With a new standalone movie coming to theaters soon in the form of Solo: A Star Wars Story, Disney is not slowing down the Star Wars ship anytime soon. The latest announcement is that Jon Favreau will write and executive produce a new Star Wars series. Favreau is well known as the director of Iron Man and Iron Man 2, which helped kickstart the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we all know and love today. He also directed the live action adaptation of The Jungle Book for Disney, which proved to be wildly successful. The film likewise kickstarted Disney’s trend of creating live action adaptations of their animated films. Jon Favreau is also no stranger to Star Wars either. The filmmaker voiced roles in The Clone Wars series and in the upcoming Solo film.
On the official Star Wars website, Favreau voices his familiarity with the series. “If you had told me at 11 years old that I would be getting to tell stories in the Star Wars universe, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he remarks. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy mentions his “fluency in the Star Wars universe” factoring in the decision to hire him.
The announcement of Favreau as producer and writer should be a safe bet for Disney considering his history with them. No further details have been provided, such as who will be cast or when the series will be released. The biggest question remains unanswered as well. What will the series focus on? After creating several movies and shows outside of the main saga, Disney has already covered much ground. Unlike the movies, the Star Wars shows typically focus on longer gaps of time, such as the Clone Wars. The time periods before the prequel trilogy and after the original trilogy remain relatively untouched, so it wouldn’t be suprising if Favreau chooses to focus on one or the other.