Lucasfilm has had its share of successes with Star Wars in recent years but also more than its share of failures. Right now, though, it’s clear they’ve got no earthly idea what to do with the franchise post-Skywalker Saga, with only The Mandalorian & Grogu, which is based on a TV show, seeming to be on sure ground. The confusion now stems from how to use the character of Rey, who is now attached to be part of two separate projects from different filmmakers.
THR broke down the Star Wars drama in a recent piece, with the focus centered on the handling of Daisy Ridley’s Rey. We knew she would be centerpiece of a new Jedi Academy film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. However, we’re also learning that Simon Kinberg’s recently announced trilogy will also center on Rey, and Lucasfilm is afraid there will be conflicts. As it turns out, whichever film is ready to go first could get priority, while the other one might go away altogether. There have been struggles getting Obaid-Chinoy’s film off the ground as the search for a new writer is currently underway.
Lucasfilm reportedly sees Rey as the one redeeming quality from the previous trilogy, which ended with the critically panned The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. While Ridley stepped away from Star Wars for a while, she was announced as returning last year and looks to be the future of the franchise.
One debate is whether to continue the “Episode” narrative with films tied to the Skywalker Saga, or to move forward with stories set in completely different eras. As we saw with The Acolyte, there doesn’t seem to be much fan appetite for the latter approach.
How long before Disney gets fed up with Kathleen Kennedy’s leadership at Lucasfilm? They keep announcing projects that don’t happen, while the TV shows just keep trucking along. The money is on the big screen, and soon they’re going to have to figure out which way to go.
