Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins says she’s signed a new deal to helm the Star Wars: Rogue Squardron movie.
Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins signed on to helm Rogue Squadron more than three years ago, but the project hasn’t made much progress since then, with multiple delays amid reports that Jenkins was butting heads creatively with Lucasfilm. The film was finally removed from the schedule in 2022, but Jenkins has now said she’s signed a new deal to return.
While speaking with Ben Mankiewicz on the Talking Pictures podcast, Jenkins explained that she left Rogue Squadron to develop Wonder Woman 3, but when that project fell apart, she returned to Star Wars.
“When I left Star Wars to do Wonder Woman 3, I thought maybe I’ll come back to Star Wars after Wonder Woman 3,” Jenkins said. “So we did a deal for that to happen, started a deal, but I thought I was doing Wonder Woman 3. So when Wonder Woman 3 went away, Lucasfilm and I were like, ‘oh, we gotta finish this deal.’ We finished the deal right as the strike was beginning. So I now owe a draft of Star Wars and so we will see what happens there.“
Jenkins continued, “[Lucasfilm] have a hard job in front of them of what’s the first movie they’re gonna do. They have other directors who have been working, but I am now, you know, I’m back on doing Rogue Squadron and we’ll see what happens. We need to develop, you know, get it to where we’re both super happy with it.”
“Star Wars is beautiful, the emotion of Star Wars and what it stands for is something so beautiful in this world and particularly in a moment that we’re at right now,” Jenkins explained. “I’ve always wanted to make a fighter pilot movie. It’s been a dream of mine. I’ve always had a hard time with it because I’m in love with the jets of the ’70s and ’80s, and that’s not where the great dogfight stories are. Star Wars becomes a great playground for that. So yes, if I can do something beautiful and do something that serves that audience and is great, I would love to do it.“
When it was first announced, it was said that the Rogue Squadron movie was going to introduce audiences to “a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy.” Jenkins added that she was using her fighter pilot father as an inspiration and wanted to make the “greatest fighter pilot movie ever made.” Love and Monsters co-writer Matthew Robinson was initially attached to pen the script, but it’s not clear if he’s still involved.
What do you think of Patty Jenkins being back onboard for Rogue Squadron?