New Star Wars movie to be directed by Spider-Man trilogy director
It's the Force versus Spidey senses
We now know who will direct the next major instalment of the Star Wars movie saga: Jon Watts.
This will be the first film in a trilogy written by Simon Kinburg, whose writing credits include X-Men: Days of Future Past, Star Wars: Rebels and Sherlock Holmes. You can never assume plans will become reality in the Star Wars universe anymore, but will this presumably be the next major Star Wars cinematic arc.
Jon Watts’s directing credits include Star Wars TV series Skeleton Crew, the one starring Jude Law and a bunch of kids. And, on the film side, a trio of super-successful Spider-Man movies, with Homecoming, Far From Home and No Way Home. The man has big box office history.
Before you get too invested, this one has apparently not had the official greenlight from Disney, according to Deadline. That means it’s years away, and judging by how things are going within Star Wars, may end up quietly canned.
But this could be a biggie. The trilogy is expected to see the return of Rey, played by Daisy Ridley in the three main line Star Wars sequel trilogy films released between 2015 and 2019.
News of this trilogy surfaced in 2024, in the era of Kathleen Kennedy’s leadership of Lucasfilm. Arch Star Wars nerd Dave Filoni took over the job in 2026, to act as president alongside Lynwen Brennan.
Since 2019 the series has only seen one major new cinema release, Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu. It did not make a profit at cinemas. While not a true box office disaster like Supergirl, horror flick Obsession earned far more despite being R/18 rated and being made for — according to reports — less than a million dollars. Bit embarrassing for the Hollywood execs involved.
The next movie up on the Star Wars schedule is Starfighter, an offshoot tale starring Ryan Gosling as Kade Oberon.
“When a cynical rogue is confronted by his mysterious past, he is hurled into a dangerous adventure across the galaxy that puts him on a crash course with destiny,” reads the official blurb.
In a rare moment of Star Wars clarity, we can say this one is pretty much definitely coming. The main bulk of the film’s shooting took place in mid-late 2025, and Star Wars: Starfighter is due in cinemas on 28th May, 2027.
Skip the search — follow Shortlist on Google News to get our best lists, news, features and reviews at the top of your feeds!
