New ‘Star Wars’ trilogy in the works from ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ director

A new Star Wars trilogy is in the works from X-Men: Dark Phoenix director Simon Kinberg.

According to Deadline, the new films will carry on from the most recent trilogy that concluded with The Rise Of Skywalker in 2019. Episodes 10-12 will reportedly centre around new characters with a new storyline, although the return of familiar faces has not been ruled out.

Kinberg, who served as a consultant on The Force Awakens, will write and produce the films with a director yet to be announced. His previous writing credits include a number of X-Men movies as well as 2015’s Fantastic Four and The Martian.

At present, no further details about the new trilogy have been announced, and it’s unclear how or if it will link to the existing Skywalker Saga.

It’s also unclear what this could mean for the new Rey-led Star Wars movie, which will see Daisy Ridley reprise her breakthrough role. The proposed follow-up recently suffered a setback when Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight departed the project.

Final duel: Rey and Kylo Ren face-off on board the Death Star wreckage in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Credit: Lucasfilm / Disney

Knight’s involvement was first announced in March 2023, when it emerged that he would be writing the screenplay for the movie, replacing Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson, who had themselves left the project.

Variety reports that the Rey-led film is intended to pick up the story after the events of The Rise Of Skywalker, and will follow Rey’s efforts to open her own Jedi Academy. With this setback, however, it is unlikely the film will enter the production stage until the second half of 2025 at the earliest.

The film is still slated to be the directorial debut of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who directed episodes of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, and has picked up two Oscars for Best Documentary Short Film.

There is not a Star Wars film set for release until Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu in May 2026, which, if it arrives on time, will bring to an end a seven-year gap. Several others are thought to be in development, including from directors Taika Waititi, Donald Glover, Patty Jenkins, Rian Johnson and James Mangold.