Kathleen Kennedy has provided a huge update about the future of Star Wars, but I’m a lot more interested in one of the things she didn’t say. The last week has been an eventful one for the Star Wars fandom, with reports Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy was stepping down. These ultimately prompted Kennedy to insist she is not retiring, and she also took the opportunity to discuss upcoming Star Wars movies.

As Kennedy noted, Star Wars is quite an unusual franchise. “Our development gets scrutinized,” Kennedy noted, a fact that has driven a rather negative reputation for the studio due to cancelations. “Of course, we’re going to develop lots of different things with an understanding that not everything gets made,” she continued, justifying those decisions. But there are occasions where Lucasfilm has invited scrutiny, and one of those cases makes what Kennedy chose not to say rather more interesting to me than what she did.

Kathleen Kennedy Carefully Avoided Giving An Update On Rey’s New Jedi Order Movie

This Was Officially Announced Back In 2023

I had the privilege of attending Star Wars Celebration 2023, and I’ll never forget the moment Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars return was announced. I’ve typically been part of the online fandom, where Ridley and her character Rey are pretty controversial, but that announcement was absolutely magical. Ridley had decided to reprise the role because she was drawn by the ideas of director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who apparently had an exciting and original pitch. But progress on Rey’s New Jedi Order movie has slowed, with George Nolfi recently recruited as the new screenwriter.

Kennedy outlined so many different projects in her recent interview. She discussed Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars trilogy (“the new saga that moves us into the future“), “other developments” in The Mandalorian era, and even Taikia Waiтιтi’s mystery project (which doesn’t look optimistic). But she was notably silent about Rey’s New Jedi Order movie. Nor was she asked about it – an odd omission, given she was asked about pretty much everything else.

What Does Kennedy’s Silence Mean For Rey’s Return?

It’s Likely To Happen Elsewhere

I know Kennedy suggested she wasn’t happy with the degree of scrutiny Lucasfilm comes under. But Rey’s New Jedi Order movie is a little different; this isn’t something that leaked, subject to intense speculation. Ridley’s return was a cornerstone announcement back in 2023, and there’s understandably a lot of concern right now about whether it’s going to happen.

My bet is that plans have indeed changed a little. According to Kennedy, two major projects will chart the future of Star Wars. The first of these is a mysterious movie by Shawn Levy, the next one to begin filming, which will be set five or six years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Then there’s Simon Kinberg’s trilogy, with the X-Men screenwriter expected to turn in a draft script by June. Ridley is still on board to return, and my bet is that she’ll be in one (or both) of these first.

What would this mean for Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s movie? Simply put, the first film to use Rey post-Rise of Skywalker will be the one that gets to set out her new status quo. ᴀssuming Obaid-Chinoy’s Star Wars film hasn’t been canceled outright – eminently possible – it will have to be adapted to fit with the visions of other filmmakers. That’s a pretty radical course-correction, and it will be fascinating to see how things play out.