Star Wars 40th Anniversary: Upcoming Movies, Games, And TV Series

It is a great time to be a Star Wars fan. In the past decade, fans have already gotten two critically acclaimed movies--The Force Awakens and Rogue One--along with two animated series--The Clone Wars and Rebels. On the gaming side of things, the Battlefront series was revived in 2015.

It doesn't stop there, though. The next few years are going to be huge for the Star Wars universe as there is a Battlefront sequel as well as numerous movies and series on the way. Here is what you have to look forward to in the upcoming couple of years.

Forces of Destiny - July 2017

At Star Wars Celebration, a canonical series of animated shorts was announced called Forces of Destiny. Each episode will be 2-3 minutes in length and feature the heroines of the Star Wars universe.

There are lots of returning actors for this series: Daisy Ridley as Rey, Felicity Jones as Jyn, and Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata. Forces of Destiny will launch in July on Disney's YouTube page, and in addition, eight more shorts will come to the Disney Channel in the fall.

Battlefront II - November 17, 2017

At Star Wars Celebration, fans of 2015's Battlefront got new details about Battlefront II coming later this year, including story elements, a campaign mode, and more. The trailer for the upcoming game gave fans insight into the story through the eyes of Commander Iden Versio. We also saw Luke Skywalker, Kylo Ren, and Darth Maul. who will all be playable in the game.

Walt Williams and Mitch Dyer are writing the story for the game, and game director Mark Thompson said the two have an "encyclopedic knowledge of everything that existed" in the franchise.

EA/Origin Access subscribers will be able to play a portion of the game five days early. However, those playing Battlefront II on the PC will not be able to partake in offline split-screen co-op, a feature that is present on Xbox One and PS4.

Finally, those who pre-order the deluxe version of the game will get access three days early, upgraded versions of all four trooper classes, and more. Pre-orders for the standard edition come with exclusive Kylo Ren and Rey-themed looks, which are inspired by The Last Jedi, as well as a few other things. You can find out all the pre-order bonuses here.

Star Wars Rebels: Season 4 - Fall 2017

The fourth season of the animated series Star Wars: Rebels is coming to Disney XD this fall. A trailer was released during Celebration, and we learned during the Rebels panel that Forest Whitaker will reprise his role from Force Awakens as a young Saw Gerrera. In addition, Warwick Davis (Return of the Jedi) will be playing Rukh, Thrawn's assassin bodyguard from the novel Heir to the Empire.

Sadly, it was also revealed that this will be the last season of the series. Creator Dave Filoni explained it was his decision to end the show: "I know that's tough. It's tough for me. But believe me, I can say I know what it's like when I don't get to end a series [referring to the cancellation of The Clone Wars]. What happens when you don't end a series is you end up making t-shirts and you have to prolong, and it wasn't as fun. So believe me, this show--by no means--represents an end to anything we're doing in animation."

Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi - December 15, 2017

The next movie in the Star Wars saga is coming at the end of this year. The Last Jedi's trailer was revealed at Celebration in April, and we have a breakdown of some of the big moments here. This is the eighth episode in the series, and a recent Japanese ad for the film gave fans a better idea of where the story is headed.

Most recently, Vanity Fair had the characters from the upcoming film on their cover, showing off Rey, Luke, Captain Phasma, Kylo Ren and more. In addition, a sweet poster for the film was released last month, which seems to hint at the idea of Rey being caught in the middle of the light and dark side.

Han Solo - May 25, 2018

The second non-episodic movie in the Star Wars franchise will revolve around the adventures of a young Han Solo, which started filming back in February. In 2018, Star Wars is moving from its December release dates to May. Alden Ehrenreich stars in the titular role in the film, which follows Solo prior to the events of A New Hope. The movie focuses on Solo's early encounters with Lando Calrissian, who will be played by Donald Glover. In addition, Woody Harrelson was cast as Beckett, a scoundrel and mentor to Han Solo.

Chris Miller and Phil Lord (The Lego Movie) are directing the film and released an image from the set of Han Solo's blaster, which you can see here. The only surprising thing we've heard from the set revolves around Han Solo's name, which will be revealed in the film.

Star Wars Episode IX - May 24, 2019

Finally, in 2019, the final film of the third trilogy hits theaters, although there is no indication the series will stop at Episode IX. Jurassic World director Colin Trvorrow will helm the film. After Carrie Fisher's untimely passing, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy stated that the film will not use CGI to resurrect the character. However, Fisher does reprise her role as General Organa in The Last Jedi.

Untitled Star Wars Solo Film - 2020

The last film currently on the slate will not come out until 2020. It's the third solo Star Wars film, and there is no confirmed information as to what or who it will be about. Many fans would love to see a Boba Fett solo film, and since both Rogue One and Han Solo take place prior to A New Hope, a movie about Boba Fett becoming the bounty hunter fans know and love would surely be a hit.