‘Another one bites the dust’: It’s not even filming and Daisy Ridley’s ‘Star Wars’ movie is already in hot water

While the fandom was never quite sure what to make of a sequel film involving Rey, a main character many found to be contentious and undercooked for lack of a better word, it seems even the Mouse House is realizing that it’s grasping at straws. More than a year ago now, it was reported that Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers, Watchmen), who had signed on to write this new sequel, was going to be replaced by Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders. Now, Variety confirms that Knight too has left the project midstride.

That the untitled Rey film has lost another screenwriter in less than a year is concerning in and of itself, but Knight’s departure probably means production on the film won’t start until mid-2025 at the earliest, if it starts at all. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a Canadian-Pakistani filmmaker best known for her acclaimed documentaries and directing two episodes of Ms. Marvel, is still attached to direct the project.

Will this be another announced movie we’ll never get to see?

With the future of the Daisy Ridley-led sequel up in the air, Star Wars fans now only have a flickering of other uncertain projects to look forward to. There’s James Mangold’s film said to involve the Dawn of the Jedi thousands of years before the Skywalker Saga, and then there’s Shawn Levy’s announced movie, explained by the Deadpool & Wolverine director to be proceeding very, very slowly. Taika Waititi’s project is on an indefinite hiatus, while Rian Johnson’s planned trilogy is no longer in active development. Kevin Feige is too busy saving the MCU from its stupor and inevitable doom, while Patty Jenkins is no closer to actualizing Rogue Squadron than she was years ago when Disney initially announced it.

All in all, it’s safe to say that the company no longer has any idea what to do with Star Wars. Even the idea of a Rey movie is a little far-fetched without any proper vision, because the character was always an appendage of the Skywalker Saga, and wouldn’t necessarily work on her own. Would Disney try to adapt certain elements from the New Jedi Order series? That might indeed prove to be an ambitious undertaking involving the entire sequel trilogy cast, but I doubt they can pull off something of the magnitude that involves the invasion of an extragalactic species across a multi-film saga. For my two cents, the idea of Yuuzhan Vong finally being canonized is exciting; perhaps even the only exciting thing the company could do with Star Wars at this point, but all of this is speculation, if not wishful thinking, when Kathleen Kennedy and co. don’t want to get their act together.

Indeed, about the only real Star Wars feature movies we can look forward to right now are The Mandalorian & Grogu, directed by Jon Favreau and slated for release in 2026, and Dave Filoni’s untitled sequel, which is expected to bring the entire interconnected Mandoverse timeline to a close.