During Star Wars Celebration 2023, a new film starring Daisy Ridley and directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was announced. Set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker, the film is set to be the first project set in The New Jedi Order era of the Star Wars timeline. Originally developed by Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight took the reigns on the project in March 2023. While there was originally some discussion about the film hitting theaters in 2025, recent shifts to Disney’s theatrical slate removed the December 2025 date from the calendar. Still, there was some belief that Lucasfilm wanted the new Rey-centric film to be the first Star Wars film in theaters since 2019.
I know the storyline for one film. 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.
-Daisy Ridley on the Rey-centric New Jedi Order era film
Those hopes were dashed when Lucasfilm announced that the Jon Favreau-directed The Mandalorian and Grogu would be the studio’s next theatrical release. It seems that bit of news set some folks on a path to believe some apparent disinformation that began to be spread which culminated in a rumor that the Rey film was in trouble and that Knight had walked away from the project. Now, two sources have independently reported that the rumors are unfounded and given some positive updates on the film.
io9’s Germain Lussier first reported that a source at Lucasfilm denied the rumors and stated that Knight was currently working on a new draft of the project. Later, Jeff “The Insneider” Sneider stated that not only was the film doing fine but that he expected it to be Lucasfilm’s 2nd 2026 film, hitting theaters on December 18th.
Ridley has always been a popular target for misogynistic fans so it’s no surprise that any and all negative, unsupported rumors would circulate quickly online. With nearly 3 years until the potential release of the New Jedi Order film, there’s plenty of time for the project to come together and be the first chapter of stories on an all-new part of the Star Wars timeline.
Sources: io9, X
