Perhaps the biggest news coming from Celebration Europe 2023 was the announcement of three new Star Wars films. One of those films (which previously had Damon Lindelof attached) is going to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and will see the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey. According to the news coming from Celebration, the movie will take place fifteen years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
During this week’s episode of The Hot Mic, John Rocha mentioned that John Boyega has “buried the hatchet” with Kathleen Kennedy, and is now in negotiations to return to the Star Wars galaxy away as Finn.
“I’ll tell you this – I’ll break this for myself. According to some sources that I know, a couple of sources, different sources have reached out to me because of this show [The Hot Mic], and according to them and what they’re hearing is…John Boyega will be coming back for this movie. That’s what I’ve been hearing from a couple of my sources, trusted people that I know.“
-John Rocha
Other good news for the future of the film is concerning the start date. Original rumors surrounding the film pointed towards a Summer start, but a new report from Jeff Sneider has surfaced claiming that filming for the sequel follow-up will begin in February of 2024 and that Lucasfilm is aiming for a release in December 2025. It seems that the company is looking to begin pre-production this August, which means casting will begin in earnest around that time.
“I’m told that, we’ve been saying all along that the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy project I guess – it’s no longer the Damon Lindelof project, the Steven Knight and SOC project, the movie that Lucasfilm releases in December 2025 and to that I am told that pre-production will start in August, and so casting will start around then. They may be making lists right now at Lucasfilm for who they want in that movie, but I don’t think they’ve gone out to any talent and I don’t think they will until after the Summer. I would expect answers before Labor Day.”
-Jeff Sneider
Even though Daisy Ridley was announced to be in the film, it seems she will not be the lead. Jeff Sneider says that Ridley, will most likely be utilized in more of a Luke Skywalker/Obi-Wan Kenobi mentor capacity.
The untitled project is being written by Steven Knight, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and stars Daisy Ridley.
