The Future of 'Star Wars' Is a Lot More Rey, Wait What

Last month, screenwriter Steven Knight left the Star Wars movie that would focus on Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley) starting a New Jedi Order. At that point, I just assumed the film would follow the ongoing pattern of new Star Wars movie being announced and then never once seeing the light of day. Those suspicions were heightened even further when, somehow, Simon Kinberg was handed the reins of an all-new trilogy.

At the time of the announcement, no one seemed to know if the new trilogy would be Episodes 10, 11, and 12, or something new entirely. Well, it turns out Star Wars might be doing something really weird.

According to THR, Lucasfilm is reportedly convinced that Rey is the future of the franchise and wants to get her back on screen as soon as freaking possible:

Some fans have expressed criticism that Lucasfilm would return to the well to make “episodes,” as they are called, beyond the nine movies that comprise the Skywalker story, which had been billed as concluding with 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker. That film grossed $1.077 billion globally but also wasn’t received well by much of the fanbase (it received a B+ grade from audiences polled by CinemaScore and a 51 percent critics tally at Rotten Tomatoes).

But Rey, the scavenger-turned-Jedi played by Daisy Ridley in the last three episode movies, is key to the franchise’s next turn. 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.

To be clear, I was sold on Rey the moment that John Williams score fired up and she Force grabbed a lightsaber to wreck Kylo Ren’s shit in The Force Awakens. That snowy battle is one of my all-time favorite Star Wars movie moments, and I’m an unabashed lover of The Last Jedi. I am confused about all this talk about a third movie, though. The rise of what now?

My point is I’m not one of the rabid Rey haters, but I definitely know that they are out there! Add in the fact that Lucasfilm knifed The Acolyte to the thrill of toxic fans, and I am absolutely gobsmacked that their current strategy is betting on Rey. We’re talking about a character who got ripped to shreds right out of the gate and practically started the whole frothing mad white guy trend on YouTube.

However, this quote to THR put things in perspective as well as the fact that, despite being derided, the Sequel Trilogy made butt-tons of cash. “Star Wars is a nostalgia-based enterprise and they are running out of ways to create nostalgia.”

That would certainly be the case if Lucasfilm is going back to the well of a trilogy that ended not even five years ago. However, The Mandalorian dropped a month before Rise of Skywalker, and there’s been a steady stream of bland, mediocre Star Wars ever since. So, it’s kind of hard to build nostalgia when you won’t go the hell away.