The Rey-Centric New Jedi Order Star Wars Movie Is Pivoting — Again
Maybe the fourth writer’s the charm.
It’s not easy to make a Star Wars movie these days. While the Star Wars TV landscape is flourishing and creating the “Mando-verse,” the movies are having trouble getting off the runway. However, just in recent weeks, the tide seems to be turning — The Mandalorian and Grogu wrapped filming and Shawn Levy’s upcoming movie is reportedly circling Ryan Gosling to star. Now, the next expected Star Wars movie after those two has its own update, and it’s a long time coming.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s upcoming Rey-focused sequel, unofficially known as New Jedi Order, now has a new writer attached. George Nolfi, the writer behind The Bourne Ultimatum and The Adjustment Bureau, will take over the film's screenplay.
George Nolfi will bring his experience of gripping thrillers and franchise movies to Star Wars.
This is actually the fourth writer to take on Rey’s story. Lost and Watchmen’s Damon Lindelof was initially working on the story alongside Justin Britt-Gibson, but they left the project in 2023 and were replaced by Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight. However, in October 2024, Knight left the project, leaving the script — and the possibility of going into production in the foreseeable future — in jeopardy.
But George Nolfi may be the perfect choice for the role. He’s a dyed-in-the-wool sci-fi screenwriter, going back to 2003’s Timeline and peaking with The Adjustment Bureau. But more importantly, he has experience jumping into a franchise and hitting the ground running, as he directed sequels The Bourne Ultimatum and Ocean’s Twelve. Both films belonged to highly esteemed thriller franchises, so New Jedi Order would just connect both skills: it’s a sequel of an already existing sci-fi franchise.
Daisy Ridley and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy are still attached to this movie, but writers just don’t seem to stick.
It may be a bit too soon to be optimistic since this is just the latest in a long line of writers. But Nolfi is undoubtedly the writer who is most suited for the role, so there may be a glimmer of hope here. Star Wars fans may have been burned before, but finally, there’s evidence that the process is working. Daisy Ridley is already attached to return, all that’s left is to figure out what she’s going to do. (And shoot the entire thing, but that comes later.)
Hopefully, 2025 is the year of Star Wars movies, even if there haven’t been any in five years. But if all goes according to plan, we may just see a new Golden Age.
