Lucasfilm announced three new Star Wars movies at last April's Star Wars Celebration in London, but earlier this week, we learned that The Mandalorian & Grogu will be the next big screen release from the studio.
The other movies, including James Mangold's prequel set during the "Dawn of the Jedi," Dave Filoni's rumoured "Heir to the Empire" adaptation and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Rey project which takes place during the "New Jedi Order" period are still happening. However, the latter may be further down the line than expected.
Steven Knight, the writer who took over the movie from original scribe Damon Lindelof early last year supposedly still hasn't turned in a draft of the screenplay.
This rumour comes our way from Making Star Wars (via SFFGazette.com), there could be a reason that The Mandalorian & Grogu is now being lined up as the first Star Wars movie to arrive in theaters since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker.
"Today I was told that [Steven] Knight hasn’t written it [his draft], he hasn’t got to get to it. The scheduling and the stars did not align," the site explains. "Steven Knight was simply the guy they picked up and who they could get in that moment [following Damon Lindelof’s exit] and it never lined up. I’m not saying that he is off of it, I’m not saying that he’s going to write it or not going to write it - I don’t know."
Lindelof and Justin Brit-Gibson were originally collaborating on the untitled movie, only for creative differences with Lucasfilm to lead to their departure. It didn't take long before Knight, who created Peaky Blinders, came on board only for work to be slowed down by the WGA strike.
The original plan was supposedly for him to turn in a draft by mid-May. There were rumblings at the time Knight might not hit that date and with the strikes lasting from May 2 until September 27, delays have inevitably followed.
This latest update doesn't sound promising but lines up with comments made by Rey actress Daisy Ridley last year which saw her confirm she's yet to read a script.
"I know the storyline for one film," she said at the time. "That's not to say that that's all it is, but that's what I was told about. And I imagine it will be the next film, I think. I mean, again, I don't know, post strikes and everything, how quickly everything will start up again. But yes, so far, I know the story of one film and I think people will be very excited."
The only confirmed details about this still-untitled Star Wars project are that it will be directed by Obaid-Chinoy and is set 15 years after the last events of the Skywalker Saga. We'll reunite with Rey and follow the story of rebuilding the New Jedi Order and the powers that rise to tear it down.
We wouldn't say the project is in trouble, but it's clearly not as close to being ready to shoot as we thought!