Disney Makes Decision About Rey and Finn in ‘Star Wars,’ New Story Confirmed for Sequels
Star Wars is packed with upcoming movies, but the franchise’s theatrical roadmap is still one of Hollywood’s biggest mysteries. Lucasfilm continues to promise bold storytelling, yet every new announcement sparks as much uncertainty as excitement among fans.
The last major update came at April 2023’s Star Wars Celebration Europe, where Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy confirmed three new films. James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy were revealed as directors, joining earlier projects from Shawn Levy and Taika Waititi. Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron—long believed to be shelved—was also said to be back on track.
Mangold’s project will dive into the early history of the Force, while Filoni’s film will serve as a crossover event, bringing together threads from The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett, and Skeleton Crew.
By 2024, Lucasfilm added another surprise: Jon Favreau would helm The Mandalorian and Grogu, aiming for a 2026 release. The film will transition Din Djarin and Grogu from Disney+ to the big screen, effectively ending The Mandalorian as a streaming series. Reports soon followed that a planned fourth season had been scrapped.
This reshuffling complicated the timeline. Obaid-Chinoy’s film, set after The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and featuring Daisy Ridley’s return as Rey, was once thought to debut first. Two possible titles, “New Jedi Order” and “A New Beginning,” circulated but were never confirmed by Lucasfilm.
Another major change came on November 7, 2024, when Simon Kinberg was tapped to develop a new Star Wars trilogy as writer and producer. Known for X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) and The Martian (2015), Kinberg was positioned as a new creative force in the saga.
“The new story is not meant to be a continuation of the Skywalker Saga, the name of the overall arc of the popular and pop culture-dominating Star Wars movies known as Episodes 1 through 9,” The Hollywood Reporter explained.
“The intent here is to have brand new characters and a new story, and not have it be a continuation, sources tell [THR]. (Although that does not mean that some characters could not or would not pop up.)”
New Jedi Order or A New Beginning—Rey Is Returning
The Kinberg announcement sparked debate about its connection to Obaid-Chinoy’s project. Kennedy clarified that Kinberg’s trilogy would move away from the Skywalker legacy, but questions persisted.
“But Rey, the scavenger-turned-Jedi played by Daisy Ridley in the last three episode movies, is key to the franchise’s next turn,” THR reported. “That potentially puts Kinberg’s trilogy story development, as early in its conceptual stages as it may be, on a collision course with the Rey standalone movie that is actively in the works with director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.”
As one insider told THR, “[Rey] is the most valuable cinematic asset, in some ways maybe the only one, Star Wars has right now.” George Nolfi (The Banker) had once been attached as writer, but the project has continued to stall.
“According to scooper Daniel Richtman, ‘The Rey movie is on hold once again, as both the Shawn Levy and James Mangold Star Wars films are moving forward first. The project is not canceled — just temporarily on hold,'” SFF Gazette reported.
Still, Richtman later shared via Cosmic Marvel that the New Jedi Order would now act as the central storyline of the franchise:
Lucasfilm’s plans for the “Star Wars: New Jedi Order” era have reportedly been revealed:
- It will be similar to the Mando-Verse.
- It will begin with Daisy Ridley’s upcoming film.
- It will gradually build toward a major event that brings together characters introduced in past films.
Rey’s Unexpected Return in 2025
Even as the Rey movie sits in limbo, Lucasfilm confirmed a surprising return much sooner. In late 2025, Rey, Finn, and BB-8 will headline a new prequel-sequel.
Set between The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker, “The Jaws of Jakku” takes Rey back to her desert homeworld.
“Following the events of The Last Jedi, Rey struggles to let go of her lonely childhood on the desert planet of Jakku. Hoping to have a breakthrough in her Jedi training, she returns to her home world with Finn and BB-8 in tow,” the official Audible synopsis reads. “When they meet a young girl on a dangerous mission to save her family, they travel through pitch-black tunnels beneath the sand where they encounter scurrying gnaw-jaws, a haunting terror from the past, and maybe—just maybe—hope for them all.”
The story, written by Cavan Scott and narrated by Helen Sadler, arrives October 9, 2025, on Audible.
Meanwhile, Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter was officially unveiled at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Tokyo, set for release in 2027 with Ryan Gosling, Mia Goth, and Matt Smith starring. The story unfolds five years after The Rise of Skywalker.
Mangold’s film is also rising in priority, reportedly drawing on concepts once planned by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
With shifting creative priorities and a growing slate of films, fans are already imagining the next big chapter. One fan trailer by Darth Trailer even envisioned Rey’s journey continuing as Star Wars: Episode X—The New Jedi Order.
Lucasfilm’s future plans remain fluid, but the next few years will determine what shape the galaxy far, far away ultimately takes.
