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The state of live-action Star Wars projects is looking more and more troubling by the day. Now, according to a report by Variety, the screenwriter for the upcoming Star Wars film about Daisy Ridley's character, Rey, has dropped out of the project. While it isn't unusual for multiple screenwriting teams to work on studio tentpole projects such as the New Jedi Order film centering around Daisy Ridley's Rey from the sequel trilogy, the loss of screenwriter Steven Knight adds to a concerning state for Lucasfilm today. 

Steven Knight is not the first screenwriter to drop out of writing duties for the Rey movie. Originally, the film was set to be written by Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson who reportedly completed a draft of the script before they left the project. Lindelof seemed like a natural fit for Star Wars, given his work on HBO's Watchmen, The Leftovers, Lost, and the Alien prequel film, Prometheus. Likewise, Britt-Gibson worked on the martial arts action series, Into the Badlands. Britt-Gibson's experience would likely have been helpful in balancing both the thematic and action beats in Star Wars. 

The Rey film was announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2023, alongside two other theatrical films including a film set during the Dawn of the Jedi period from James Mangold. The third film will be directed by Dave Filoni, and will be set during the New Republic period. The director of the Rey movie, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, is still signed on to the project. At this time, there is no projected release date for the Rey movie. Currently, Lucasfilm has December 18, 2026 and December 17, 2027 blocked out as release dates for unspecified films. 

Screenwriter Steven Knight is best known for British period crime dramas like Peaky Blinders and Taboo. This is not the first time that Knight has been signed on for a project, only to not end up writing the final draft. This happened previously with films like Shutter Island and The Hundred-Foot Journey. 

The uncertainty of Star Wars today stands in stark contrast to Paramount's success with its recent batch of Star Trek projects. The Star Trek panel at New York Comic Con 2024 paraded the studio's upcoming films and series, including a Section 13 film starring Michelle Yeoh. If anything, Star Trek fans these past few years have benefited from the studio's commitment to its projects finding their audiences, while visionary takes that expanded on Star Wars history, like The Acolyte, were axed after only one season. It's a rough time, but hopefully the Rey film will get back on course sooner rather than later. 

The only place where Rebels and the Empire get along. Meet Cameron Monaghan, Freddie Prinze Jr., Mads Mikkelsen, Paul Bettany, and so many more Star Wars guests and comic creators at New York Comic Con October 17-20, 2024. Limited Thursday NYCC 2024 tickets are still on sale.