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A new Star Wars trilogy on the horizon

Lucasfilm has tapped Simon Kingsberg to develop and write a new Star Wars film trilogy

A new Star Wars trilogy on the horizon
Image: Lucasfilm

Deadline broke some interesting news today: Lucasfilm has tapped Simon Kinberg to create a new trilogy of Star Wars films. The publication notes that he's going to develop, write, and produce the trilogy, and that it might be considered episodes 10, 11, and 12 of the Skywalker Saga, which came to an end back in 2019 with The Rise of Skywalker. The publication also notes that there's some dispute over this, that it's essentially setting up a new saga alongside the other projects that are in development out there. (More on that in a moment.)

Setting aside Lucasfilm's track record when it comes to new Star Wars projects, Kinberg feels like a pretty safe choice to bring in for the franchise. He was involved in the creation of the animated series Star Wars: Rebels, and has a long track record of action-adventure franchise films under his belt, both as a writer, producer, and director. What stands out for me is his work as a producer on quite a few films that I really like, such as Neill Blomkamp's Elysium and Chappie, Ridley Scott's The Martian, and Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class. He's someone who can put together a solid and competently film, even if some of those entries in his history are a little questionable.

The caveat here is that we don't know what this films–if they're made–will be about, but I can't help but think that this signals that Lucasfilm is looking for something familiar to audiences, and is setting aside some of the more experimental, throw-everything-to-the-wall-to-see-what-sticks types of projects (which I'd describe projects like Rogue One, The Last Jedi, The Acolyte, and some of the other announced films.)

If that's actually the case, I'll probably have some mixed feelings about it: I think Star Wars has excelled when it's been pushing the line against what fans want and expect. The Empire Strikes Back was tonally very different from its predecessor, the entire Prequel trilogy struck a very different tone and style, and The Last Jedi went out of its way to really poke at the story and tropes that make up the franchise's films.

I've long had a thought about how the sequel trilogy stood out and failed at this. J.J. Abram's The Force Awakens had to lean into the familiar, both to entice old fans who felt burned by the prequels, and new viewers who might be somewhat familiar with Star Wars, and needed something familiar and different to start off with. I've long felt The Last Jedi was where the trilogy should have been headed, both story-wise and in its approach, with a middle entry designed to bridge the gap. That way, they would have been able to ease viewers and fans into some new territory, but also end the larger saga in a new place.

Fans are persnickety and don't like change: if given the chance, they'll just eat the potato chip-equivalent of Star Wars content that doesn't push or change or challenge what's come before, and instead, we'll get recycled storylines, tropes, and action figures until the sun dies. And I think with the decision not to continue Acolyte and some other moves here and there, we've seen Lucasfilm take steps to avoid antagonizing some of their more vocal fans. I don't think that's entirely the best course of action–you'll never satisfy those segments of fandom–but you also don't want to turn out something that's unrecognizable.

It's possible to balance all of that: The Mandalorian falls a little more into fan service than I'd like, but it's captured a spirit of the stories that people relate to while playing out some new and interesting adventures. Andor took some of the familiar building blocks and put together some excellent storytelling. But shows like Ashoka have at times felt like you need some extended homework to really get what's going on, and that they're essentially designed for a preexisting audience.

So: we'll see. The franchise has a ton of building blocks at its disposal, and they can certainly set up a story that features lightsaber duels, a titanic fight of underdog rebel against evil authority, and spaceship battles that would resonate with fans and critics with just enough tweaks so that it doesn't feel entirely like they're retreading old ground. At worst, it's another installment of the franchise that doesn't rise beyond the level of commodity. At best, it's the start to a new story.

We'll have to see how it shakes out.

Now that we've seen word break of this project, it's a good time to check in and see where we are with the other announced film projects.

In production/development

  • Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian and Grogu. A spinoff from The Mandalorian series announced in January, this film is actually in production. It's slated for a May 22nd, 2026 release date.
  • Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Rey film. Annonced in 2023, this is a film that'll be set post-Rise of Skywalker, and will follow Rey's attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order. This seems like it's the next one to go into production, if they can figure out the script. Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson co-wrote a script, but then left right before it was announced, then Steven Knight came on to write it, but he just departed, and filming is apparently slated to start next year.
  • Dave Filoni Mandoverse finale film. This film was announced back in 2023 as a sort of culmination of the various post-Return of the Jedi era shows like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and Skeleton Crew. He's currently working on Ahsoka Season 2, but this is still in the works.
  • James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi. Another 2023 announced-film, this is one of the more out-there projects, set 25,000 years before the Imperial era and following the discovery of The Force and founding of the Jedi Order. Andor's Beau Willimon is co-writing this as of April 2024, so it seems like it's still inching forward.  
  • Taika Waititi's film. No idea what this would be about, but it's another project announced in 2020 that's had some fits and starts. Last I read, he was still writing this, although there's been some rumors that it's been put on hold.
  • Donald Glover's Lando film (?). This was originally announced as a series, with Justin Simien tapped as showrunner. Last year, he left and was replaced with Donald and Stephen Glover and redeveloped as a film. As of earlier this fall, they're still working on it.
  • Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron. Lots of starts and stalls since this was announced back in 2020, but as of earlier this year, it seems like Jenkins is still actively working on it. So... fingers crossed?
  • Simon Kinsberg trilogy. And now, we can add this one to the list of stuff in the works. We'll see if it stays in this column or gets relegated to purgatory.

Announced but in limbo?

  • Rian Johnson's trilogy. This was announced way back in 2019 as a trilogy that would break some new ground. It's since been put on the back burner because Johnson's been doing really well with Knives Out, Glass Onion, and the forthcoming Wake Up Dead Man, so it might be a while before he gets to it.
  • Shawn Levy's film. Levy's coming off of a big hit with Deadpool & Wolverine and an episode of the upcoming final season of Stranger Things. It sounds like the 2023 Writer's Strike derailed this.
  • The Mandalorian: The Movie. We've had three seasons of The Mandalorian, as well as the 2026 film and Filoni's wrap-up film. While Lucasfilm had scripted out a fourth season for the series, it sounds like they're thinking of redeveloping it as a feature film, depending on how well Favreau's film does when it's released. That makes sense, given that the fervor for streaming content has died off a bit and there's more demand for theatrical releases.

Canned