Star Wars’ Most Anticipated Project Is Reportedly On Hold Again as Levy and Mangold Films Take Center Stage

There’s a lot going on with Star Wars movies right now, and while some projects are moving forward, others seem to be hitting pause. One film that’s definitely happening is The Mandalorian & Grogu, directed by Jon Favreau and set to hit theaters on May 22, 2026.

But that’s not all, there are also movies in the works from directors like Shawn Levy, Dave Filoni, James Mangold, and Taika Waititi. Most of these are still in early stages, but fans are keeping an eye out for more news.

Recently, there was a bit of a shake-up. According to insider Daniel Richtman on his Patreon, the Rey movie has been put on hold again. It’s not canceled, just delayed. The focus now is on Shawn Levy and James Mangold’s films, which are reportedly moving ahead first.

Shawn Levy’s involvement with Star Wars first came up in late 2022, when Deadline reported that he was in talks to direct a film. At the time, he was finishing work on Deadpool & Wolverine and also involved in Stranger Things.

Development started in 2023 but stalled due to the writers’ strike. Fast-forward to now, and Levy is fully back at it.

In July 2024, Jonathan Tropper—who wrote The Adam Project—was confirmed to be writing the script. Then, in early 2025, Ryan Gosling entered talks to star in the film, which reportedly helped push it up in the production lineup. Kathleen Kennedy confirmed it will come after The Mandalorian & Grogu and will be set “five to six years after The Rise of Skywalker.” The movie is currently titled Starfighter.

As for Rey’s movie, things aren’t looking great. After the departure of its original writer, things have gone quiet. It’s not clear how or if Rey will fit into the upcoming trilogy announced with Simon Kinberg attached. The character still seems to have a future in the franchise, but right now, the updates are mostly negative or unclear. The project has already changed several writers, and we haven’t gotten an official update on it in quite a while.

James Mangold’s film appears to be making steady progress, too. The movie is set to kick off a brand new era in the galaxy’s history, called Dawn of the Jedi. The film is said to be a big, epic story inspired by old biblical films like The Ten Commandments. Mangold actually got the offer to make the movie while he was working on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Not long after, he started developing the Star Wars film along with another script he’s writing for Swamp Thing in the DC Universe. He wasn’t sure at the time which project would move ahead first, especially since he’s also been working on a Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.

In April 2024, it was reported that Beau Willimon, who wrote for Andor, joined Mangold to help write the script. Then in May, producer Simon Emanuel may have revealed the title—Jedi Prime.

So while not every project is on track, there’s still a lot happening in the Star Wars universe. Some movies are moving full steam ahead, while others are waiting for the right time.

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