Jon Watts’ ‘Star Wars’ Movie Reportedly Hands the Spotlight to New Heroes, With Rey as Their Mentor

For a franchise that has spent years searching for its next big chapter, the road beyond ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ has been anything but smooth. Projects have been announced, shelved and reshuffled, leaving fans guessing which story will carry the saga forward.

The latest chapter in that story centers on a filmmaker with plenty of galaxy-far-far-away experience. Jon Watts, who directed the first ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy for Marvel, co-created ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ with Christopher Ford and directed its premiere and finale.

Now a new insider report adds a major wrinkle to what that film might look like. The upcoming Watts-directed ‘Star Wars’ movie will reportedly feature a pair of leads, with Daisy Ridley’s Rey serving as a mentor figure to them.

The groundwork for this latest rumor came last month. Knight Edge Media reported that Lucasfilm was “circling” Watts to direct the first installment of a new trilogy, written by Simon Kinberg, whose credits include ‘Star Wars Rebels’ and ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’. Empire noted it could become an official ‘Episode X’, though that remains unconfirmed.

That report said Lucasfilm was searching for unknown actors to play male and female leads. It also said Ridley was expected back as Rey, though in a smaller role that could expand in the sequels. The involvement of John Boyega and Oscar Isaac was described as unknown.

Lucasfilm has not commented on any of this, and the report notes the film isn’t officially greenlit by Disney yet. No release date has been set.

Reportedly The upcoming Jon Watts ‘STAR WARS’ film will have two leads !! Rey will be a mentor figure to them. Via @DanielRPK https://t.co/Hgw6tZZC5W

— TheMysticCut (@TMCXS7) October 26, 2026

The shift also changes the picture for a project fans had been following for years. Back in April 2023, Lucasfilm announced a film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, set 15 years after ‘The Rise of Skywalker’, that would follow Rey rebuilding a new Jedi Order. It was described as being immersed in a Jedi academy.

According to the new reports, that version has quietly been shelved to put the focus on Watts’ film. One outlet notes that the earlier plan had Rey as a Jedi Master mentoring a new crop of Padawans, which makes the mentor angle feel like a natural evolution rather than a total reinvention.

Screen Rant points out that the project is officially still in active development, even as the Watts report claims otherwise. Empire adds that it’s unclear whether Watts’ film would subsume, replace or co-exist with the earlier movie.

If the latest claim holds up, the film would shift the spotlight to fresh faces while keeping Rey as a connective thread to the sequel trilogy. That would give Ridley’s character a role fans have long associated with her, guiding a new generation as Luke once guided her.

It also lines up with the earlier report that her part may be smaller, at least in the first movie. For many viewers, that could be a relief or a letdown depending on how much Rey they were hoping to see.

Reactions have been split. Some fans are excited to see new leads and a mentor role for Rey, while others remain skeptical about continuing her story at all.

Lucasfilm isn’t short on projects in the meantime. ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, is slated for May 28, 2027, and will be the first canon film or TV project set beyond the events of ‘The Rise of Skywalker’. It remains to be seen whether it sets up events picked up in the Watts film.

For his part, Watts has shown he can bring charm and adventure to the galaxy. ‘Skeleton Crew’ leaned into a coming-of-age, Amblin-style tone, and a film built around young heroes would play directly to those strengths.

For now, this remains a report rather than an announcement. Casting for the new leads hasn’t been revealed, and the studio has yet to confirm Watts’ involvement in any official capacity.

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