Has Daisy Ridley’s ‘New Jedi Order’ Been Shelved?
Last week, the long-anticipated news that Kathleen Kennedy would step down as president of Lucasfilm finally crossed the wire.
After taking over the studio from George Lucas following its sale to Disney in 2012, Kennedy’s 14-year tenure was marked by notable highs — The Force Awakens, Andor, and The Mandalorian — as well as several well-documented lows, including The Rise of Skywalker, The Book of Boba Fett, and The Acolyte.
(Todd Williamson/Getty Images)
As the longtime Hollywood executive prepares to hand the reins to Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, Kennedy sat down with Deadline for an “exit interview,” offering fans fresh insight into several Star Wars projects currently in development, including Shawn Levy’s Starfighter, The Mandalorian & Grogu, and Filoni’s upcoming New Republic film.
Photo: Shawn Levy on Instagram
Throughout the conversation, however, she notably omitted one film: New Jedi Order.
‘New Jedi Order’
As a quick reminder, Daisy Ridley took the stage at Star Wars Celebration 2023 to announce that she would be returning as Rey Skywalker in a new film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
Photo: Integrated Systems Europe
While expectations and enthusiasm for the project were understandably high, production on the film has never truly gotten off the ground.
Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson were initially attached to write the screenplay, but the pair were later seemingly removed from the project.
Photo: Lucasfilm
Eventually, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight took over screenwriting duties before the 2023 WGA strike stalled development and ultimately led to his exit.
Photo: Variety
Most recently, George Nolfi was brought on board. Nevertheless, nearly three years after the film was announced, we appear to be no closer to seeing Rey Skywalker’s return than when the project was first revealed.
The Film Looks to Have Been Shelved
Between New Jedi Order’s troubled development and Kennedy’s omission of the film during her Deadline interview, it appears the project has, at the very least, been placed on the back burner.
Photo: whatsondisneyplus
As Ridley has continued to state that she would be more than happy to reprise the role of Rey, it’s difficult to imagine Lucasfilm not eventually taking her up on that offer.
Photo: Lucasfilm
For now, however, it seems more likely that audiences will see Rey resurface in Simon Kinberg’s upcoming trilogy rather than in a standalone adventure.
