Despite long seeming like a sure thing, especially after the official announcement at Star Wars Celebration 2023, I’m sadly convinced that Rey’s upcomingStar Warsmovie,Star Wars: New Jedi Order, is no longer in the works. OfStar Wars’upcoming movies,The Mandalorian and GroguandNew Jedi Orderseemed the most certain.
For the former, that’s proven true, as that will be the nextStar Warsmovie and has a June 02, 2025, release date. Yet,updates onNew Jedi Orderhave come fewer and farther between, and in light of theStar Wars Celebration 2025 revealsand myriad other factors,I’m convincedNew Jedi Orderhas silently been canceled by Lucasfilm.
Lucasfilm Has Avoided Saying Anything Concrete About Rey’s New Jedi Order Movie
At Star Wars Celebration 2023, one of the most significant reveals was the news thatSharmeen Obaid-Chinoywould be directing a Rey-led movie, set 15 years afterStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Not much else was known about the movie, although there were several updates from Rey actress Daisy Ridley that she had yet to see a script.
Even so, with such a direct announcement and no news from Lucasfilm that the movie had been dropped or even delayed (notably, the movie never had an official release date, so it technically couldn’t be ‘delayed’ anyway), it seemed like progress on Rey’s movie had slowed down but not been entirely halted.
For that reason, I was convincedNew Jedi Orderwas still coming, and it was just a matter of time.
Recent events have changed that, though. Especially becauseStar Wars Celebration 2025 came and went without a single mention of Rey’s movie, I am starting to buy into the many rumors thatNew Jedi Orderhas been tossed out.
Presumably, were the movie still in the works, we would have gotten some update during Celebration. The combination of Daisy Ridley’s absence at that event and the fact thatKathleen Kennedy’sStar Warsroundupincluded no mention ofNew Jedi Order—yet she mentioned lesser-known projects, like Taika Waititi’sStar Warsmovie—is likely bad news.
There Have Been Rumors Of Competing Projects For Daisy Ridley’s Rey
IfNew Jedi Orderwas dropped, the cause may have already been revealed. At present, there are evidentlycompeting projects for Rey’s movie, specifically when it comes to Daisy Ridley. It was reported byThe Hollywood Reporterthat Lucasfilm saw Rey as"key to the franchise’s next turn,“which many (including myself) took to meanNew Jedi Orderwas pivotal.
Yet, while the comments about Rey’s importance may still ring true for the franchise’s future, it may not be explored in the movie audiences were expecting. The announcement of Simon Kinberg’sStar Warstrilogy in particular has called Rey’s next story into question, as it was rumored that Rey will have an “Obi-Wan Kenobi role” in those movies.
Not only does this seemingly reveal that Rey’s next story will be explored in Kinberg’s movies, notNew Jedi Order, but also,the notion that Rey will be like Obi-Wan Kenobisuggests she won’t be leading a brand-new Jedi Order. That is what the rumored titleNew Jedi Orderhints is coming, but that’s not a role Obi-Wan ever held.
Rather, Rey would be a mentor in this new phase ofStar Warsmovies. Those two concepts for Rey’s future are therefore presumably at odds with each other, meaning both cannot be true at the same time. Given that, it feels most likely that one project will win out over the other, and currently, that seems to be Kinberg’s trilogy.
Simon Kinberg Is Writing “The Next Saga That Moves Us Into The Future”
WhereasNew Jedi Orderhas received next to no updates in the last year,Simon Kinberg’s trilogy is evidently making significant headway. For one, Kathleen Kennedy seemed to confirmKinberg’s trilogy isStar Wars’most important projectat present, saying:
“This is the next iteration, the new saga that moves us into the future.”
Based on that, Kinberg’s trilogy, more than any otherStar Warsmovie, will define the future ofStar Wars. Taken together, the idea that Rey is critical to the franchise’s future and the fact that Kinberg’s trilogy represents the movies that will move the franchise forward, it’s safe to assume this is where Rey’s next story will take place.
Sadly, it therefore just doesn’t make sense forNew Jedi Orderto still be made. That isn’t to say that Kinberg’s trilogy won’t be brilliant or isn’t an excitingStar Warsproject. On the contrary, I think it will be fascinating to see what aStar Warstrilogy looks like when it isn’t part of the Skywalker Saga.
Nevertheless, it would be a shame forNew Jedi Orderto be dropped because so many people who continue to bash the sequels called for the movie to be canceled, and, inadvertently, it will seem to some thatStar Warsis co-signing a lack of faith in Ridley and Obaid-Chinoy—though I’m not certain that’s not actually the case.
For these reasons, and because I’d love to see a full-fledged Jedi Order again inStar Wars, I hope I’m wrong. However, currently, I’m convinced thatStar Wars: New Jedi Orderhas silently been canceled.
