There’s been a disturbance in the Force. Did you feel it? Yes, a new Star Wars trilogy is supposedly on the way!
Simon Kinberg — who co-created the Star Wars: Rebels animated series before going on to work X-Men, Deadpool and Star Trek films — is reportedly on board to write and produce a new trilogy in the galaxy far, far away.
There have been conflicting reports on whether or not the trilogy will continue the Skywalker Saga which Lucasfilm had previously said concluded with the divisive Rise of Skywalker in 2019. Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. reports that he had heard that these proposed movies would be episodes 10-12 in the Skywalker Saga. However, he says insiders disputed that and the Hollywood Reporter is saying that this potential Kinberg trilogy is not meant to extend the Skywalker Saga and the intent is to feature a whole new set of characters, although the industry trade publication doesn’t discount the possibility that there could be appearances from existing Star Wars characters.
Of course, we’ve heard rumors of Star Wars movies plenty in recent years only for things to fall apart before anything comes to fruition. Projects from Patty Jenkins, Rian Johnson and the tandem of David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have all been announced and discarded during the Disney era. Going back to the sequel trilogy, there were issues even for movies that did eventually make it to theaters, including Phil Lord and Christopher Miller departing Solo, Tony Gilroy reportedly taking control of reshoots for Rogue One and JJ Abrams taking over directing duties for Rise of Skywalker. Lucasfilm has developed something of a nasty habit in announcing splashy projects only for them to fade away to the growing dissatisfaction of an increasingly fractured Star Wars fanbase.
There are already a number of Star Wars live-action movies in development, including a film from James Mangold, a film involving sequel saga heroine Rey from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and a live-action film from Dave Filoni. The reports of this Kinberg trilogy are made all the more curious because of the fact that the in-development Rey film lost yet another writer recently, putting its future further into doubt. Additionally, it was announced earlier this year that The Mandalorian & Grogu, a feature film directed by Jon Favreau and written by Favreau and Filoni, would be entering production.
Ultimately, I’m all for new Star Wars stories being told with new characters unrelated to the famed Skywalker bloodline. It would be good to get away from the limitations of the existing timelines as well. However, I’m at the point where I can’t help but be skeptical of any announcement of new movies given Lucasfilm’s checkered track record of late. I want to believe and I want to be positive, but it is true that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So I really need to see one of these splashy announcements lead to a new film in theaters before I can get truly excited.
Hit me on up on X at @ByAndySilva to let me know what you think about a potential new Star Wars trilogy or if you think it will even come to fruition.
