While the Star Wars universe is moving to great places in the streaming world, Lucasfilm and Disney are in the midst of some major struggles on the theatrical side of the equation. Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron was taken completely off the schedule, and a trio of major names in director Taika Waititi, director Rian Johnson, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige all have projects in the works with no signs of moving forward at the moment.
Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof was recently reported to be involved with a new Star Wars movie in development, which would be the first theatrical outing for Lucasfilm's galaxy far, far away since 2019's Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. Additionally, more recent news revealed that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will serve as the director for this movie, her biggest project since directing Episode 4 and Episode 5 of Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel for Marvel Studios.
And now, a new report has indicated this new outing may even come with some connections to that last theatrical movie, even after it became one of the biggest letdowns in Star Wars history.
New Star Wars Movie With Ties to Episode IX?
The Hollywood Reporter followed up on news regarding a newly confirmed Star Wars movie that's in development with details about the nature of its place in the Star Wars narrative.
Sources tell THR that the movie is intended to be a standalone project, but that it could lead to other stories, which goes against what Lucasfilm has planned out in recent years. It's also said to take place after 2019's Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, and it "could" even feature some of the characters that starred in the sequel trilogy.
Additionally, along with Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof's involvement, it will feature Ms. Marvel director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy in the director's chair along with co-writer Justin Britt-Gibson. The latter joined the project after a secret writers' room was formed following Star Wars Celebration 2022, with a two-week session taking place in July.
That meeting included Obi-Wan Kenobi consulting producer Rayna McClendon, writer Patrick Somerville, creator Andy Greenwald, and Star Wars executive Dave Filoni.
How Long Until New Star Wars Movie is Made?
With the uncertainty behind everything from Star Wars' theatrical slate, it's still a huge mystery if and when this new movie will even be made or what it will be about. But with this news specifically, it appears that the Skywalker Saga isn't quite as finished as many fans would have expected.
Of course, nothing definitive is laid out in this latest release, which only opens the door for characters from The Rise of Skywalker to make their return. This likely wouldn't mean the major characters like Poe, Rey, Finn, or any of the original trilogy stars, but an appearance by a Maz Kanata or a Rose Tico might not be as much of a surprise moving forward.
But while Star Wars continues to focus heavily on its streaming properties like the widely-loved Star Wars: Andor, it's still largely unclear when more story details about this new movie will even be set further into stone. Hopefully, once that happens, Lucasfilm will be able to put a positive spin on characters from the sequel trilogy that fans were hoping for the first time around.
