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It’s no secret that the film side of Star Wars has really struggled to get off the ground again following the end of the Sequel Trilogy. Countless Star Wars movie projects have been announced in the last five years, but The Mandalorian & Grogu is the only film that’s actually completed production since The Rise of Skywalker.
A trilogy of films said to be helmed by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson was announced and then put on hold indefinitely; new movies to be developed by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were shelved; Patty Jenkins’s exciting Rogue Squadron movie was announced, then shelved, then put back in development; and no one knows what the heck is going on with Taika Waititi’s movie. There’s apparently a Jedi origin movie coming from Indiana Jones director James Mangold at some point, but nobody seems to know when. In short, things are a mess for Star Wars on the big screen.
There was at least a modicum of hope that the upcoming Rey movie, which is rumored to follow the hero as she establishes a new Jedi Order after the events of the Sequel Trilogy, would be the next film to hit the big screen and usher Star Wars movies into a new era. But a series of creative shakeups on the projects, as well as new reports about a potential continuation of the Skywalker saga developed by producer Simon Kinberg, have muddled Rey’s return, too.
The Rey movie has already lost several writers at the development stage, each shakeup delaying the the project just a bit more, with Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) stepping away from the film in October. Knight was already the second writer on the project, following Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson. Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is still currently attached to direct the movie. But when she and Ridley will actually get to make their film is a big question—and how the movie will fit alongside Kinberg’s trilogy plans, which, according to a report from THR, may also use Rey.
There’s been a lot of speculation as to whether or not Kinberg’s planned Star Wars trilogy is, in fact, another expansion of the central Skywalker Saga or something else entirely, but the fact that we’re even having this conversation doesn’t bode well for the franchise’s cinematic future or its central star. Let’s face it: Lucasfilm doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to carving out a clear path for Rey (or any of the Sequel Trilogy characters, for that matter). The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker very overtly clashed with each other in terms of not only Rey’s identity but also the overarching themes of her journey. Clashing visions hurt Rey on the big screen the last time around.
We, of course, don’t know for sure that Kinberg is working on his own Rey movies—and if he is, how closely he’s coordinating his take with Obaid-Chinoy’s movie. (There’s always the possibility that Obaid-Chinoy’s film has now become the first installment of that trilogy, but we’re speculating here.) But the stops and starts regarding Rey’s film future are already a little worrying.
According to industry insiders via THR, Rey is “the most valuable cinematic asset, in some ways maybe the only one, Star Wars has right now,” as the Sequel Trilogy closed the book on all of the franchise’s biggest characters, including Luke, Han, and Leia. Which at least means that we’ll likely get to see Rey again at some point, as long as Daisy Ridley is willing to reprise her role. However, this language is indicative of so many problems with Star Wars and the industry at large right now.
By looking at characters and their stories as little more than numbers and dollar signs and nostalgia grabs, we’re losing a lot of the heart that drew many of us to this franchise in the first place. For many women and young girls, watching Rey’s journey (at least until The Rise of Skywalker) was and is inspiring. She was a nobody from a desert planet who was able to discover this power within herself and channel it into saving herself and the galaxy from oppression. Before she was a Palpatine or a Skywalker, she was just Rey, and it was easy for us to see ourselves in her and her desire to prove herself.
Rey deserves more time on the big screen. She deserves to carve her own path forward and make her own legacy rather than only being a vessel to carry the legacy of others. But it’s hard to get excited about her potential future when she’s being passed around by creatives and executives like the latest toy on Christmas.
And what’s worse, is this just seems to be the way that Lucasfilm operates now, according to insiders. There are multiple projects in the works that may or may not overlap characters and timelines. Some writers and directors are privy to what their peers are working on, but others aren’t. “It’s a different way of development,” according to an insider. “There’s so much parallel work going on.”
All of this “parallel work” feels akin to throwing something at the wall and hoping it sticks. Which might work for some people, but for a franchise as large as this one, doesn’t seem to be working thus far. What happens if Rey’s solo movie takes her in one direction, but Kinberg sees her future differently? It’s The Rise of Skywalker all over again. (Seriously, that film is absolutely dreadful.)
Rebellions may be built on hope, but the current trajectory of Star Wars movies is far from hopeful. At this point, it’s hard to even imagine a world where either of these Rey projects, let alone both of them, actually make it to our screens. Star Wars needs to choose a direction and stick with it, for better or for worse. Otherwise we’re probably not going to see anything outside of the Mandoverse for the foreseeable future.
The post New Rey Movie Rumors Are Very Worrying for the Future of Star Wars appeared first on Den of Geek.
