Rey is ‘the only bankable Star Wars character’, Star Wars movie pulled from schedule and more

I’m sure you will all be shocked to learn that we’re knee-deep in utterly confusing news from Disney about Star Wars regarding future movies, Rey’s return, and the franchise as a whole.

With the recent news that a Star Wars project has been removed from the December 16th, 2026 slot (to be replaced by – checks notes – Ice Age 6), we decided to look at just where we are in the galaxy far, far away.

Ok, so, first thing first, it seems that Disney/Lucasfilm are looking to move away from Han, Luke and Leia, the Skywalker Saga as it was, in favour of who they consider to be the franchise’s only bankable character… Daisy Ridley’s Rey.

Simon Kinberg developing new Star Wars trilogy… Episodes X, XI and XII?

Wut?

So, it seems that the House of Mouse has plans for Rey involving many movies which may get in each other’s way, including Simon Kinberg’s planned trilogy, rumoured to be Star Wars Episodes X, XI and XII and these might be going ahead alongside – or despite Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s standalone Rey movie.

However, that particular movie, announced seventeen months ago, has lost writers and all sorts, resulting in it still sitting in production hell.

In a recent interview, below, Ridley said of her return to the role: “I feel like the new one/new ones will be so interesting. Time has passed and a lot has changed for me, personally, so it’ll be interesting to come back to someone who I know so well, but in such a different moment.”

A source at Lucasfilm said of the character: “Rey is the most valuable cinematic asset, in some ways maybe the only one, Star Wars has right now,” before adding: “The closet is a little bare.”

That’s the closet that has Vader, Boba Fett, Mando, Ahsoka, Anakin, Obi-Wan, not to mention a wealth of smaller characters just waiting for a chance in the spotlight or to be brought from the EU that was to be put on the big screen.

The Rey movie loses its writer, Mangold Star Wars set to film in 2025 and Mando and Grogu movie done filming

Speaking of the current projects in various levels of development including movies from Shawn Levy, Taika Waititi and others, an insider tried to xplain the chaos, saying: “It’s a different way of development. There’s so much parallel work going on.”

However, and as a fan of the series since the 70s, I have to admit to the fandom being hard to please, the insider adds: “You’re being asked to create the new New Testament and no one can agree on anything and there’s a lot of second-guessing about meanings.” Someone else said “Star Wars is a nostalgia-based enterprise, and they are running out of ways to create nostalgia.”

George Lucas had a crazy – but brilliant – idea for Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon that he abandoned

I mean, give us a movie where a newly anointed Darth Vader goes out into the galaxy at the order of the Emperor to slay any remaining Jedi… that one writes itself and would be hard to screw up.

As for the immediate future, we’re merely a couple of weeks away from Skeleton Crew’s debut on Disney+ and Andor is set for a return next April with Ahsoka season 2 set to film next summer and on the big screen we have The Mandalorian and Grogu coming in May 2026 and another movie, one of the many in production, set for Christmas 2027.

So, yeah…

Here’s Ridley on The One Show talking about her return as Rey:

#StarWars star Daisy Ridley on how she plans to approach her role as Rey in the upcoming, highly-anticipated trilogy.#TheOneShow https://t.co/D7h76YjfFO pic.twitter.com/yivHXdSPiW

— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) November 13, 2024

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Source: Variety & THR