Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars History Makes Him a Good Fit for a New Trilogy

Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars History Makes Him a Good Fit for a New Trilogy

As a long-time follower of the Star Wars saga and someone who has seen the highs and lows of Simon Kinberg’s filmography, I must say that my feelings about his appointment as writer and producer for the new trilogy are mixed. On one hand, he was instrumental in creating some of the best X-Men films and the Star Wars Rebels animated series, which are undeniably impressive feats. However, let’s not forget the infamous Fantastic Four reboot or Dark Phoenix, entries that left a bitter taste in many fans’ mouths.


Today it was reported that longtime X-Men movie writer and producer Simon Kinberg is going to be writing and producing a new trilogy of Star Wars films. The online chatter amongst the Star Wars fandom has (not surprisingly) been less-than-unanimous in praising the decision to bring Kinberg on board, given some of the more infamous entries on his filmography. But a deeper look at Simon Kinberg’s work – particularly within the Star Wars franchise – may offer a good reason to be hopeful!

Simon Kinberg’s name is frequently associated with superhero movie fandoms due to his work within the Fox-Marvel Universe during the 2010s. His journey into the X-Men movie franchise started by writing the script for Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), a film that remains one of the most widely criticized X-Men movies. He later produced X-Men: First Class, a relatively successful soft reboot, and then both wrote and produced X-Men: Days of Future Past, often praised as one of the best X-Men films. However, Kinberg’s subsequent work in the Fox-Marvel Universe was a mix of successes and failures. He was involved in Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four reboot, which is often labeled as one of the worst comic book movies ever made; he produced both Deadpool movies and Logan, but also wrote and produced X-Men: Apocalypse and wrote, produced, and directed Dark Phoenix, the final film in the Fox X-Men series, and the troubled spinoff film New Mutants.

The negative reputation associated with films like X-Men: The Last Stand, Fant4stic, Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix often eclipses Simon Kinberg’s other notable works in filmmaking. This overshadows not just his contribution to the X-Men series but also his involvement in various non-comic book movies such as Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jumper, Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium and Chappie, Disney’s Cinderella (2015), the adaptations of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, and A Haunting in Venice, as well as some of Star Wars’ most successful projects in the 2010s. Essentially, Kinberg has proven himself to be a versatile and prolific figure in the world of moviemaking.

Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars History Explained

Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars History Makes Him a Good Fit for a New Trilogy

Simon Kinberg played a key role in the creation of the Star Wars Rebels animated series (aired from 2014 to 2018), joining forces with Dave Filoni and Carrie Beck on this project. Moreover, Kinberg contributed as both a writer and an executive producer for the series.

As a devoted Star Wars enthusiast, I found myself contributing my creative expertise at Lucasfilm following the success of Rebels. This led to me being tapped as a creative consultant for Disney’s groundbreaking Sequel film, The Force Awakens, and informally assisting with the production of the first spinoff movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Regrettably, my role in these iconic films wasn’t widely recognized, with Lucasfilm only acknowledging me with special thanks in the end credits of both projects. This lack of visibility unfortunately perpetuates a misconception that my involvement in a project somehow reflects its quality.

Hey there fellow movie enthusiast! You might’ve noticed that Simon Kinberg has quite a track record when it comes to genre storytelling and blockbuster franchises. With his contributions shaping some of the most outstanding X-Men and Star Wars content from the past decade, I reckon he deserves a bit of faith – or even more, admiration.

Indeed, despite having an abundance of skilled creators such as J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, and others, the team behind the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy unfortunately couldn’t create a resounding success with their work.

The Star Wars movies are streaming on Disney+.

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2024-11-08 00:10