A new report claims that Simon Kinberg, the writer for box office disasters X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The 355 will pen a new trilogy of Star Wars films that will be produced by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Kathleen Kennedy attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. shares that this trilogy “will comprise Episodes 10-12 of The Skywalker Saga that began with George Lucas’s 1977 first film.”
However, he also noted that “Insiders disputed my intel that Kinberg will continue that storyline, saying this instead will being a new saga, and sit alongside percolating Star Wars projects with James Mangold, Sharmeen Obaid-Chiny, Taika Waititi, and Donald Glover.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Force Awakens (2015), Lucasfilm
While Fleming notes that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Taika Waititi’s movies are “percolating,” it’s likely these films are dead. Back in August, Matt McGloin at Cosmic Book News reported that Waititi’s film was not happening.
He reported, “Conversations I have had with insiders at the recent Comic-Con have informed me that Taika Waititi is definitely not doing his Star Wars movie at Lucasfilm.”
He adds, “I was also actually told by this insider that Leslye Headland is done at Lucasfilm.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 23: Taika Waititi attends the Thor: Love and Thunder World Premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in [Hollywood], California on June 23, 2022. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
Furthermore, McGloin explained, “I was also told Waititi didn’t finish the reshoots and the final cut of the movie.” He speculates that Marvel finished the film themselves rather than bringing in a new director.
McGloin then declared, “My insiders have said as a result, that Taika Waititi is out at Lucasfilm and not doing his Star Wars movie.”
Taika Waititi in “Time Bandits,” now streaming on Apple TV+.
Waititi’s Star Wars film was originally announced on May 4, 2020 on the official Star Wars website. The company stated, “Academy Award® winner Taika Waititi, who recently won Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit and directed the widely-acclaimed first season finale episode of The Mandalorian on Disney+, will direct and co-write a new Star Wars feature film for theatrical release.”
The site added, “Joining Waititi on the screenplay will be Academy Award® nominee Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917, Last Night in Soho), who received a BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year on the three-time Oscar-winning film, 1917.”
Director Taika Waititi on the set of Marvel Studios‘ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
In September 2023, Waititi admitted he had been unable to finish a script for the film. While presenting an award to Deadpool and Wolverine director Shawn Levy, Waititi said, “After [Levy] has had his way with that franchise like a cruel, indiscriminate virus he’ll move onto another, and another, and another, and then eventually probably Star Wars.”
Waititi then admitted, “Unlike me I hope he manages to finish a script for that.”
Taika Waititi honors Shawn Levy at the TIFF Tribute Awards: “Shawn has resisted the comfort of sameness in career, resulting in work that is audacious in its range of genres.” https://t.co/XkWfqBFsIz pic.twitter.com/kKBOz9In2W
— Variety (@Variety) September 11, 2023
As for the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy film with Daisy Ridley, it was reported in October by Matthew Belloni at Puck that screenwriter Steven Knight “is off the New Jedi Order film project.”
He added, “Belloni added, “Lucasfilm is now hunting for a new writer on New Jedi Order, which almost certainly means the film will not be ready by December 2026, the date Disney has staked out for a Star Wars release.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: (L-R) Daisy Ridley, Kathleen Kennedy and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy attend the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
This report comes following Daisy Ridley claiming that “things are evolving” with the film during a screening for her recent film Magpie.
She added, “I continue to be very excited. There will be an update soon.”
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
As far as Knight being off the project, this was not surprising. Back in September scooper and entertainment analyst WDW Pro speculated that Knight had moved on given he announced that he plans to open a studio in Los Angeles to film Peaky Blinders.
Knight told the BBC, ““I’m going to open a Digbeth Loc Studio here where people can go and look at what we’re doing. See pictures, decks and video of what’s happening, so people in LA can experience what we’re doing at Digbeth.”
Steven Knight, writer, Headshot
Following this report, WDW Pro speculated, “He is wrapped up in opening studios. That is no small endeavor. And our understanding was he was supposed to be working with the Rey movie, with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, with Lucasfilm and that would be an ongoing process. It seems to us, Lorn, and again, we could be wrong here, but seems to us that he is now going to be working on Peaky Blinders thing.
“And that makes us wonder if either the Rey movie has been delayed such that he can work on this for years and years and come back to it later or he’s been removed and nobody knows it yet, which would not portend well for the Rey movie either. So that’s where we are being led to believe that perhaps the Rey movie has experienced even more hiccups,” WDW Pro added.
READ: Rumor: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Star Wars Film “Needs More Work And Is Now On Hold”
Interestingly enough, Ridley, who was expected to reprise her role as Rey, was revealed to be working on a new action-thriller film titled Dedication from Casino Royale and GoldenEye director Martin Campbell just a few days ago.
Variety revealed the film sees Ridley play the role of Major Billie Jean Parker “a decorated Marine Corps commander who is relieved of duty after a high-stakes mission in the Philippines results in civilian casualties, despite capturing anarchist leader Omar Romatas. Facing the loss of her career, she visits her dying father, Clyde, a former Marine, who asks her to attend a dedication ceremony for a school building named in his honor. The event takes a deadly turn when Omar Romatas’s vengeful son, Bento, launches an assault, taking hostages. Forced back into combat, Billie Jean sets traps and executes precise strikes to outwit the attackers. Her tactical instincts and ruthless efficiency shift the fight, as she confronts her past and proves her worth in a relentless battle that will define her legacy.”
Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Last Jedi (2017), Lucasfilm
What do you make of this new announcement?
