Lucasfilm has one movie star under its belt right now: the character of Rey Skywalker. That’s the conclusion of a new article in The Hollywood Reportera post-mortem analysis of the news last week about Simon Kinberg taking over as writer/producer of a new trilogy of Star Wars movies for Disney/Lucasfilm.
Though Daisy Ridley’s return as the character has only been confirmed for one movie, THR is saying that she’s expected to appear in several of the feature films that are in development — though they were unable to confirm which ones. A report last week said that she’s supposed to be the Obi-Wan of the new trilogy, meaning she will have a mentor supporting role.
THR even suggested that some of the filmmakers working for Lucasfilm are “jostling” to feature the character in their projects. It added: “While insiders dispute the notion that there is a battle for Rey, there definitely is internal deliberation within Lucasfilm as to what do with the heir to Skywalker next.”
There are up to eight feature film directors working on a Star Wars movie, we counted last week — and we left out of the list director Patty Jenkins, whose Rogue Squadron movie THR says is still in development. So up to nine. Some of those filmmakers are aware of what others are cooking up, while others are not, the trade pointed out. And that is partly because some of their projects affect each other. An exception: James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi is so far removed in time from the rest that he and co-writer Beau Willimon can exist on their own island.
This is because Lucasfilm is currently working in parallel on multiple storylines that take place in multiple places at multiple times. Unlike competing franchises from Marvel or DC Studios, Star Wars is not progressing linearly, meaning fans are already used to their stories coming from different points in the timeline even if they are released close to each other. It’s also not coming from pre-existing source material.
THR’s sources compared it to forming a religion, where Lucasfilm has the Old Testament (the original trilogy) and now, new writers are coming in to write the New Testament. And there are, naturally, discussions and lots of second-guessing on what is the best way forward. Especially (and they didn’t add this) following the split that’s formed in the fanbase over creative decisions in the past few years. Or, as another individual put it: “Star Wars is a nostalgia-based enterprise and they are running out of ways to create nostalgia.”
There’s definitely a lot for Lucasfilm to juggle at the moment, and all eyes will be on them next April at Star Wars Celebration, where they will surely have to map out the future of the franchise on the big screen. They’ll have some leverage, since they will have finished production on a feature by then (The Mandalorian and Groguwhich will likely premiere a trailer). But they also have a lot of confidence to get back from the fans, especially since the movie they announced as their North Star back in April 2023, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s New Jedi Orderstarring Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker, will still not be in front of cameras.
Will Daisy fly over to Tokyo? And if so, which filmmaker(s) will she be standing next to?
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
