Writer-director George Nolfi talks exclusively to us about his screenwriting work on Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoyās upcoming Star Wars movie.
Asking a filmmaker about their forthcoming Marvel or Star Wars project is generally a foolās errand. Not least because theyāve signed so many non-disclosure agreements that they essentially canāt say anything.
All the same, when we spoke to director George Nolfi last week about his latest film Elevation ā due for release on Prime Video UK on the 8th February ā we could hardly avoid the (metaphorical) elephant in the room. Only a couple of days earlier, Hollywood trade outlets had reported that Nolfi had been hired as the screenwriter on one of Lucasfilmās Star Wars projects.
If youāre unfamiliar, this is the sequel announced about two years ago, designed to bring back Daisy Ridley as Rey, and with documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy making her narrative feature debut. Itās a project that appears to have had a troubled gestation up until now, however, with various writers coming and going ā the last we heard, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight had taken several passes at the script, but eventually departed last September.
Nevertheless, the Star Wars sequel, reportedly called New Jedi Order, is clearly alive and well ā and when we spoke to him on a video call, Nolfi was open to talk (albeit in general terms) about his involvement in it.
Although heās written for some major studio films ā including Oceanās 12 and The Bourne Ultimatum ā Nolfi hasnāt tended to get too involved in major franchises. As a writer-director, heās best known for The Adjustment Bureau, a light and surprisingly philosophical adaptation of a Philip K Dick story, and The Banker, a period drama starring Anthony Mackie. Elevation, again starring Mackie, is a sci-fi monster movie, but one in which its heroes use their intelligence and wit to survive rather than brute strength.
With that in mind, we couldnāt help wondering: how does a writer bring their own interests and personality to a series as lore-heavy as Star Wars?
āThe way I approach it is, you look at whatās come before you, you look at the broad ideas of what they want to do,ā Nolfi said. āMeaning: Lucasfilm, Disney, Sharmeen [Obaid-Chinoy], the director, and then you do what a writer does, and try to try and put beats of a story together. Try and imagine characters, and then you present that with an understanding that it needs to honour, obviously, a long, incredible tradition.ā
Read more: Elevation | Director George Nolfi on monster metaphors, original scripts and writing Star Wars
Nolfi studied philosophy and politics before he became a screenwriter ā subjects that might, we suggested, find their way into his Star Wars script.
āIf you think about George Lucas, the six movies that he did, and the universe that he created, itās actually very steeped in broad notions of politics,ā Nolfi said. āItās not talking about today, per se, but there’s the Empireās Nazism slash Roman Empire. The democracy of the Roman Empire collapsing and becoming an empire and the perennial story of human beings organising themselves and against chaos, and then the tools that help human societies tamp down on chaos becomes oppression.
āSo that is really very core to what I think George Lucas was trying to talk about. And one of the wonderful things about science fiction and Star Wars ā which is more almost science fantasy or space opera ā is that you can raise the deepest issues without it feeling like a philosophy class, or a political science class, or something I read in the newspaper todayā¦
āIt can be about real things, deep things.ā
New Jedi Order ā if that is indeed its title ā is still some way off, clearly. Before that, we have The Mandalorian And Grogu, due in cinemas in May 2026. Looking further ahead, thereās word that Ryan Gosling might eventually star in Shawn Levyās Star Wars project, while James Mangold and Simon Kinberg also have their own films in the works.
With Nolfi now on writing duties, perhaps Obaid-Chinoyās Star Wars entry will finally make progress. Weāll bring you more as we hear it.
In the meantime, George Nolfiās briskly entertaining sci-fi monster film Elevation streams on Prime Video from the 8th February in the UK.