Disney is finally getting serious about the next chapter of Star Wars, with a new sequel trilogy continuing to move forward behind the scenes. After years of announced projects that were delayed, reworked, or quietly shelved, Lucasfilm appears to be finding its footing — and Simon Kinberg's planned trilogy could become one of the studio's most important attempts yet to determine where the franchise goes next.

A New Era, A New Leadership Team

The timing of all this is particularly significant because Lucasfilm itself is in the middle of a major transition. Kathleen Kennedy, who led the studio through Disney's Star Wars era, has stepped down as president. Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan have taken over different aspects of the company's operations — Filoni in a major creative role, and Brennan overseeing the business side. That leaves the franchise in the hands of a new leadership team tasked with navigating a theatrical slate that remains considerably less defined than Disney would likely prefer.

What's Actually on the Horizon

The franchise has already returned to movie theaters with The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026), and Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling, is scheduled to follow in 2027 — timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, which debuted in the United States on May 25, 1977. Beyond those two films, however, several other projects have spent considerable time in development without reaching the screen.

James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi remains in the mix, and Filoni has been developing a feature-length continuation of the interconnected stories established through The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and other Disney+ series. Meanwhile, the long-gestating Rey Skywalker movie from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy appears to be a non-starter, with new evidence suggesting it may never see the light of day.

That context makes Kinberg's project especially interesting. Rather than continuing the Skywalker family story directly, the new trilogy is intended to take the franchise further into the future following the events of Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019), establishing a new chapter with new characters and allowing Lucasfilm to move beyond the nine-film Skywalker Saga.

New Information Confirmed for Star Wars: Episode X

Here's where things get exciting. According to The Hollywood Reporter, while Lucasfilm is deep in post-production on Star Wars: Starfighter, "the next phase of a potential new Skywalker Saga is coming into focus." Jon Watts — best known for helming Tom Holland's Spider-Man trilogy (Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home) — is now attached to direct the first installment of a trilogy written by Simon Kinberg, with Knight Edge Media first breaking the news.

Kinberg has been writing the mystery trilogy since late 2024. Per THR, the project is intended to act as the next chapter in what is referred to as the Skywalker Saga — the stories featuring the multi-generations of the Luke Skywalker family. That would make the first film Episode X, and Daisy Ridley's Rey Skywalker "would appear in some capacity in the new trilogy."

The film isn't a done deal just yet. Sources told the outlet the project "is still in development and has not yet been greenlit by parent company Disney," though it appears to be "the furthest along the development track after Starfighter." Lucasfilm had no comment.

THR describes Watts as "a reliable choice for the franchise," noting that on the Spider-Man films, "Watts proved he could navigate the complexities of massive big-budget productions." He also co-created and co-wrote Skeleton Crew — which THR called "the well-regarded but unfortunately not greatly seen series that starred Jude Law and brought an Amblin vibe to the Star Wars universe" — and directed two of its episodes.

A Long Road to Get Here

Getting to this point has apparently been anything but straightforward. Kinberg spent considerable time developing the story, with an earlier version reportedly going through the Lucasfilm process before being deemed not ready. Rather than shelving the project entirely, the filmmaker kept developing the concept, eventually putting together a treatment that reportedly ran approximately 70 pages. A further screenplay draft was expected to follow, suggesting the project has continued to receive real attention despite the relatively small amount of information Lucasfilm has released publicly.

Kinberg himself has offered few details about what audiences can expect, but a recent social media post offered a small indication that his connection to Lucasfilm remains active. The filmmaker shared a photograph taken at Skywalker Ranch, including a view of Lake Ewok. The image contained no story announcement, casting reveal, or release date — but his continued presence at the home of Lucasfilm is notable given how little has been publicly revealed about the project.

What About Rey?

One of the biggest questions surrounding Kinberg's plans is what they could mean for Daisy Ridley's Rey. The character remains attached to a separate movie — commonly referred to as New Jedi Order — that would follow Rey after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, with the former sequel-trilogy protagonist attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order in the aftermath of the First Order's defeat. That project has also spent years navigating the development process, leaving its eventual place within Lucasfilm's plans uncertain.

Lucasfilm has not confirmed that Rey will be folded into Kinberg's trilogy, and there has been no official announcement that her previously reported standalone movie has been canceled. Still, both projects occupy similar territory by looking beyond the Skywalker Saga, which naturally raises questions about whether Lucasfilm could eventually connect their stories — or alter its plans for Rey — as the studio establishes its next major cinematic era.

The 2023 Announcements Are Fading Into the Background

Following the 2023 announcements at Star Wars Celebration — which included three movies from Mangold, Obaid-Chinoy, and Filoni — it seems clear that those projects have been somewhat buried as Disney moves forward with other priorities. Since their announcement, Lucasfilm has pivoted to The Mandalorian and Grogu, next year's Starfighter, and now what is likely to be Episode X — all projects revealed after 2023 that have effectively replaced those announced at Celebration.

The studio has no shortage of ideas, but turning those announcements into completed movies has proved to be one of its biggest challenges in recent years. Kinberg's trilogy remains a project worth watching, particularly because it could ultimately become the foundation for a completely new era of theatrical Star Wars. There is still no confirmed release date, casting announcement, or indication of exactly when audiences will see the first movie — but the continued development of the story suggests Lucasfilm has not forgotten about its ambitious plans for the franchise's future.

As the studio moves into a new leadership era, the question is no longer simply whether Star Wars will return to theaters, but what kind of galaxy audiences will find when it does.