Kathleen Kennedy Talks Connection Between New Jedi Order Film and James Mangold’s Movie
In a recent interview with Games Radar Plus, Kathleen Kennedy discussed the possibility of a link between Rey’s New Jedi Order film and James Mangold’s movie about the origins of the Force.
Both films were officially revealed during Star Wars Celebration in Europe earlier this year. Since then, we haven’t had a lot of information about Rey’s new film and what it might look like in a timeline that places it around 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker. Kennedy had this to say about the upcoming project:
“I think what’s always great about Star Wars is it’s a big galaxy, and we’re coming off what was a major war with the First Order. And now, Rey has made a promise to Luke and that’s really the core of where we’re going and what this story will be. And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter.”
If the New Jedi Order film is “something fresh”, as Kennedy describes it, and is a move “to the next chapter”, it sounds like the Rey-led movie may not be a direct continuation of the Skywalker saga. And we also have James Mangold’s film, which explores the origins of the Force. According to Kennedy, the origin story has been discussed many times:
“That’s come up a lot, from the moment I stepped in and George brought me into the company, there’s been a lot of interest in that.”
Kennedy also mentioned that there could be a thematic connection between James Mangold’s movie and the New Jedi Order film featuring Rey. It would make sense to understand how the Jedi Order came to be right as Rey is creating her own Jedi Order from scratch:
“It was something that Jim [Mangold] immediately sparked to, and I think it’s a really nice compliment to what we’re doing with moving into the future with Rey, and then understanding a bit more of where this all came from. Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have began with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool.”
Screenwriter Steven Knight was hard at work on his first draft of the script before he was forced to stop writing by the writers’ strike. According to reports, the production schedule had the film, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, going into pre-production this fall and before cameras by next spring, potentially targeting the May 22, 2026, release date. Meanwhile, James Mangold would start writing his film this fall, by the time the bulk of his work on the Bob Dylan biopic he’s directing next is done.
Next up on the Disney Plus release schedule is Ahsoka, which releases on August 23rd. Don’t forget to stay tuned for the potential public release of a new look at Ahsoka this weekend.
Meet Julie Gray, a passionate pop culture writer from Aotearoa, New Zealand. A lifelong Star Wars fan, her love for the franchise runs deep, with Luke Skywalker being her all-time favourite character and Anakin Skywalker coming in as a close second. Her outlook on the Star Wars universe is simple yet powerful - "All Star Wars is good Star Wars", a true testament to her undying love for this iconic franchise.
