New "female-centric" Star Wars series coming to Disney Plus with Russian Doll co-creator as showrunner

There's a new Star Wars series coming to Disney Plus, and it's going to focus on the women of that galaxy far, far, away. 

According to Variety, the series will be helmed by Leslye Headland, the co-creator, executive producer, and showrunner of the Netflix series Russian Doll. Details of the plot and setting are currently under wraps, but sources say it will be "a female-centric series that takes place in a different part of the Star Wars timeline than other projects". 

A moment to speculate. If the series takes place during a different part of the timeline than other projects, we can safely eliminate the time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, as that's when both Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi series and the Cassian Andor/Rogue One prequel series take place. We can also eliminate the time period in which The Mandalorian takes place – specifically five years after Return of the Jedi. It's unclear if "other projects" include The Clone Wars, which is currently airing its final season on Disney Plus – if that's the case, then we can eliminate the entire period between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. 

However, it's uncertain where Star Wars: Rebels stands on that timeline. The series is originally set during the same time period as the Obi-Wan and Cassian series mentioned above, but time-jumps to around the same period as The Mandalorian. 

Rosario Dawson recently joined The Mandalorian cast as Ahsoka Tano and rumors have circulated online that a spin-off for the character lies ahead. There are also rumors that The Clone Wars showrunner Dave Filoni is working on another season of Rebels as Filoni recently changed his Twitter header to artwork of Ahsoka Tano and clone trooper Rex from the Rebels timeline. However, could he be preparing us for a live-action Ahsoka series? It'd be a bold move to shift from animation to live-action, but if The Mandalorian's success proved anything, it's that there's an appetite for more live-action Star Wars series.

If the Rebels timeline technically overlaps with The Mandalorian, then this could be a moot point. Maybe, like Vanity Fair writer Joanna Robinson suggests, we'll get a series about Doctor Aphra, the criminal archaeologist with a questionable moral code who was briefly employed by Darth Vader. I'd watch that.

If all of this has you in the Star Wars series mood, don't fret. Here's a guide to the essential Clone Wars episodes.