New Star Wars TV Show Coming From Iron Man Director

Iron Man and Jungle Book director Jon Favreau will write and produce a live-action Star Wars TV show. Lucasfilm has confirmed that Favreau, who also plays Happy Hogan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will oversee the new show. It will premiere on Disney's upcoming streaming platform.

Although the show has no confirmed release date, the streaming channel is expected to launch in 2019. A new Star Wars series was first announced in November, and last month Disney boss Bob Iger revealed that there were "several" shows in development.

In a statement, Favreau said, "If you 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. I can't wait to embark upon this exciting adventure."

According to Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy, Favreau will bring "the perfect mix of producing and writing talent, combined with a fluency in the Star Wars universe. This series will allow Jon the chance to work with a diverse group of writers and directors and give Lucasfilm the opportunity to build a robust talent base."

This won't be Favreau's first time working in the Star Wars universe. He provided the voice for Pre Vizsla in the animated series The Clone Wars and will voice an alien in the upcoming spin-off movie Solo: A Star Wars Story. He directed the first two Iron Man movies, the hugely successful remake of the The Jungle Book, and is set to helm the live-action version of The Lion King for Disney.

A Star Wars live-action show was in development for several years prior to Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012. Star Wars creator George Lucas was planning a series called Underworld that was to take place between Episode III and Episode IV, and reportedly 50 scripts were written before the Disney deal canceled the project.