The Next Star Wars Movie Has Just Been Handed Off To Someone With Actual Talent
Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight is now in charge of writing the next Star Wars feature film, following the departure of the two previous scriptwriters.
After recent departures from the Star Wars film franchise, Steven Knight has signed on as the screenwriter for the upcoming Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy helmed film, according to a report from Deadline. This follows recent reports of Justin Britt-Gibson and Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof leaving the project amid reports that Disney is tightening budgets across both Marvel and Star Wars franchises. Steven Knight is an Academy Award nominee with previous screenwriting credits including such hits as Rogue Heroes, Apple TV+‘s See, and BBCs Peaky Blinders, so our fingers are crossed that this new Star Wars project could be one of the best in the franchise yet.
Very few details are available regarding the film at this time, though sources have speculated that new info about the film will be revealed at April’s Star Wars Celebration event in London. It’s not clear exactly what caused the previously attached writers to depart the project, though Lindelof has made recent statements alluding to his shaky ground with the film. A recent interview with Lindelof revealed the creator would refuse to engage with any Star Wars project if it couldn’t be perfect, stating that his idealized version of a Star Wars film may be impossible to achieve as he has revered the series since childhood.
Before signing on to direct the untitled Star Wars film, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy helmed two episodes of the Disney+ original Marvel series Ms. Marvel, as well as a number of short films which she directed during her time as a Canadian journalist and activist. Other Star Wars media currently in production include the John Watts-led series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and upcoming seasons of The Mandalorian and Andor. Ahsoka is also being developed as a live-action series based on Ahsoka Tano, the standout character best known for her appearances in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Filmmakers such as Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy, Taika Waititi, and even Rian Johnson are rumored to be working on new Star Wars projects as well, though thanks to Disney CEO Bob Iger’s latest statements regarding budget slashing for the Star Wars franchise as well as future Marvel outings, it may be safe to say that all rumored productions not currently announced could be subject to being cut off before they even get started. This tumultuous environment could make it increasingly difficult for perfectionists such as Damon Lindelof to produce his dream film, but the restrictions could also act as a breeding ground for creativity.
After all, the original Star Wars trilogy was mired by studio oversight, budgetary constraints, and a host of odd and awkward decisions being made by George Lucas at the time, and those films became the iconic favorites we all know and love today. Lucas was famously given carte blanche to do anything and everything he wanted in the prequel trilogy, and we all saw how that turned out. Of course, with Steven Knight on board to write, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy directing, the highly talented duo could have the capability to do something incredible with the famed IP.
