The “Star Wars“ saga is set to revisit Skywalker's story eight years after the last film in the main series. Lucasfilm has tapped director Jon Watts to direct the first installment of a planned new trilogy, Deadline reports.
Jon Watts, creator of the “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew“ series, is best known for directing the Spider-Man trilogy starring Tom Holland: “Spider-Man: Homecoming“, “Spider-Man: Far From Home“ and “Spider-Man: Homecoming“.
The script for the new trilogy is being developed by Simon Kinberg, who worked on “X-Men: Dark Phoenix“ and the series “Mr. & Mrs. Smith“. Kinberg also has significant experience in the “Star Wars“ universe as one of the creators of the animated series “Star Wars Rebels“, broadcast between 2014 and 2018.
He has been working on the project since 2018. According to information Daisy Ridley is among the names being discussed for a return, with the British actress once again playing Rey.
The new films are intended as the next chapter in the “Skywalker“ saga, but at this stage the project has not yet received a final green light from Disney.
The “Skywalker“ saga after “The Rise of Skywalker“
The story begins in 1977 with “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, followed by Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Episode VI - Return of the Jedi in 1983.
The prequel was told with Episode I - The Phantom Menace in 1999, Episode II - Attack of the Clones in 2002, and Episode III - Revenge of the Sith in 2005.
The third trilogy began with Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens in 2015, and continued with Episode VIII - The Force Awakens in 2016. The Last Jedi in 2017 and concluded with Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. It was these films that made Daisy Ridley's Rey the central character of a new generation of heroes.
After The Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm focused much of the franchise's development on different periods of the galaxy's history through live-action and animated series, as well as new film projects.
The next major film in the series is Star Wars: Starfighter“, which is scheduled for release on May 28, 2027.
If the new trilogy receives Disney's approval, it will mark the first large-scale continuation of the main saga since The Rise of Skywalker“ and a potential return of Daisy Ridley as Rey.