Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins, confirmed to be directing Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, clarified the issue in a recent interview with IGN. Jenkins said the film she’s making will be an original story. That said, she does say it will be done with “great influence” both from the Rogue Squadron video games and books. Rogue Squadron fans will just have to wait and see how much it pulls.

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Rogue Squadron’s origin stems not from the films, but from a comic book series written by Michael Stackpole. Stackpole took inspiration from the Star Wars films, specifically Episode 4 and 5, and a trio of books named the Thrawn trilogy to create X-Wing: Rogue Squadron. By the time the game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron released in 1998, Stackpole had written 35 issues of the Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron comic book series, as well as six related novels from a 10-book series.

It was the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron video game that really took the name to another level, however. Launching in December 1998, it sold as the second most-popular game of the holiday season, according to IGN. In the arcade flight shooter, players take on the role of members of Rogue Squadron, a team of the Rebel Alliance’s best X-wing pilots. The story spans the timeline from before Empire Strikes Back through the end of Return of the Jedi.

Suffice to say, there is a robust history of Rogue Squadron story for Disney and Patty Jenkins to pull from. Fans know that she won’t be pulling extensively from that lore, and that the Rogue Squadron will be an original film. That’s not surprising, as Episode 7 through 9 were entirely original, too, despite having a selection of great stories set after Episode 6 to pull from.

Still, even if the Rogue Squadron film is an original story and unrelated to either the game or Stackpole’s writing, there’s still a very concise idea of what Rogue Squadron is. Further, of who Rogue Squadron includes. Once trailers are released, fans will know if this is the Rogue Squadron they’ve always loved, or if the new film is a radical deviation from the classic series.

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is scheduled to release in theaters holiday 2023.

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Source: IGN, 1998 Holiday Sales, Star Wars Fandom