Upon reviving the incredibly popular Star Wars franchise last year with the release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Studios have decided to push the envelope as it were and start expanding the Star Wars Universe through the use of standalone stories set in the Star Wars universe. The first of which winds the clock back 34 years from the events of The Force Awakens to the events which lead up to the destruction of the Death Star and the eventual fall of the Galactic Empire.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will follow the paths of characters not previously seen in the Star Wars narrative while following a story that is of some small familiarity to fans. The unique development of the Rogue One story will not only give fans a unique look into the Star Wars Universe, but also will give Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Studios a chance to gauge their audience on the level of acceptance of a standalone Star Wars story. The conglomerate entrusted with the Star Wars franchise is planning on utilizing the feedback from Rogue One to strategize the next steps for the Star Wars narratives.

The current lineup for the Star Wars franchise already includes one more spinoff film based on a Young Han Solo. Though it currently looks like the spinoffs will mostly revolve around characters and events that are already familiar to the core Star Wars narrative, Disney plans on veering away from familiarity with any future spin-offs that may occur.

If all goes according to Rogue One’s plan, future standalones won’t have to lean against events from previous films. “I think that that’s exciting for fans. It’s certainly exciting as a filmmaker, the notion that we can explore these stories that genuinely have a beginning, middle and an end, and don’t necessarily have to tie into something specific.”

The new direction for stand-alone spinoffs does not necessarily mean we won’t be seeing any familiar elements in future films. As it turns out a Bobba Fett/Bounty Hunter movie was put into the works by Lucasfilm. Director Josh Trank was hired to head up the project. The project came so close to being officially announced, Lucasfilm even prepped a teaser reel to show at Star Wars Celebration in spring of 2015. Unfortunately for fans, following on the tail end of the ill received production of his Fantastic Four reboot, Trank dropped out of the Bobba Fett film and the project was put on the back burner just shy of the big reveal.

Although a Bobba Fett film has been almost confirmed, at this point we’re not sure if it will ever be officially announced or not. So far the only spinoff other than Rogue One that has been confirmed is the Han Solo movie. Set to be released in 2019 the film will be starring Aldren Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, and Emilia Clarke in a yet unannounced role. There has been speculation however on potential ideas for other spin-off story lines not excluding an Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone movie. In Fact Ewan MacGregor himself has stated multiple times that if Lucasfilm invites him back to reprise the role of Obi-Wan he would enthusiastically accept.

Regardless of the many theories and speculations going around, at this time nothing has been officially announced by Lucasfilm or Walt Disney Studios regarding the future of any possible Star Wars spinoffs. They have stated that they will be waiting to gauge the reaction to Rogue One before deciding on what paths to take.

There are [possible movies] that we have been talking a lot about, but we are planning to sit down in January, since we will have had The Force Awakens released, now Rogue One, and we’ve finished shooting Episode VIII. We will have enough information where we can step back a little bit and say, What are we doing? What do we feel is exciting? And what are some of the things we want to explore?

It is extremely exciting to see such a beloved franchise brought back to life with such energy and enthusiasm. One thing we can say for sure is that the future looks to hold quite the adventure for fans of Star Wars. What do you think we might see in the future of the Star Wars franchise? We’d love to speculate on the possibilities and hear what you guys think! Stay right here with DFTG for all your entertainment news updates and feel free to poke around and check out some more exciting Star Wars news while you’re here. May the Force be with you!