Star Wars | George Nolfi on his New Jedi Order screenplay (exclusive)

George Nolfi Star Wars
Share this Article:

Writer-director George Nolfi talks exclusively to us about his screenwriting work on Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoyā€™s upcoming Star Wars movie.


Asking a filmmaker about their forthcoming Marvel or Star Wars project is generally a foolā€™s errand. Not least because theyā€™ve signed so many non-disclosure agreements that they essentially canā€™t 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 Lucasfilmā€™s Star Wars projects.

If youā€™re 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. Itā€™s 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 heā€™s written for some major studio films ā€“ including Oceanā€™s 12 and The Bourne Ultimatum ā€“ Nolfi hasnā€™t tended to get too involved in major franchises. As a writer-director, heā€™s 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 couldnā€™t help wondering: how does a writer bring their own interests and personality to a series as lore-heavy as Star Wars?

ā€œThe way I approach it is, you look at whatā€™s come before you, you look at the broad ideas of what they want to do,ā€ Nolfi said. ā€œMeaning: 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.

ā€œIf you think about George Lucas, the six movies that he did, and the universe that he created, itā€™s actually very steeped in broad notions of politics,ā€ Nolfi said. ā€œItā€™s not talking about today, per se, but there’s the Empireā€™s 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. 

ā€œSo 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€¦

ā€œIt 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, thereā€™s word that Ryan Gosling might eventually star in Shawn Levyā€™s 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-Chinoyā€™s Star Wars entry will finally make progress. Weā€™ll bring you more as we hear it.

In the meantime, George Nolfiā€™s briskly entertaining sci-fi monster film Elevation streams on Prime Video from the 8th February in the UK.

Share this Article:

More like this