REPORT: 'Star Wars' The High Republic Project Set To Start Production Soon

Star Wars Celebration 2022 will occur between May 26 and 29 in Anaheim, California. Besides being among fellow fans, buying merchandise until the credit card says "no," getting to know the plans for new books and comics, and learning about various behind the scenes stuff, the large panels (yes, the one where you have to camp overnight on hard and cold concrete in hopes to get a wristband the following day) is undoubtedly one of the main attractions of this event.

This immediately begs the question, what are Lucasfilm's plans for these "main events." First, there will likely be an update on the state of Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron movie, a trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi and maybe Andor, and news about The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.

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But Lucasfilm might have a surprise up its sleeve - the official announcement of the second Disney+ live-action series set during The High Republic era, besides the already announced The Acolyte. Despite not being confirmed yet, the project seems to be going in front of cameras in only a few months.

Rumors of a project first surfaced at the beginning of February, where the series was described as a kind of "Stranger Things in space." Lucasfilm's codename for the series is Grammar Rodeo, probably a reference to an episode of The Simpsons, where Bart and some other children trick their parents into allowing them to go on a road trip by claiming they will attend the National Grammar Rodeo.

A few days later, a casting call from Lucasfilm was discovered, searching for 4 actors between 11 and 12 years old - 2 boys codenamed "Wyatt" and "Ned" and 2 girls codenamed "Faye" and "Kylie." Lucasfilm also put out a call for a man in his 30s to 40s, but no additional information on this role is available. Again, there is no confirmation that this casting call is related to the rumored series, but the Stranger Things settings would definitely fit.

Several of the books and comics that have been published under The High Republic banners include protagonists that are pre-teens and teens, like Justina Ireland's A Test of Courage or The High Republic Adventures series, published by IDW. Grammar Rodeo could consist of some of these characters, but it is more likely that the show's characters will be original.

If the rumors are true, Jon Favreau is on board acting as a producer of the show, and Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts is reportedly in talks to direct one or more episodes of the series.

With a casting call out, it seems evident that the series has been in pre-production for some time and a new report now claims that filming will start in June and run until December. Sets are being constructed at a studio in Culver City, California, but the cast and crew will move to Manhattan Beach later in the year. This is where one of Lucasfilm's Volumes is located and where The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett have been shot and parts of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Filming the Ahsoka series is currently slated for April there, but as work on season 3 of The Mandalorian is still going on, the schedule might have to be pushed back a few weeks.

Still, Grammar Rodeo could debut at the end of 2023 or early in 2024. With shooting starting this summer, a trailer at Star Wars Celebration is highly unlikely but could debut at Disney's Investor Day at the end of the year. But Kathleen Kennedy could officially announce the series (and its actual title at Anaheim, maybe bring the cast and Jon Watts on stage to talk about the project and show some concept art.

Such a panel could also answer the question of Grammar Rodeo being Lucasfilm's first show for Disney+ that is targeted at a younger audience.

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Written by Gerald Petschk

Source(s): The Direct, Bespin Bulletin, The Illuminerdi

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