Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | News | August 6, 2025
The next Star Wars feature is finally getting underway, six years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Disney has passed on scripts from the likes of Damon Lindelof, Rian Johnson, Michael Waldron, David S. Goyer (with Guillermo del Toro in the director’s chair), James Mangold and Simon Kinberg, and David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, only to finally land on a Star Wars film to be directed by Shawn Levy (Deadpool vs. Wolverine, Free Guy) with a script from none other than novelist turned screenwriter Jonathan Tropper, who also wrote Jon Hamm’s Apple TV+ series, Your Friends & Neighbors.
The movie is also amassing a terrific cast, with Ryan Gosling already in the lead, alongside Mia Goth. They’ll now be joined by Matt Smith, who is reportedly set to play the villain. It’s fun casting, particularly given how obsessed Ryan Gosling is with Doctor Who. Star Wars: Starfighter, set roughly five years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, is said to be a stand-alone Star Wars film. It’s set for a May 28, 2027 release, one year after The Mandalorian & Grogu.
Elsewhere, Margot Robbie is reportedly in negotiations to play the lead in the Attack of the 50 Foot Woman remake, which will come from director Tim Burton. Burton’s career has seemingly been resurrected by Netflix’s Wednesday, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and, presumably, a decision to distance himself from Johnny Depp. Robbie, should she sign on, would also produce, although it’s all contingent on a script, which is currently seeking a new writer after Gone Girl novelist Gillian Flynn exited the project.
For the unfamiliar, The Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is about a woman who is turned into a giantess after an encounter with aliens, which complicates her marriage with a philandering husband (in other words, Gillian Flynn would have been perfect).
Finally, Matt Belloni over on Puck reported that Michael Mann is trying to put together a sequel to Heat based on his own novel. He apparently wants a $170 million budget, though Warner Bros. has balked at the price tag, which is probably wise given the box-office reception of his last two films, Blackhat and Ferrari.
This, however, is a sequel to one of the most beloved films ever, and with Leo DiCaprio involved, Belloni reports Warner Bros. might be willing to provide the necessary budget. Austin Butler and Adam Driver are also rumored to be in the mix.
