‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Director Jon Watts Set to Direct ‘Star Wars Episode 10’ as Next Chapter of the Skywalker Saga

The ‘Star Wars‘ galaxy has been unusually quiet on the mainline movie front since 2019, with Lucasfilm spending recent years focused on streaming spinoffs, animated projects, and one confirmed theatrical release still deep in post-production. Fans have spent that time speculating endlessly about who might eventually steer the franchise’s next big-screen chapter.

That speculation has now sharpened considerably, with a specific name attached to a specific project for the first time in years. It’s a move that instantly reshapes the conversation around where the saga goes next.

Jon Watts has been tapped to direct the first installment of a new trilogy for Lucasfilm, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which described the project as the next chapter of the Skywalker Saga.

The trilogy is being written by Simon Kinberg, who has reportedly been developing the story since late 2024. Because the mainline films released so far run from Episode I through Episode IX, this new entry would effectively become Episode X, continuing the numbered saga rather than launching an entirely separate story.

Watts isn’t a stranger to the franchise. He previously co-created the Disney+ series ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ alongside writer Christopher Ford, and he directed that show’s first and final episodes during its 2024 run.

Beyond his work in that galaxy far, far away, Watts is best known for directing the Tom Holland-led ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy for Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures. Those three films grossed a combined total of more than $3.9 billion worldwide between 2017 and 2021, all while earning strong reviews across the board.

Perhaps most notably for Lucasfilm’s purposes, all three of Watts’ ‘Spider-Man’ films hold Rotten Tomatoes critics’ scores between 91% and 93%, a level of consistency that reportedly makes it the best-reviewed trilogy in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

One of the more intriguing threads tied to this announcement involves Daisy Ridley’s Rey. Reporting indicates that her character is expected to appear in some capacity across the new trilogy, though exactly how large that role will be, or how it connects to her arc from the sequel trilogy, remains unclear at this stage.

There’s also some ambiguity around how this project should actually be categorized. Some outlets have referred to the Kinberg-penned films as covering Episodes 10 through 12, continuing the established Skywalker numbering in full. Lucasfilm has reportedly pushed back on that particular framing, instead describing the trilogy as the beginning of a new saga centered on new characters rather than a direct continuation of the numbered films.

It’s worth noting that this project has not yet been formally greenlit by Disney, and there is currently no production timeline or release window attached to it. Some reports suggest filming could begin as early as next year, though that detail has not been confirmed by the studio itself.

For context on where this fits into Lucasfilm’s broader release slate, ‘Star Wars: Starfighter,’ directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, remains the franchise’s next confirmed theatrical release. That film is set to open in IMAX 70mm on May 28, 2027, timed to coincide with the franchise’s fiftieth anniversary.

Whatever shape this new trilogy ultimately takes, getting a director with Watts’ track record attached is a significant signal of how seriously Lucasfilm is treating its return to the big screen. After years of shelved movie plans and false starts for a mainline sequel, having an actual filmmaker in place for the project described as furthest along in development gives fans something concrete to hold onto.

The bigger question now is what story Kinberg and Watts are actually building, and how directly it ties back to the Skywalker family saga that seemingly wrapped up with ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’ Answers to those questions will likely trickle out slowly as the project inches toward an official greenlight.

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