‘Star Wars’ at Risk of Losing Fanbase Next Year After 2024 Series Scrapped

Star Wars is at risk of losing some of its fans next year after one critically acclaimed series is currently not being released in 2024.

The Walt Disney Company has just released a list of projects dropping onto their streaming service, Disney+, in 2024. Surprisingly, the next part in one of Lucasfilm’s most acclaimed series, Star Wars: Andor Season 2, is not featured on the list, despite earlier claims from creator Tony Gilroy that it was likely targeting an August 2024 debut.

In the new press release from Disney+, the House of Mouse outlined the big properties heading to the streaming service next year. These include Star Wars: The Acolyte from Leslye Headland and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew from Jon Watts and Christopher Ford. There is currently no mention of the second season of Star Wars: Andor at this time.

“We started shooting in November,” Gilroy told the audience at this year’s Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023. “We’re about halfway. We’re gonna shoot through August. We’re on exact schedule. [We’ll] finish in August, spend another year on post. I suppose we’ll come out the following August.”

The bi-annual Star Wars convention, however, preceded both the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes, which, of course, could have scuppered the production timeline. There is no confirmation of this being a factor affecting the Star Wars TV show from either Disney or Lucasfilm.

While 2024 won’t be a complete drought for Kathleen Kennedy’s Star Wars, the absence of something familiar and beloved might put the franchise at risk of losing some of its fanbase. With two completely new entries into the canon coming next year, there is a lot resting on the success of both The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew — that is, if these original series don’t deliver widespread appeal, then fans may eventually tap out of the galaxy far, far away. And, it may seem impossible, but as we have seen with the once untouchable Marvel Cinematic Universe, anything and everything can be taken down.

With the likes of Marvel, shows such as Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, which featured relatively unknown characters (at least in the casual viewer sense), did not pull in the audience numbers Marvel and Disney likely expected. The same could be true for Star Wars when it drops two new series with never-before-seen characters onto Disney+ next year.

Related: The ‘Star Wars’ Franchise Just Received a Glorious Update

Star Wars: Andor, starring Diego Luna as the titular Cassian Andor, debuted on Disney+ last year to critical acclaim. But, in spite of its critical success, it was one of Star Wars‘ lesser-viewed TV shows, paling in comparison to the likes of Pedro Pascal’s The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.

In contrast to The Mandalorian, which takes place in the “Mando-Verse” approximately five years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: Andor precedes George Lucas’s original trilogy, around five years Before the Battle of Yavin (BBY), AKA five years before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (1977).

Andor, the Star Wars franchise’s first 12-episode live-action series, explores the life of Luna’s Cassian Andor and his journey to becoming the Rebel spy fans encountered in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) — the hero who, along with Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso, stole the Death Star plans and delivered them to one Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher).

Despite its title, the Star Wars series is about so much more than just Andor. Joining Luna in Tony Gilroy’s series is Kyle Soller as Syril Karn, Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen, Stellan Skarsgård as Luthen Rael, Fiona Shaw as Maarva Andor, Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, Andy Serkis as Kino Loy, and Denise Gough as Dedra Meero, who all partake in multiple racing timelines exploring the birth of the Rebellion and the sinister Imperial Security Bureau (ISB).

Related: Four Years Later, ‘Star Wars’ Is Changing Disney’s Sequel Trilogy

Like Season 1, Star Wars: Andor Season 2 will feature the events leading up to the fateful day on Scarif, but instead of just a year of time passing, the sophomore season will include four years, so fans should expect an exhilarating follow-up. Andor Season 2 will have episodes directed by Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz, and Alonso Ruizpalacios, with Tony Gilroy, Dan Gilroy, Beau Willimon, and Tom Bissell serving as writers.

Joining Star Wars: The Acolyte and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew for Disney+’s 2024 releases are Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, Echo, and the animated X-Men ’97 series from Marvel Studios.

Are you disappointed that it looks like Star Wars: Andor Season 2 will not be airing in 2024?

This post is originally appeared on Inside the Magic.