Reports that a new Rey film in the Star Wars universe would be shooting this September seem to be wide of the mark. More here.
The planned Star Wars movie featuring the return of Rey Skywalker seems to have become something of a bellwether for the future health of the franchise.
Whether the film gets a number slapped on it or not when it releases, it’s a continuation of the saga’s main story featuring Rey Skywalker – the character at the centre of Lucasfilm’s divisive sequel trilogy which ended in 2019 with the critically-unloved The Rise Of Skywalker.
In lots of ways, the project seems to represent what Disney wants Star Wars to be moving towards, and yet, despite the film being announced in April of last year (and being in development for a significant period before that), things seem to be progressing at a glacial pace.
Speculation has swirled of late that the film – which is set to be directed by documentary maker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy – will be entering production in September. Yet World Of Reel has poured cold water over that speculation. Without knowing the full details, the outlet does seem to have largely got it right in its previous reporting on the Rey film, and if this latest report is even close to true, it looks as though Lucasfilm has found itself saddled with another Star Wars project that is now in trouble.
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Per the report, the film – which will cover ‘Rey’s attempt to build a new Jedi order’ – still doesn’t have a script. Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is now said to have handed in four drafts but none have met the approval of Lucasfilm boss, Kathleen Kennedy. Knight isn’t the first writer to try to crack this story (Damon Lindelof and Justin Brit-Gibson already collaborated on a version before exiting over creative differences).
Things get more complicated when you consider that Knight will soon be focusing his energies on his Peaky Blinders movie which is set to shoot soon. Then there’s the rather concerning claim from World Of Reel (which doesn’t name its source) that even Disney isn’t fully behind the project.
Given Lucasfilm’s frequent tendency to make the production of Star Wars films a difficult process, it’s all too easy to believe this story. The proof will be revealed when (and if) the film enters production. If cameras do roll in a few months, then perhaps production has been smoother than has been reported. The longer things are held up, though, the more credence will be attached to stories like this one.
