As the industry has come back to life and the Hollywood wheels are in motion once again, Star Wars fans are eager to hear news on the next film which is due to release in May 2026. And if we take the words of a reliable industry insider (or should I say InSneider) then fans won’t have too long to wait.
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The news comes from a person that gets a lot of coverage on this site, Jeff Sneider, who was first to break that Damon Lindelof was working on a Star Wars movie and was let go from said Star Wars movie, and revealed that Dave Filoni was set to direct a Star Wars film and that film would be announced during this years Star Wars Celebration. His track record with the Star Wars movie news over the past two years speaks for itself.
Last month on his podcast, The Hot Mic, which he co-hosts with John Rocha, Sneider was asked when people could expect some Star Wars movie news, to which Jeff quickly responded with next month (December). Now that we’re in the month Sneider told fans when to expect Star Wars film news, the question was poised to him again during the latest episode of The Hot Mic. Sneider shared that he wouldn’t be surprised if we got news this month and that he believes there are things “lying in wait.” The journalist added that he believes it is only a matter of time until a reporter finds out and shares what they know, with Sneider’s belief being that it would be related to casting news for the untitled Rey Skywalker film which is currently being written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) and is set to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel). You can read the quote below.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we got Star Wars news this month. Star Wars has always been a franchises that has like…things don’t always get announced. I remember years ago that this was uproar that Star Wars hadn’t hired a writer of colour, but I came out, after people told me privately, and said that they have writers of colour, but that they don’t want to respond to all the nonsense essentially. I do think that there are things lying in wait. Possibly casting news that are already done. I think that the Daisy Ridley movie has its leads already and it is just a matter of a reporter finding out.” – Jeff Sneider via The Hot Mic
Ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Sneider previously shared on his podcast that Lucasfilm were hoping to start casting on Rey Skywalker movie before Labour Day (September 4th) ahead of filming beginning in April of 2024. Again, this was pre-strike, so the process has been delayed and there’s been no update as to when the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy directed flick will start filming, though I’ve been told it’s definitely still planned to start shooting next year at Pinewood Studios, London.
At this time we do not know what shape the Rey film is in. In April of this year, Lucasfilm president, Kathleen Kennedy, shared that Steven Knight was due to submit his draft of the Rey flick by the middle of May. However on the second of May, the Writers Guild of America strike began and Knight’s work was halted on the Rey film. It is unknown if Knight submitted a finished draft ahead of the strike. Knight had only been on the project around a month or two before Star Wars Celebration, following the departure of the films original writers Damon Lindelof (The Leftovers) and Justin Brit-Gibson (Into the Badlands) who had been working on the film for close to two years.
It’s long been reported by myself, the trades, Jeff Sneider and MakingStarWars that the untitled Star Wars film set to release in May of 2026 is the Daisy Ridley led flick. Lucasfilm and Disney have yet to confirm which Star Wars movie occupies that date, a date they announced back in the Spring, but it was recently revealed by the films lead, Daisy Ridley, that the film is the next Star Wars movie to be released.
The untitled Ridley led film is set fifteen years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and will see Rey Skywalker attempting to construct a new Jedi Order.
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