ear-twitching Jedi Master — was puppeted and voiced from his Empire Strikes Back debut through the prequels and the sequels by a single Muppet-show-veteran performer who also voices Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear. Name him. AJim Henson BFrank Oz CSteve Whitmire DBrian Henson ✓ Correct! Frank Oz — longtime Jim Henson collaborator and voice/puppet work on Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle and Grover. Oz puppeted Yoda directly through The Phantom Menace before CGI took over for Attack of the Clones onward, but he’s continued to voice the character through the sequels and animated series. Yoda’s syntax was developed jointly by Lucas and Oz to feel old, foreign and hard-won. ✗ Wrong. The answer is Frank Oz. Jim Henson was Oz’s mentor and collaborator (he created the Muppets) but didn’t voice Yoda. Steve Whitmire took over Kermit after Henson’s 1990 death. Brian Henson is Jim’s son and runs the Henson company today. Yoda is Frank Oz’s. NEXT → QUESTION 5 / 8THE DISNEY DEAL 05 In a deal that reshaped Hollywood, Disney acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4.05 billion in cash and stock — bringing Star Wars, Indiana Jones, ILM and Skywalker Sound under the Disney umbrella. The deal also kicked off the sequel trilogy production. In what year did Disney close the acquisition? A2009 B2010 C2012 D2014 ✓ Correct! 2012 — specifically October 30. The deal was announced with simultaneous reveal that a Star Wars Episode VII was being developed for a 2015 release. Lucas had been quietly preparing his exit from Lucasfilm for years; Kathleen Kennedy had been brought in as co-chair months earlier specifically to take over. The Force Awakens came out three years later, in December 2015, kicking off the modern era. ✗ Wrong. The answer is 2012. 2009 is when Disney acquired Marvel ($4 billion). 2010 is the year before Lucas began signalling exit plans. 2014 is when production proper began on The Force Awakens. Lucasfilm joined Disney on October 30, 2012. NEXT → QUESTION 6 / 8THE MANDALORIAN 06 The Mandalorian launched as Disney+’s flagship original on November 12, 2019 — the day the streaming service itself launched. Created by Jon Favreau and run by Dave Filoni, the show centres on a helmeted bounty hunter who reluctantly becomes a foster father to “The Child” (Grogu). What is the Mandalorian’s real name? ABoba Fett BCobb Vanth CDin Djarin DBo-Katan Kryze ✓ Correct! Din Djarin — played by Pedro Pascal under the helmet (with body double Brendan Wayne handling much of the physical work). The Mandalorian is widely credited with reviving Star Wars on TV, popularising the StageCraft LED-volume virtual production technology now used across Hollywood, and turning baby Yoda — Grogu — into the meme-economy phenomenon of late 2019. Three seasons have aired with a feature film, The Mandalorian & Grogu, set for May 2026. ✗ Wrong. The answer is Din Djarin. Boba Fett is the famous bounty hunter from the original trilogy, with his own Disney+ spinoff (The Book of Boba Fett, 2026). Cobb Vanth is the Tatooine marshal played by Timothy Olyphant. Bo-Katan Kryze is the Mandalorian princess played by Katee Sackhoff. The Mandalorian himself is Din Djarin. NEXT → QUESTION 7 / 8ORDER 66 07 Order 66 — the secret directive that turns the Republic’s clone troopers against their Jedi commanders and effectively ends the Jedi Order — is dramatised in the climactic third act of which prequel film? AEpisode I: The Phantom Menace BEpisode II: Attack of the Clones CEpisode III: Revenge of the Sith DRogue One ✓ Correct! Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). Palpatine’s “Execute Order 66” comm to the clone armies leads to the methodical, planet-by-planet liquidation of the Jedi Order — one of the saga’s most operatic sequences, scored to John Williams’ “Anakin’s Betrayal” cue. The same film features Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side, the Mustafar duel with Obi-Wan, and his rebirth as Darth Vader in the suit. Widely re-evaluated as the best of the prequels. ✗ Wrong. The answer is Revenge of the Sith. Phantom Menace ends with Qui-Gon’s death and the unveiling of Darth Maul. Attack of the Clones ends with the Clone Wars beginning. Rogue One is set just before A New Hope, after Order 66 has long since happened. The Order 66 sequence is the climax of Episode III. NEXT → QUESTION 8 / 8ANDOR 08 Andor (2026–25) is widely regarded as the most adult, politically literate Star Wars project ever made — a slow-burn prequel to Rogue One charting Cassian Andor’s radicalisation against the Empire. The series was created and showrun by a writer/director best known for the original Bourne trilogy and Michael Clayton. Name him. ATony Gilroy BRian Johnson CJon Favreau DDave Filoni ✓ Correct! Tony Gilroy. He’d previously been brought in for extensive Rogue One reshoots in 2016, and Lucasfilm gave him near-total creative independence on Andor. Season 1 (12 episodes, 2026) is widely regarded as Star Wars’ finest dramatic writing ever; Season 2 (also 12 episodes, in four three-episode jumps across 2026) closes the gap to Rogue One’s opening scene. Gilroy’s prior credits: Bourne Identity / Supremacy / Ultimatum / Legacy, plus directing Michael Clayton (2007). ✗ Wrong. The answer is Tony Gilroy. Rian Johnson directed The Last Jedi (2017). Jon Favreau created The Mandalorian and is Lucasfilm’s Disney+-era animation/live-action lieutenant. Dave Filoni runs the Filoniverse (Clone Wars, Rebels, Ahsoka, the upcoming Heir to the Empire film). Andor is Tony Gilroy’s. REVEAL MY RATING → The Force Has Spoken · Final Tally Your Galactic Standing 🗡️ / 8 Jedi Master — or moisture farmer on Tatooine? ⤴ ANOTHER GO

Between , which has been critically acclaimed and a streaming hit, and the upcoming series Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi, 2026 does bring new animated Star Wars series to Disney+. This is consistent with the streamer's past years, though, as The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Visions, the Tales anthologies, or LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy have all released new seasons each year since 2026 alongside the new live-action offerings.

Star Wars & Disney+ Still Need New Live-Action TV

Cassian Andor side eyeing someone off screen

With The Mandalorian and Grogu coming to theaters on May 22, Starfighter releasing in 2027, and many in the works, the franchise is partly shifting back to theatrical over streaming. While films are an undeniably essential part of Star Wars, live-action television is still important for the franchise and for Disney+.

In the past seven years, the live-action shows have been responsible for much of the franchise's greatest success and kept it going strong despite the lack of movies. This is especially true with The Mandalorian and Andor, which were not only hits within the Star Wars fandom, but also outside of it. The Mandalorian became a pop culture phenomenon and the award-winning Andor was widely hailed as one of the most important shows to be released in recent years.

When Disney+ started, it being home to the first live-action show in Star Wars history, The Mandalorian, was one of the streaming service's main selling points. Regardless of the reception that some of the other series received, their releases continued to be invaluable for the streaming service, as it was the exclusive destination to watch new live-action Star Wars.

As wonderful as Maul — Shadow Lord and the other animated shows are, the reality is that they inevitably do not have as large an audience as Ahsoka and the other live-action series. Star Wars needs to consistently keep making and releasing new live-action stories for Disney+ to keep the franchise's extensive reach alive and well. This is also crucial for Disney+, as subscriber numbers will likely decrease significantly if the streamer is unable to continue delivering on one of its greatest strengths and a reason why the service was created in the first place.

193 8.6/10 6/10 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Release Date August 22, 2026 Network Disney+ Showrunner

Cast

• Ahsoka Tano
• Sabine Wren

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WHERE TO WATCH

Directors Steph Green, Jennifer Getzinger, Peter Ramsey, Writers Franchise(s) Creator(s) Expand Collapse

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