Lucasfilm Gives Major Updates on 6 New Star Wars Movies, Including The Hunt for Ben Solo & New Trilogy

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As a huge Star Wars fan, I was so excited to hear the news from Kathleen Kennedy before she steps down as president of Lucasfilm! After 14 amazing years, she’s passing the torch to Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, and it sounds like she’s leaving the company in fantastic shape – they’ve filmed two new movies in the last two years with a smooth process, which is incredible. Of course, everyone is eager to learn more about the next wave of Star Wars films coming after The Mandalorian & Grogu and Starfighter, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store!

In an interview with Deadline, Kennedy revealed details about six movies currently in development. Here’s a rundown, starting with the projects she discussed most and moving to those with fewer updates.

Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars Trilogy

Lucasfilm brought on Simon Kinberg in November 2024 to develop a new Star Wars trilogy. According to Kathleen Kennedy, Kinberg is currently writing the first film’s script. She mentioned they reviewed a draft in August that showed promise, but needed further development. Since then, they’ve significantly revised the story and Kinberg recently completed a detailed 70-page outline about four weeks ago. They anticipate receiving a complete script from him in March.

As a huge Star Wars fan, I was so excited to hear Kennedy talk about the future! It sounds like a new trilogy from Simon Kinberg is the next big thing after Starfighter and the Mandalorian & Grogu movie. Apparently, Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan are already working with Simon on it, and it could take us well into the 2030s! Everyone’s hoping Daisy Ridley will be back, and it’s interesting that Kennedy didn’t say much about the previously announced New Jedi Order film that was also supposed to feature her. It really feels like this Kinberg trilogy is the direction they’re heading now.

The Hunt for Ben Solo

So, I just heard from Adam Driver that Lucasfilm had a plan to continue Kylo Ren’s story after The Rise of Skywalker with a project called The Hunt for Ben Solo. Apparently, Disney stepped in and put the brakes on it. Kathleen Kennedy, the head of Lucasfilm, admitted the project is currently on hold, though she wouldn’t say it’s completely dead. She even praised the script – a collaboration between Steve Soderbergh, Adam Driver, and Scott Burns – calling it fantastic and hinting that anything could happen if someone’s willing to take a chance on it. It’s fascinating to think what could have been!

Kennedy followed up by talking about the importance of taking risks, which seemed like a subtle way of suggesting Disney had made a mistake.

I’ll never forget my first conversation with Bob Iger when I started this job – he simply told me to ‘Be bold,’ and it really stuck with me. I truly believe you have to be courageous and willing to take chances on both people and new ideas. If you don’t, you end up just repeating the same old patterns. It feels like so many companies today are afraid of taking risks, and I understand why – they have shareholders to answer to. But I also think that fear is what ultimately leads to stagnation and things fading away. You really have to be willing to leap and see what happens.

Taika Waititi’s Star Wars Movie

Taika Waititi, known for directing the Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love & Thunder films, has completed a Star Wars script he’s been developing for several years. Kathleen Kennedy shared that the script is both funny and well-written, but emphasized that the decision to move forward with it won’t be hers alone, as she is stepping down from her role.

Donald Glover’s Lando Movie

Kathleen Kennedy also revealed that Donald Glover has submitted a script for a Lando movie, which would be a continuation of the story started in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Kennedy reiterated that Solo didn’t perform well because audiences weren’t prepared to see a different actor play Han Solo, but suggested Lucasfilm might be open to recasting characters in the future. She explained, “I think we tried to do that story too early.”

James Mangold’s Jedi Origin Movie

James Mangold’s planned movie exploring the origins of the Jedi, sometimes called “Dawn of the Jedi,” was revealed at Star Wars Celebration 2023, but hasn’t moved forward since. According to Kathleen Kennedy, Mangold and Beau Willimon (a writer from the show Andor) created a fantastic script, but the project is currently paused because it’s a very different approach to Star Wars storytelling.

Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Trilogy

Lucasfilm had a positive experience collaborating with Rian Johnson on Star Wars: The Last Jedi and initially planned for him to lead a new trilogy. However, the film sparked significant controversy, which seemingly took Johnson by surprise. According to Kathleen Kennedy, Johnson has been heavily involved with the Knives Out films, and she believes the negative online reaction to The Last Jedi discouraged him from continuing with Star Wars. Kennedy considers Johnson a talented director and thinks he was genuinely rattled by the backlash.

What Star Wars movie or show are you looking forward to the most? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-01-16 16:13