The future of Star Wars was up in the air after the release of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. The evil Empire was destroyed for good with the destruction of the second Death Star, and the Force found its balance again, thanks to Anakin Skywalker finding the light again. However, just because George Lucas was hanging up his Jedi robes for a few years didn’t mean that other creatives weren’t going to get a crack at fleshing out a galaxy far, far away. Various comics, books, and video games brought familiar faces back and sent them on new adventures, some of which would shape the direction of the franchise for years to come.
Of course, like any good thing, when there was too much of one thing, it wasn’t all good. The 1990s, in particular, saw the release of some less-than-stellar Star Wars projects, such as the Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Wars book trilogy, which never found its footing despite enlisting the help of heavyweights like Boba Fett and Darth Vader. At least the ’90s produced another Star Wars story that quickly became one of the best ever. In fact, it gave the series new life at a time it desperately needed it.
Star Wars’ Best Band Got Back Together in 1996
Luke Skywalker spends the bulk of his time in the original trilogy training to become a Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi believes he’s the only hope the galaxy has, so he takes the young boy under his wing and entrusts Yoda to the same after his death. But the Empire doesn’t plan on waiting for Luke to learn every Jedi lesson to attack; it tries to snuff out him and his Rebel friends at every oppurtunity. Not wanting to stand on the sidelines and watch his friends die, Luke moonlights as a pilot, starting as a member of Red Squadron before becoming the leader of Rogue Squadron. He fights alongside Wedge Antilles and his other teammates until the end of the war, when he leaves to focus on rebuilding the Jedi Order.
Wedge can’t leave it all behind and become a space wizard, though, so he rebuilds his old group in the X-Wing book series. The first book, Rogue Squadron, sees Wedge train a new generation of pilots, including Corran Horn, who is at the top of his class. They’re all working hard because they plan to take the fight to the remnants of the Empire, which still hold control of the city planet Coruscant. By the end of Rogue Squadron, the New Republic is one step closer to achieving its goal and bringing peace to the galaxy. The story is inspiring, so much so that there’s still a chance a similar one could come to the big screen.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Still Has a Future
Over two decades after the release of Michael A. Stackpole’s book, Lucasfilm announced that a film called Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was in development, with Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins coming on board to direct. Jenkins grew up obsessed with the sky because her father was a pilot, and she wanted to reignite that fire within her by making a movie about the people who call X-Wing cockpits home. At the time, it sounded like a great idea. However, for the past five years, the movie has struggled to take off.
It’s been quite some time since Lucasfilm officially commented on the status of Rogue Squadron, which sure makes it seem like it’s sitting in the trash heap alongside so many other abandoned projects. But the situation is actually far more complicated than that. Star Wars: Starfighter, a movie that has had a much easier time moving through the production process, appears to borrow plenty of elements from Jenkins’ film, including its place in the timeline. While it’s unlikely that X-Wings take center stage when the movie hits theaters in 2027, there’s at least a slight chance that the heart of Rogue Squadron is still present. After all, anywhere there are bad guys with ships, there are sure to be brave men and women willing to meet them on the battlefield.
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