Star Wars live-action TV show adds director Jon Favreau as executive producer and writer

The 'Iron Man' and 'Jungle Book' filmmaker joins a galaxy far, far away...

A still from Empire Strikes Back (Disney/Fox)

Lucasfilm has announced that Jungle Book and Iron Man director Jon Favreau executive producer their upcoming live-action Star Wars series.

The studio currently has multiple projects on the go, including a film trilogy from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, and a separate trilogy from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weis.

Speaking about the announcement, Favreau said: “If you told me at 11 years old that I would be getting to tell stories in the Star Wars universe, I wouldn’t have believed you. I can’t wait to embark upon this exciting adventure.”

The filmmaker is no stranger to the Star Wars franchise, having voiced Pre Vizsla in the animated TV series The Clone Wars and an alien in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Head of LucasFilm Kathleen Kennedy said: “I couldn’t be more excited about Jon coming on board to produce and write for the new direct-to-consumer platform.

“Jon brings the perfect mix of producing and writing talent, combined with a fluency in the Star Wars universe. This series will allow Jon the chance to work with a diverse group of writers and directors and give Lucasfilm the opportunity to build a robust talent base.”

Few other details were revealed, although the series will debut on Disney’s upcoming streaming service – the studio is expected to release lots of new original content exclusively onto the service, including a possible live-action Marvel show. No release date has been released for either the show or streaming service.