We learned that a new Star Wars TV series is coming to Disney Plus from Russian doll maker Leslye Headland. Variety says Headland will write and direct the series, which is being described as "female-focused" and taking place in a different part of the Star Wars timeline than the other projects Disney has planned at the moment. Russian Doll is one of our best Netflix shows, and assuming the report is true, anything more grounded in the Skywalker saga period should suit us. The Mandalorian doesn't have particularly close ties to the main movies (at the moment, anyway), but the upcoming Obi-Wan and Rogue One spinoff series on Disney Plus are essentially extensions of stories we've already seen in the movies. After The Rise of Skywalker has made the Star Wars universe too small, we can't wait to see what other creators have to offer.
The Groundhog Day-esque Russian Doll, with Natasha Lyonne, was an immediate critical hit on Netflix. It's no wonder Disney would turn to a show like this to infuse the Star Wars universe with more interesting voices. The Mandalorian season 2 is scheduled to begin in October 2020. The other Star Wars projects in the works on Disney Plus, including this one, don't have release dates yet. Work apparently started on The Mandalorian season 3 as well.
The future of Star Wars is really on the small screen
"The priority for the next few years is television," Disney's Bob Iger said in February about the future of Star Wars. With three new Star Wars movies slated for 2022, it's clear that The Mandalorian fueled the near-instantaneous rise of Disney Plus to 50 million customers. Given how long these series seem to take, the longer the better for us. The Mandalorian was a good example of how you can tell different kinds of stories in the Star Wars universe.