It seems as though Rey might be returning to Star Wars.
Lucasfilm is reportedly developing the next chapter of the Skywalker Saga, and despite months of questions about whether Disney might distance Star Wars from its divisive sequel trilogy, Daisy Ridley’s Rey is apparently part of the plan.
According to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts is attached to direct the first installment of a new trilogy being written by Simon Kinberg.
Kinberg has been developing the mysterious trilogy since late 2024, but the latest report offers considerably more information about what Lucasfilm intends these movies to be.
THR reports that the project is intended to continue what Lucasfilm calls the Skywalker Saga, which currently encompasses Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace through Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker.
If the project moves forward as currently conceived, Kinberg’s first movie would be Episode X. And Rey would reportedly return.
THR states that Ridley’s character is expected to “appear in some capacity” during the new trilogy. That wording does not establish Rey as the trilogy’s protagonist or indicate how substantial her role would be, but it does suggest Lucasfilm currently intends to maintain a direct connection between its next numbered Star Wars films and Disney’s sequel trilogy.
Disney Has Not Greenlit ‘Episode X’
There is a significant caveat to all of this.
Disney has not greenlit the trilogy.
Sources told THR that Kinberg’s project remains in development and has yet to receive approval from Lucasfilm’s parent company. Lucasfilm itself declined to comment on the report.
Lucasfilm has spent years developing potential theatrical projects that either stalled, changed dramatically, or disappeared entirely before production. Consequently, Watts’ attachment and Kinberg’s ongoing work don’t guarantee audiences will ever see Episode X in theaters.
Rey from Star Wars – Disney+
READ: Activision President Says They Won’t Put Current Call of Duty Studios on Halo
Nevertheless, THR reports that Kinberg’s trilogy appears to be the project furthest along in development following Star Wars: Starfighter.
Shawn Levy’s Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling, is currently expected to arrive in theaters in May 2027.
That makes the Kinberg project worth watching even without a formal greenlight.
This Isn’t the Previously Announced Rey Movie
The new trilogy should also not be confused with another post-Rise of Skywalker project Lucasfilm has spent years not developing.
At Star Wars Celebration in 2023, Lucasfilm announced that Daisy Ridley would return as Rey in a movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. The story was described as taking place after The Rise of Skywalker, with Rey attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order.
That project subsequently experienced a series of writing changes.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Daisy Ridley onstage during the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson worked on an earlier incarnation before departing. Steven Knight was subsequently hired to write the screenplay before he too left the project, with George Nolfi eventually coming aboard.
The Kinberg trilogy, however, was developed separately.
Some subsequent reports now claim Obaid-Chinoy’s project has been shelved in favor of Kinberg’s Episode X, although that claim is not contained in the THR report and Lucasfilm has not publicly announced the cancellation of Obaid-Chinoy’s movie.
For now, it’s therefore safer to treat the two as separate projects while acknowledging that the future of the previously announced Rey film remains uncertain.
Jon Watts Returns to ‘Star Wars’
Watts already has substantial experience working inside both Disney’s blockbuster machinery and the Star Wars franchise.
He directed all three Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movies — Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home — before co-creating the Disney+ series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew with Christopher Ford.
Watts also directed two episodes of Skeleton Crew.
The crew of kids and SM-33 on Star Wars Skeleton Crew – YouTube, Star Wars
READ: DC Studios Film Delayed into 2028
THR describes Watts as a reliable choice for a franchise that has become somewhat notorious for its difficulties retaining filmmakers. The director successfully navigated increasingly large productions during his Spider-Man tenure, culminating with the enormously successful No Way Home.
His Star Wars television project was less successful at finding an audience. THR itself characterized Skeleton Crew as “well-regarded but unfortunately not greatly seen.”
Now, Lucasfilm apparently wants Watts to make the jump from Disney+ to the franchise’s flagship theatrical saga.
Lucasfilm Faces a Difficult Theatrical Moment
The timing also deserves attention.
Disney only recently returned Star Wars to theaters with The Mandalorian and Grogu following the franchise’s lengthy absence from cinemas after The Rise of Skywalker.
That theatrical comeback failed to produce the kind of blockbuster performance historically associated with Star Wars, putting considerably more pressure on Lucasfilm’s future movie strategy.
Its next opportunity will be Levy’s Starfighter.
Against that backdrop, Lucasfilm is apparently considering returning directly to the numbered Skywalker Saga afterward.
Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray in Star Wars: Starfighter – Disney, Lucasfilm
There are countless directions Lucasfilm could take Star Wars. The company could explore entirely different historical periods, introduce a new generation of characters disconnected from the Skywalkers, or continue expanding portions of the franchise that have little connection to the sequel trilogy.
Instead, one of its most advanced projects reportedly carries perhaps the strongest possible connection to the existing saga: Episode X.
And Rey would apparently be part of it.
Whether that ultimately becomes Disney’s plan remains another question entirely.
After years of abandoned Star Wars projects, a director attachment and a screenplay in development shouldn’t be mistaken for a movie entering production.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
But if Disney eventually greenlights Kinberg’s trilogy in its current form, it would provide a fairly definitive answer to one of the biggest questions surrounding the post-Kathleen Kennedy era of Lucasfilm. Rather than retreating from Disney’s sequel trilogy, the studio would be extending the story beyond it.
How do you feel about Rey returning to Star Wars? Sound off and let us know!
UP NEXT: Avengers: Endgame Encore Won the Weekend Box Office Revenue Race But Lost in Ticket Sales
