There is another disturbance in the Force. Screenwriter Steven Knight has departed the “Star Wars” movie set to follow Daisy Ridley’s Rey after the events of 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
In March 2023, Variety exclusively reported that Knight had signed onto the project, replacing original screenwriters 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.”
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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 next “Star Wars” movie, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” from director Jon Favreau, is scheduled to premiere in May 2026; Disney has slated two more “Star Wars” films for December 2026 and December 2027, but has not yet confirmed their titles. At the 2023 Star Wars Celebration event in London, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced that, along with Obaid-Chinoy’s film, the company was developing movies with director James Mangold (“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”) and Dave Filoni, Lucasfilm chief creative officer and executive producer of the Disney+ series “Ahsoka” and “The Mandalorian.”
Puck News first reported Knight’s departure.
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