For most of us, the pandemic now feels like a distant memory. During that time, movie studios were forced to get creative, often hosting virtual events - such as DC FanDome - in an effort to build buzz in a world where its biggest stars were confined to Zoom screens.
In Disney's case, 2020 ended with a splashy Investor Day which saw us treated to a Comic-Con-level of surprise announcements from the House of Mouse, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm. However, in the latter's case, quite a few projects have failed to materialise (which seems to have become the norm under Kathleen Kennedy's leadership).
A new book, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, was recently released and reveals that both Kennedy and MCU boss Kevin Feige were pressured into announcing projects before they were ready. Had that not been the case, those which have yet to happen would still be ideas on a board rather than movies and TV shows fans have grown frustrated waiting for.
So, in the case of Star Wars, what happened?
Well, the majority of projects did become a reality but since being unveiled way back in December 2020, The Acolyte, for example, still doesn't have a premiere date even though production has wrapped. That's a perfect example of a project announced too soon, resulting in the excitement fizzling out since.
However, the four which failed to become a reality are Rangers of the New Republic, Lando, A Droid Story, and Rogue Squadron.
The latter was meant to be a movie helmed by Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins. The filmmaker even donned a pilot's uniform and posed alongside an X-Wing, hyping up an adventure we were clearly meant to believe would be a big deal. Not only has it since been put on the back burner, but Jenkins is believed to have left over creative differences.
Lando was a Disney+ series set to be spearheaded by Justin Simien; now, Stephen and Donald Glover are producing it as a movie and Simien learned of his firing on social media.
Rangers of the New Republic probably would have become a reality, but Gina Carano's controversial comments on social media saw her fired as Cara Dune and essentially blacklisted in Hollywood. These days, she makes low-budget fare for conservative websites and ideas from the series have been folded into The Mandalorian.
Finally, we have A Droid Story, an animated film using realistic CG we'd heard would revolve around R2-D2 and C-3PO embarking on an adventure together. The last time an update was shared was back in 2021.
More Star Wars movies and TV shows have happened than those that haven't, but it's hard not to wonder exactly how much damage this presentation did to Lucasfilm's reputation among already disgruntled fans disappointed by the sequel trilogy.