‘Star Wars’ Film Rumors: John Boyega May Be in Talks to Return for Rey’s Film, Original Lead Actor No Longer Attached Following Lindelof’s Departure
As days go by and the dust starts to settle around the Star Wars Celebration announcements, we are learning a few more details about the next film in line, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s untitled project that will bring Daisy Ridley back as Rey Skywalker. Now, the following is coming from reporter Jeff Sneider, who first broke the news about the project over a year ago and has been all over it ever since, and the co-host of The Hot Mic podcast, John Rocha, but we are taking it as a rumor for now.
Kicking off with some background, let’s go back a few months. Obaid-Chinoy was tapped by Lucasfilm to direct the film around the summer of 2022, but by that point, the project was deep into development, with Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson co-writing. Lindelof had pitched the idea himself, and according to Sneider, when the package was set up at Lucasfilm, it came with the lead actor attached. The reporter has previously speculated (with some additional intel backing it) that this could be none other than Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who Lindelof had already worked with in HBO’s Watchmen limited series. You can check out the arguments here.
Both co-writers departed the project in February 2023 after turning in the first complete draft of the script, at which point Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight picked up the baton and has been re-writing it ever since. Speaking on the latest episode of The Hot Mic With Jeff and John, Sneider confirmed that the aforementioned actor is no longer a part of the project; he said this is due to the rewrites happening on the film, which could either be because the part is being changed significantly or straight-up written out, or because the actor left once Lindelof did because of their pre-existing relationship.
The reporter said later in the show that, despite what the announcement at Star Wars Celebration made it sound like, Daisy Ridley will not be the lead of the film. However, it’s also possible that this was the case in Lindelof’s version of the script, and now Lucasfilm wants to double down and is pushing a heavy rewrite to have Rey in a more prominent role. From what was announced, we know that this film will be dealing with the rebuilding of the Jedi Order 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker, and the emergence of a new threat. Ridley will surely have a big part, but we don’t know yet if she will be our POV character like in the sequel trilogy, or if Lucasfilm will want to relegate her to a supporting position and anchor the film from the point of view of the students or even someone else. (Think of what the sequel trilogy did with the original trilogy characters.)
Speaking of students, one of the questions that have also been posed many times since the announcement at Celebration is about John Boyega’s Finn. The Rise of Skywalker teased that Finn was Force-sensitive and really wanted to tell Rey as much. We assume at some point after the Battle of Exegol he did, so it would make sense that one of the first people that Rey calls when she decides to rebuild the Order is his old friend Finn. The question, now, is whether or not Boyega would be willing to come back.
Well, co-host of the podcast John Rocha jumped in at this point and said he’s heard from two separate and reliable sources that Kathleen Kennedy and John Boyega have “buried the hatchet” after having a few conversations earlier in the year, and that he is coming back for the new film. This may have sounded impossible a few months ago, when he told Sirius XM: “At this point – I’m good […] I feel like [the Sequel Trilogy] was good for me.” However, right before Celebration, his thoughts had softened up, and he even said he felt more comfortable with Finn’s portrayal in J.J. Abrams’ movies. He told The Times of London:
“For me Star Wars has made the man, in a sense… The experiences, the fun times, good times, ugly times, bad times, it makes you who you are as you navigate through the industry, and that has definitely been interesting. I feel like the arc that J.J. tried to tie up, that’s where I feel comfortable with the release of him. And since then I’ve been able to enjoy, as a fan, The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi. I’m enjoying the balance of all things.”
Boyega’s stance on Star Wars has been an interesting situation to watch unfold. He approached the first film as his childhood dream and was very excited about playing the character in The Force Awakens and the follow-ups. However, he has never really shied away from sharing his disappointment in how The Last Jedi handled his character — The Force Awakens set him up as a potential Force user in the making, a storyline that Rian Johnson didn’t pursue. The Rise of Skywalker played the best of both worlds, hinting that The Force Awakens was setting up something larger but never really diving too much into it. Boyega knows that J.J. wanted to do more with his character, and at one point even said that he’d be willing to come back as long as Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams were involved.
At that point, he had said before that he was done… and changed his tune again shortly after, repeating he would not be coming back. And now, we are at the other side again, where his comments are not as harsh and there are actual indications that Lucasfilm and Boyega may be on the same page once again. If he is indeed returning, it’s almost guaranteed it’s because they’ve offered him a lightsaber, both because of what The Rise of Skywalker set up, and because he’s always said that’s what he wanted for his character. Celebration London was probably too soon to announce him, as negotiations may be ongoing.
That being said, it seems like we will not be hearing much else about this movie for a bit. According to Kennedy, the next iteration of the script will be finished by the end of May, and pre-production is set to begin in August, according to Sneider, with cameras intended to roll next February. A summer filled with casting news awaits us, probably.
The film, from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, is presumably targeting a December 19, 2025, release date held by Disney, though this is yet to be confirmed by Lucasfilm.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
