Punch it, Chewie: it sounds like Jon Watts is coming back to Star Wars. For a while now, the future of Star Wars movies – beyond next year’s in-the-can Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy – has been subject to several writers (from Damon Lindelof, to Steven Knight) and several directors. But a new report indicates that the next era of the galaxy far, far away is finally firming up, with Simon Kinberg having spent a couple of years now as the writer in charge of cooking up a new trilogy in the saga. According to The Hollywood Reporter (and Knight Edge Media), Watts is the director who’ll be leading the way – and he not only has form in handling major franchises, having delivered the multi-billion grossing Spider-Man ‘Home’ MCU trilogy, but he’s no stranger to Star Wars either, having co-created Disney+ pirate adventure series Skeleton Crew.
While Lucasfilm hasn’t commented on the reports, there is plenty to speculate on, regarding Watts and Kinberg’s film. It’s heavily rumoured that Kinberg’s trilogy could be a new Skywalker Saga trilogy, which would make Watts’ film an official Episode X (though this is unconfirmed). It’s also expected that Kinberg’s story will feature Daisy Ridley’s long-announced return as Rey Skywalker; if so, it’s unclear whether Watts’ film would subsume, or replace, or co-exist with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s ‘New Jedi Order’ film. And the report states that Watts’ film is not officially greenlit by Disney yet, so keep that in mind.
Since Star Wars: Starfighter will move the saga forward in May 2027 – the first canon film or TV project set beyond the events of Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker – it remains to be seen if it will set in motion events to be picked up in the film Watts could direct. Either way, the director has proven he knows how to bring charm and adventure to the galaxy, with Skeleton Crew’s romping tone and Goonies-style narrative. Stay tuned to see if this kyber crystal successfully ignites.
