Seven months ago, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed the most important Star Wars movie in the works right now – and we still know next to nothing about it. Star Wars is a generational saga, and part of its success lies in the fact that it is constantly reinventing itself.
That was one reason George Lucas disliked Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “There’s nothing new,“ he famously complained, unimpressed by the nostalgia play. To be fair to Disney, that was a deliberate strategy; Disney CEO Bob Iger explained it in his autobiography, arguing he wasn’t sure fans would accept anything else at that time.
Over a decade later, Star Wars is preparing to return (again) to the big screen. As exciting as next year’s The Mandalorian and Grogu may be, though, they’re really just the starter; the main course is a new trilogy currently being written by Simon Kinberg.
Simon Kinberg’s Trilogy Is The Real Future Of Star Wars
Simon Kinberg (best known for his work on the X-Men movies) is currently writing a trilogy of scripts. Lucasfilm has learned from the sequels, this time instead plan to have their entire next epic planned out before they start shooting. What’s more, according to Kathleen Kennedy, these are the upcoming Star Wars movies to wait for.
“This is the next iteration,” Kennedy said quite simply. “The new saga that moves us into the future.” Lucasfilm has carefully avoided saying these are next episodes of the Skywalker saga, but they’ll surely be treated that way, especially if Daisy Ridley’s Rey appears in them (as is rumored).
Kinberg’s Movie Will Have To Dare To Do The Impossible
Lucasfilm will need to be bold if this saga is to succeed. Kinberg’s Star Wars trilogy can’t simply retread the same ground; viewers have become tired of the same old Jedi versus Sith dynamics after Palpatine somehow returned. There’s an eagerness to see a new generation of Jedi, one that looks very different to Lucas’ version.
It’s easy to forget that the prequel Jedi are the Order at its worst, a shadow of its former self. That’s precisely why the Order falls, so unaware of the Force that they were blind to the Sith’s rise to power. Star Wars: The Last Jedi even featured a mural suggesting earlier Jedi had served balance, taking this to mean embracing both light and dark.
Changing the Jedi, of course, will mean taking risks. This is something the old Star Wars Expanded Universe tried to pull off several times (especially with the bestselling New Jedi Order books). That didn’t go well, in part because the reinvention coincided with the release of the prequels, and it was all a bit discordant. Lucasfilm swiftly reversed course.
But there will be no going back on a big screen blockbuster trilogy.
Shawn Levy’s Starfighter Can Serve As A Prologue
Shawn Levy is currently filming Starfighter, due to release in 2027 – Star Wars‘ anniversary year. So far, we know more about Starfighter‘s cast than we do about the plot; it features Ryan Gosling as a heroic starfighter pilot trying to spirit the young Force-sensitive played by Flynn Gray away from dark forces.
Starfighter is our first introduction to the post-Rise of Skywalker era. It’s set five years after the end of the sequel trilogy, and the logo contains hints of the Jedi symbol, suggesting it may well end with Gray taken to the Jedi. Many viewers are expecting Daisy Ridley to cameo as Rey.
If this is the case, then it’s reasonable to ᴀssume that – however exciting Starfighter may be – it actually serves as something of a prologue to the main event. It’s designed to set the scene, to ensure audiences are familiar with the state of the galaxy, to ease them into an epic new part of the timeline.
We Need To Move On From The Empire, Too
But we need more from this era than just a new Jedi Order. We also need to see Star Wars move beyond the Empire at last, introducing whole new villains who will put the iconic heroes to the test. That’s why The Mandalorian and Grogu can never be the bold reinvention Star Wars needs.
As exciting as it may be, it’s more of the same.
Starfighter‘s cast features Matt Smith and Mia Goth as two unknown villains who are trying to get their hands on Force-sensitives. We know nothing about the characters they play, but the acting choices alone are thrilling; Smith and Goth are both phenomenal performers who will truly elevate their villains.
Star Wars foes often don’t survive their debut. ᴀssuming Smith and Goth’s villains don’t make it out of Starfighter alive, then they need to be the trendsetters; they need to set the direction for something bold and fresh, something big enough to dominate an entire trilogy.
All this means the future of Star Wars is actually surprisingly promising. We have two movies on their way to the big screen over the next two years, but they are only a prelude to something so much bigger. We can only hope it won’t be long before we learn more.
Star Wars
- Created by
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George Lucas
- First Film
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Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
- Cast
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Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
- TV Show(s)
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The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
- Movie(s)
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Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
- Character(s)
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Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
