Is Lucasfilm Preparing for a New Star Wars Series?

Are Lucasfilm and Disney preparing for a new Star Wars series? That would be the question to ask with recent news that the studios, which are in charge of the most successful sci-fi franchise of all time, have just trademarked a new title. Star Wars: Rivals now falls under their dominion and ownership. Anyone wanting to use it to create their own fan film or fiction - which is all you can do with the Star Wars name - would be advised to rethink their strategy.

According to The Star Wars Post, the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office just registered a few hours ago Lucasfilm's trademark for the title Star Wars: Rivals to be used for the categories of either "product" or a mystery "production." The closest and most probable guess is that it can refer to the title of a new video game or a still-under-wraps animated series.

This is just a tip of what might turn out to be a huge iceberg. The revelation of a title alone can trigger endless fan speculation on the plot of a movie or the fate of the characters. Maybe that's why Lucasfilm decided to drop the numbers in its movie titles and just focus on the sub-title.

It might also take time before Lucasfilm unveils more of this new project it is keeping under its wings. But given the growing fan expectation for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the resounding success of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, any new video game, animated series, or film set within the familiar saga would be welcomed with open arms. To put it mildly, fans can't get enough of the adventures of the Skywalkers and their merry band of Force-wielding Jedis.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson and starring Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaacs, and Carrie Fisher, will open in cinemas on December 15, 2017.