There’s been another disturbance in the Force as Daisy Ridley’s new Star Wars movie, set after the events of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, has lost its screenwriter Steven Knight, who himself replaced Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson.
Lucasfilm is actively talking with potential writers to take on the story, which has been said to chronicle Rey’s efforts to start a new Jedi Academy, but the delay likely means production won’t start until well into 2025 at least.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is still attached to direct the film, which would be her feature debut; she previously directed episodes of the Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel” after twice winning the Oscar for best documentary short film. While discussing her latest documentary about designer Diane von Furstenberg, which premiered on Hulu in June, Obaid-Chinoy told Variety that the “Star Wars” story “that interests me most is in Rey’s journey as a female Jedi. That’s how I can best bring my experiences to it.”
Knight, meanwhile, has been a prolific creative force in film and TV, writing the screenplay for the upcoming Maria Callas biopic “Maria” with Angelina Jolie and a feature film adaptation of his popular BBC series “Peaky Blinders” with Cillian Murphy, as well as creating series for FX (“The Veil”), Disney+ (“A Thousand Blows”) and the BBC (“This Town”).
The movie was originally slated for a December 2026 release, and with this news we wonder if it can still meet that date. We don’t expect an update on future Star Wars films from Disney/Lucasfilm till Star Wars Celebration Japan in April 2025.
