With projects like The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter on deck, Lucasfilm appears to be pivoting back to theatrical releases after years of producing new shows for Disney+. However, while the studio’s priorities seem to have shifted, it isn’t abandoning the streaming landscape entirely. Animated series Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord was recently renewed for a second season. On the live-action side of things, Star Wars: Ahsoka Season 2 is on the way, though a release date hasn’t been confirmed yet. For those worried if that could mean a delay is in store, the latest update from Jon Favreau should be encouraging.
In an interview with SFX Magazine (via The Direct) to promote the upcoming release of The Mandalorian and Grogu, Favreau discussed how the film relates to Ahsoka Season 2 within the context of the larger MandoVerse. In his comments, he shared that he has “seen all of” Ahsoka Season 2. “Anybody who saw the sequels knows that there’s a First Order coming in, like, 20 years from where we are now in the storyline,” he said. “And then Ahsoka Season 2 is coming out – which I’ve seen all of – and that’s definitely more dealing with the larger [picture], a higher level. That’s about the officers and [The Mandalorian & Grogu is] the enlisted men – this is more of a ground-level experience of what’s going on.”
When Will Ahsoka Season 2 Release?
Image Courtesy of Lucasfilm
Favreau didn’t have much to say about the status of Ahsoka Season 2, but it’s nonetheless encouraging to hear him confirm that he’s seen the whole thing. That indicates post-production has been going smoothly and the episodes are more or less complete. There’s probably still some work that needs to be done on them (particularly with regard to visual effects), but it sounds like everything has been shaping up nicely on the Ahsoka front. Even as showrunner Dave Filoni has started his new job as Lucasfilm co-president, he’s been able to put Ahsoka together.
If Favreau’s seen “all of” Ahsoka Season 2, then the show remains on track for a premiere later this year. The one thing Favreau did not reveal is a potential release window. The first season of Ahsoka debuted in late August, so it would be reasonable to assume that’s the target for Season 2. That would give it a three-month buffer from The Mandalorian and Grogu, and it would be smart for Lucasfilm to keep their two high-profile projects separated on the release calendar. It’s true that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premiered while The Mandalorian Season 1 was ongoing, but the Star Wars franchise is in a different place now.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is probably why Star Wars fans don’t have an exact release date for Ahsoka Season 2 yet. With about a month to go until The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters, the movie’s uneven marketing campaign has reached the homestretch, so Lucasfilm and Disney are going to do all they can over the next few weeks to raise buzz and awareness in the hopes of juicing up soft box office projections. The Mandalorian and Grogu is the top priority, and Lucasfilm doesn’t want to distract fans by promoting something else. Odds are, we won’t get any official updates on the Ahsoka front until after the film has enjoyed its time in the spotlight.
Once we start learning more about Ahsoka Season 2, it’ll be interesting to learn more about the overarching MandoVerse storyline. Back when The Mandalorian Season 4 was being developed, the idea was for it to help set up Ahsoka Season 2 (and possibly even Dave Filoni’s New Republic movie), but Favreau had to change everything around when Lucasfilm decided to make a movie instead. He had to retool things so that The Mandalorian and Grogu worked as a standalone movie (even for people who haven’t seen the TV show), but he also teased that there are connections to the larger story being told. Fortunately, it won’t be much longer until fans get to see how all the pieces come together.
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