Star Wars Movie Delayed Indefinitely, Writer Leaving?
Just when you think a Star Wars film is making progress, it seems to take a step back. Rumors are circulating that Steven Knight, the writer on the upcoming Rey film, might be having creative differences with LucasFilm. According to World of Reel, Knight submitted a draft of the script that LucasFilm returned with so many notes that he would have to start again from scratch.
These frustrations are apparently causing Knight to consider leaving the Star Wars film altogether. The rumors also indicate that Knight has already shifted his priorities to the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie instead, which is set to begin filming in the summer. If Knight does end up leaving the film, we could likely see it getting delayed from its current 2026 release date.
The Rey Skywalker film was announced at the Star Wars Celebration in 2023, along with a full slate of other upcoming movies from the franchise. Daisy Ridley will reprise her role as Rey Skywalker years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. The film is set to follow Rey as she works to build a new Jedi Order from the ground up.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was announced as the director of the new Star Wars film, which gave some hope that the film was on track for its release date. However, these troubling rumors of Knight potentially leaving the project mean that we could see an indefinite delay. It’s possible that Disney might be softening the blow of this possible delay with the recent surprise announcement of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s The Mandalorian & Grogu film, which is now scheduled to come out before the Rey film.
This actually isn’t the first time that the Rey Star Wars movie has faced writer troubles. Development on the project actually began over two years ago, and Damon Lindelof and Justin Brit-Gibson were on board to write the project. Lindelof put a writer’s room together and had plans to make the film a standalone project with sequel potential. However, Lindelof and Brit-Gibson both left the project in March 2023, with rumors that Lindelof’s script failed to impress Lucasfilm and that the studio was unwilling to move forward with Lindelof and Brit-Gibson.
While Lucasfilm had three release dates planned for upcoming Star Wars films, it seems like those release dates may be in jeopardy. One of those slots is reserved for the Rey film, but with The Mandalorian & Grogu film confirmed to be first up and the rumored writer conflicts, we may not see Rey’s next Star Wars movie until at least 2027. The other project that will reportedly fill one of those release slots is the James Mangold-directed Star Wars movie focused on the first Jedi.
So, fans are going to have to wait a bit still to see another Star Wars movie. In the meantime, there are Disney+ shows to keep everyone occupied until 2026. In 2024, we’ll get to stream the first seasons of Skeleton Crew and The Acolyte, along with new seasons of The Bad Batch and Tales of the Jedi.
