For a while now we’ve been hearing rumors and reports of a mysterious Star Wars project that’s nicknamed “Grammar Rodeo,” but we haven’t really known anything about it. It hasn’t even been officially acknowledged as being in existence – until now.
In the recent Vanity Fair feature on Star Wars, written by Anthony Breznican, we got a look at some of the future Star Wars projects and what’s on the horizon. In addition to mentioning Obi-Wan Kenobi (May 2022), Andor (late summer 2022), The Mandalorian (late 2022 or early 2023), Ahsoka (2023), and The Acolyte (TBD), the article confirmed the existence of “Grammar Rodeo,” which is in development. We learned several things about it:
- It is a series that doesn’t yet have a title and that is keeping the plot under wraps, but it is set in the same time period as The Mandalorian (roughly), taking place “during the post-Return of the Jedi reconstruction that follows the fall of the Empire.”
- The series is created and executive produced by Jon Watts, best-known for directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe trilogy of Spider-Man films (Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home). It sounds like he’s directing and Chris Ford is writing (who worked with Watts as a writer on Homecoming). Watts is a significant and notable addition to the Star Wars franchise, coming over from the MCU.
- A casting call for the series is looking for “four children, around 11 to 12 years old.” That might give us an idea of what to expect a bit more, and Breznican added that, “Inside Lucasfilm, the show is being described as a galactic version of classic Amblin coming-of-age adventure films of the ’80s.”
- The working title of “Grammar Rodeo” is taken from an episode of The Simpsons, “Bart on the Road,” where Bart and friends take a road trip while telling their parents that they’re going to a national Grammar Rodeo event for school. It’s a nice pull for a title that’s also a deception for what it’s really about.
So all of that might not seem like much, but it’s far more than we knew previously. We didn’t know anything about it before, but now we know the director/creator attached, a timeline for when it’s taking place, and perhaps a slight inkling of what it’ll be about (some kids coming of age in an adventure in the galaxy, which feels very Star Warsy for sure).
One thing that this suggests might be the case, but that we don’t know for sure, is that this might be a part of the larger Mandoverse that is happening currently, with The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. It sounds like it’ll be taking place in a similar time period, but just how connected it’ll be remains to be seen. I would also expect that, with Watts involved and with kids seemingly a main focus, this might be a more lighthearted adventure series, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.
I’m fully expecting that we’ll get more information at Celebration next week, but for now we at least know some things about this super mysterious new Star Wars project in the works!
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