The Star Wars franchise has taken on all-comers to become of the most successful movie series of all time. It's not had a completely smooth run - with both the response to the prequel films and the box office failure of Solo upending momentum throughout the decades - but it has stood the test of time to showcase that it deserves its flowers as one of the all-time great Hollywood franchises.
It took that vast and expansive world that audiences fell in love with on the silver screen and brought it to the small one via a multitude of Disney Plus shows. It found immediate success here too as audiences flocked to watch the likes of The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi but there were some misses along the way too, with The Book of Boba Fett disappointing critically and The Acolyte ending up cancelled.
Unfortunately, as the fate of the franchise is up in the air at the moment (it appears to be headed back to the big screen, leaving the fate of the Disney Plus shows unclear at this point), we know that there will be at least a few more Star Wars titles to look forward to in the immediate future. However, one of the planned films has encountered its biggest snag yet.
Star Wars' Rey solo movie reportedly delayed indefinitely, sparking cancellation fears
It might be some time before the Star Wars franchise continues the Skywalker story. According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, the long-awaited solo movie focusing on the character of Rey has been put on hold once again. Although he does add that the project is expected to move ahead at some point, he also states that the reason behind the hold is that both the Shawn Levy and James Mangold Star Wars movies are moving ahead first. As a result of this, the Rey project has to take a backseat for now.
While Lucasfilm has not publicly confirmed this report, it's looking like this is the case. For starters, the Rey film has been in development for years, with no real movement on it in quite some time. On the other hand, Levy's film has come together pretty quickly, with both the title and its lead stars all announced within the past few weeks. Star Wars: Starfighter will be fronted by Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth and production is set to start this fall. Meanwhile, Mangold's project is titled Dawn of the Jedi and it's set to act as a prequel to the whole franchise's lore, set 25000 years before the first Star Wars movie and explore the first Jedi and the creation of the Force.
Although the planned Rey movie does have a title - Star Wars: New Jedi Order - there hasn't been much movement on it since it was announced. Given that it's set to carry on the events of the Skywalker Saga, that is pretty disconcerting and it has fans worried that the project will ultimately be cancelled. With Star Wars essentially resetting its strategy for both film and TV in recent years (there is clearly a movement away from Disney Plus as The Mandalorian's two main characters will now headline a movie instead), there are fears that this is one of the projects that will eventually be cut. And with two other projects now being considered more of a priority than it, it's understandable why fans aren't sure if it will ever get made.
Portrayed by Daisy Ridley, Rey made her debut in the franchise in 2015's The Force Awakens. Ridley reprised the role in 2017's The Last Jedi and 2019's series-closer The Rise of Skywalker. She was very much the face of the Skywalker Saga's Sequel Trilogy, which kept fans on the edges of their seats as they watched the legendary storyline come to an end that was over 40 years in the making.
There is still plenty of exciting things happening in the Star Wars franchise, and with 2026 set to bring The Mandalorian and Grogu to the big screen and Ahsoka season 2 to the small one, next year is going to be a big one for the galaxy so far, far away. The question is: Will the Rey movie ever end up making it to screens in the foreseeable future?
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