Rey’s upcoming movie, tentatively тιтled Star Wars: New Jedi Order, will finally break with 48 years of Star Wars tradition, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. Announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023, Star Wars: New Jedi Order is set to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and will take place 15 years after the events of the highly contentious Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. With Daisy Ridley reprising her role as Rey Skywalker, the franchise will have a chance to reinterpret what it means to be a Jedi.

Rey’s new Jedi Order will change the role of the Jedi in the galaxy, and it can do so because Star Wars’ oldest villains have finally been defeated. Since the first Star Wars movie, Star Wars’ primary villains have been the Empire, its offshoots, and the Sith who presided over it. Even after the Empire was “defeated” in Return of the Jedi, it was never really gone, as proven by the Imperial Remnant’s presence in the New Republic era and the emergence of the First Order in the sequel trilogy. That’s all about to change, however.

The Empire Is Gone At Last In Rey’s New Jedi Order Movie

As reported by Variety, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy previously teased what the galaxy will look like 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker. “We’re post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray,” she confirmed. “Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What’s the state of the galaxy?” What’s especially interesting are Kennedy’s comments about “post-war” and “post-First Order.” Before the Empire, there were the Separatists, and after the Empire, there was the First Order. Palpatine and his dictatorial machinations have been at the center of Star Wars since the beginning.

The Empire and the wars it waged have dictated most of Star Wars’ storytelling for decades. If New Jedi Order truly is “post-First Order,” though, and Palpatine’s death is genuine – but really, how many times can they bring him back? – it means that this will be the first time that Star Wars has truly moved on from the Empire on the big screen. Finally, Star Wars can give Rey and her newly trained Jedi a chance to fight a different kind of foe.

Star Wars has been stuck in a cycle of nostalgia. The first film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy was essentially a remake of the first Star Wars movie, later reтιтled A New Hope. While The Mandalorian originally seemed to be a fresh approach for Star Wars, it became a vehicle to promote and revisit other Star Wars stories instead. Star Wars needs to move on from these well-examined narratives, and it can only do so if it truly jumps far away from the Skywalker family’s timeline.

One of the reasons I’ve enjoyed Star Wars: The High Republic so much is because its story isn’t influenced by the Skywalker saga at all. Set a few hundred years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the High Republic chronicles the “Golden Age” of the Jedi. Yes, a few ancient and well-known Jedi are present, but the Jedi’s enemy during this time is entirely new and arguably more exciting. New Jedi Order’s time jump opens up so many potential new storylines.

Even though Rey, a character fundamentally connected to the Skywalkers emotionally as well as by name, is New Jedi Order’s leading force, she has everything she needs to steer the Jedi and thus the story in an entirely new direction. She knows that the Jedi need to change. That will allow Star Wars to change as well.

How The Fight Against The First Order Has Shaped Rey

Of course, giving the Jedi a new adversary doesn’t mean Rey shouldn’t still be affected by the events of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Her fight against the First Order and her ordeal with Kylo Ren/Ben Solo will undoubtedly affect how she shapes a revamped Jedi Order. She’s experienced what it’s like to live under tyrannical rule – something the Jedi of the Star Wars prequel trilogy could never truly understand, despite their war against the Separatists – so she’ll know, perhaps better than any other Jedi before her, what the galaxy needs to maintain peace.

In all likelihood, Rey’s outlook on the Jedi’s role in the galaxy as a peacekeeping force will be influenced by New Jedi Order’s director’s own life experiences, too. As reported by The Wrap, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy explained at SWC 2023 that she’d “spent the majority of [her] life meeting real heroes battling oppressive regimes,” and that’s why she’s “interested in a new Jedi Order.” Obaid-Chinoy is a noted filmmaker, journalist, and political activist; those experiences will add another dimension to Rey’s Jedi Order makeover.

I Think Star Wars Has Even Moved On From The Sith Too!

I hope that, with the Empire and its offshoots firmly in the rear view mirror, the Sith will be a thing of the past in New Jedi Order, too. This isn’t to say that I never want Star Wars to focus on the Sith again – on the contrary, I’d love to see more of the Sith in stories set long before the prequel trilogy – but I think, with Palpatine and the Sith Eternal destroyed on Exegol, it’s time for the Jedi to face a new threat.

The dark side will never fully disappear; there’s no reason to think that only the already-established groups have embraced the dark side of the Force. I’d love to see a new type of dark side Force-wielding threat arise in the wake of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Rey’s Force Dyad didn’t get a chance to be properly explored in Rise of Skywalker, but it opened up a whole new world of possibilities.

If the Nightsisters of Dathomir can wield the dark side differently from the Sith, why shouldn’t there be another Force-wielding faction somewhere in the galaxy as well, one that isn’t too excited about the resurrection of the Jedi Order? Hopefully, Star Wars: New Jedi Order will truly be a new beginning for our favorite space-faring franchise.