The new Star Wars trilogy could feature Daisy Ridley's Rey Skywalker if rumors are to be believed.
The idea stems from Lucasfilm signing Simon Kinberg, previously associated with Star Wars Rebels, to spearhead the launch of a new saga in the generation-spanning space opera. The new trilogy, however, will not be a continuation of the Skywalker Saga according to The Hollywood Reporter. While existing faces may appear in supporting roles, the main narrative will have a brand-new story and characters.
Ridley's Rey, who played a key role in the sequel movies and received an unfair share of flak for how the story turned out, is reportedly set to be a central figure in several upcoming Star Wars movies. A stand-alone film featuring Rey was already underway with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as the director. Announced at the Star Wars Celebration in April 2023, the project has yet to kick off, and the current status is ambiguous, similar to several other Star Wars projects. However, Ridley has been quite vocal about its development thus far.
That is where the rumor about Rey's new trilogy comes into play. A source close to the franchise shared with The Hollywood Reporter, "Rey is the most valuable cinematic asset, in some ways maybe the only one, Star Wars has right now."
In other words, Rey is Lucasfilm's only hope to move the franchise forward. Most other main characters - Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Kylo Ren, Anakin, and Obi-Wan Kenobi - are dead in the current timeline. While some characters have appeared in Disney+ prequel shows, they cannot contribute to future events.
Rey is arguably the only major entity that potentially connects the new trilogy with the existing canon. It should help that she is also the 'Last Jedi.' More importantly, the movies could perhaps retroactively remedy some of the sequels' flaws and deliver on the promise of a fresh start rather than farming nostalgia for the Skywalker Saga.
The most obvious course would be to show Rey in charge of a New Jedi Order, an extension of the academy Luke was trying to run. This would allow the narrative to flesh out Rey's character beyond being Luke's student, Palpatine's granddaughter, or the Force-dyad situation with Kylo Ren.
"You're being asked to create the new New Testament"
Since the sequels ended, Star Wars movies have been one unrealized disappointment after another. Even the movies that were emphatically announced eventually got shelved due to a lack of one thing or another. At present, multiple movies set at different points in the timeline are under development.
James Mangold's Dawn of the Jedi is set 25,000 years before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and will be about the ancient history of the Jedi and the discovery of the Force. Taika Waitit is working on an unnamed movie and so is Shawn Levy. Donald Glover is in charge of a Lando Calrissian project. A Rogue Squadron movie is also in supposed development. None of these have an official synopsis or a production date yet.
A source told THR what making new Star Wars content was like. "You're being asked to create the new New Testament," the original trilogy being the Old Testament. "And no one can agree on anything and there's a lot of second-guessing about meaning." The only feature film that we are sure of so far is the one by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni featuring the characters and storyline of the Mandoverse.
For now, we'll have to simply wait and see if and when this all comes to pass.