Star Wars Rogue Squadron Art

Whether it’s video games, movies, novels, or comics, 2015 is bound to be a big year for Star Wars fans. From the launch of Star Wars: Battlefront later this fall to the highly anticipated release of Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens, new license holder Disney is making sure fans have plenty of content to enjoy.

But, that’s only phase one. Disney’s plan is to keep the ball rolling with new Star Wars content every year, and that means more movies and more games. Next year, for example, will see the release of Star Wars: Rogue One, the first Star Wars spin-off film ever produced for the franchise. That film will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) and will star Felicity Jones.

Rogue One’s title could mean a dozen different things, but many Star Wars fans are hoping it points to a space combat-focused film. The Rogue designation is typically used in conjunction with the Rebel Alliance fleet.

So, with Rogue One on the way for 2016, we have to wonder whether a new Rogue Squadron-esque game might also be in the works. It’s been a while since the Star Wars franchise has accommodated a solid space shooter, but fan interest in the genre has remained relatively high.

Star Wars: Episode VIII

As if one Star Wars announcement wasn’t enough, Disney also confirmed Star Wars: Episode 8 for a May 2017 release. This isn’t totally unsurprising given that Disney already laid their release plans on the table – mainline series films on odd years and spinoffs on evens – but now things have been made official. Disney also made director Rian Johnson’s involvement official, having only been rumored for the project so far.

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Today’s news is obviously very exciting from a film fans’ perspective, but it also gives us two potential video game spin-off opportunities as well. We know that game tie-ins can oftentimes be bad (sometimes even really bad), but that doesn’t mean Electronic Arts has to tie directly to the films. Rather, they can take Rogue One and use it as free marketing for a Rogue Squadron reboot or a Tie-Fighter reboot.

Similarly, EA can use the excitement for Episode 8 to drum up interest in whatever Star Wars game Visceral or BioWare are working on. Star Wars Battlefront isn’t a direct tie-in to Episode 7, but we’d be surprised if it didn’t have a reference or two. After all, EA aligned Battlefront’s launch with Star Wars Episode 7’s release date for a reason.

For now, the future is nothing but bright for Star Wars fans, and it’s likely to only get better. It may have taken 15 years to get back into the swing of things, but now Star Wars is back in a big way.

Are you looking forward to the next two years of Star Wars films? How do you feel about a new Rogue Squadron?

Source: Star Wars