Jon Watts Is Attached to Direct Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars Trilogy Opener

Jon Watts is attached to direct the first film in Simon Kinberg’s proposed Star Wars trilogy, which is intended to continue the story beyond The Rise of Skywalker. The film could be Episode X, but that is not a confirmed title: the project remains in development and has not been greenlit by Disney. 17

What’s reported about the film

Kinberg is writing the trilogy, and Watts is attached to direct its opening installment. Reporting describes it as a continuation of the Skywalker saga, but plot details and a release date have not been announced in the sources available here. 217

Rey, played by Daisy Ridley in the sequel trilogy, is expected to appear in some capacity across the new trilogy, according to reporting cited by The Hollywood Reporter. That does not confirm Ridley’s casting in Watts’s film specifically, and no other cast details are established in the reports cited here. 217

Development status and timing

An attachment is not the same as an approved production. The Hollywood Reporter reports that the project is still in development and has not received Disney’s green light. Its reporting also places the trilogy behind Star Wars: Starfighter in Lucasfilm’s development pipeline. 17

Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy, is scheduled for 2027, according to the release information compiled by The Numbers. That places it ahead of Kinberg’s proposed trilogy in the reported pipeline; it does not provide a confirmed filming or release schedule for Watts’s film. 1720

How the separate Rey film fits in

Lucasfilm has a separately listed Rey film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, with Ridley set to return as Rey in a story about rebuilding the Jedi Order. That project and Kinberg’s trilogy are both described as in development. The available reporting does not clarify whether they will remain separate, become connected, or whether one will move forward first. Watts’s attachment alone is not evidence that Obaid-Chinoy’s film has been canceled or folded into the trilogy. 16

Why Jon Watts is a notable choice

Watts directed the three Tom Holland Spider-Man films and co-created Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, giving him experience with both a major theatrical franchise and the Star Wars universe. 2

The franchise’s recent theatrical performance provides background, not proof of why Lucasfilm selected him: The Numbers lists The Mandalorian and Grogu at about $345.8 million worldwide. Nothing in the cited reporting links that result to the decision to attach Watts. 20

For now, the clearest takeaway is that Lucasfilm has a director attached to a proposed next chapter of the Skywalker saga—but the project’s approval, schedule, final title and casting remain unsettled. 17