Well, I’ve been seeing this rumour for a few days now but it looks like it’s official now… Star Wars Episode IX is in early production with a writer and director in place, both with links to the franchise already.
After the disappointment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, it seemed like the Skywalker Saga was done – Luke and Leia are dead, the Skywalker line is dead – no matter what Rey claims, she’s not a Skywalker – so there seems to be nowhere else for this to go. But it looks like Lucasfilm doesn’t agree.
Simon Kinberg, who wrote X-Men: Days of Future Past and Fantastic Four (2015) will be the screenwriter, but while his track record isn’t great, he is also one of the co-creators of Star Wars: Rebels, which is a high point in the franchise.
Joining Kinberg will be Jon Watts, above, the director of Marvel’s recent Spider-Man home trilogy (Homecoming, Far From Home and No Way Home), who will be directing the movie, currently planned as the starting point for a new Star Wars trilogy. Kinberg was also the showrunner on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which was a fun little entry in the Star Wars universe, albeit only seen by a handful of people. He also directed a couple of the show’s episodes.
The announcement of Watts isn’t completely out of the blue as his production company Freshman Year signed a first look deal with Disney in 2024.
As of now, very little is known about the project but it’s expected that Rey (Daisy Ridley) will return but in a smaller role than previously envisioned for the character’s future in the franchise. It’s also expected, though not confirmed, that Finn and Poe would appear again, played by John Boyega and Oscar Isaac. Perhaps this time Finn will actually get the ending his character deserved.
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The news comes on the heels of the previously planned New Jedi Order focusing on Rey rebuilding the Jedi Order from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy being cancelled. It’s possible that the New Jedi Order and the Hunt for Ben Solo movie, which was pitched by Steven Soderbergh, might have elements built into the new planned trilogy, but nothing is confirmed as of now.
The movie is not officially confirmed by Disney yet but it looks like it actually has a fighting chance of happening, unlike many previous projects.
In the meantime, Shaun Levy and Ryan Gosling’s Star Wars: Starfighter hits screens on May 28th, 2027, on the original movie’s 50th anniversary.
I expect a lot of Star Wars news and updates between now and then, so stay right here.
This all came from Caleb Williams at Knight’s Edge Media, who broke the story first:
Lucasfilm Circling Director Jon Watts To Helm ‘Star Wars: Episode X’ (EXCLUSIVE) – (via @KnightEdgeMedia)
Earlier this week, we at Knight Edge Media learned exclusively that a director had been found for the next Star Wars trilogy from screenwriter Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days … pic.twitter.com/DjAyo6tb86
— Knight Edge Media (@KnightEdgeMedia) September 26, 2026
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Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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