George Nolfi to Re-Write Daisy Ridley ‘Star Wars’ Movie

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(Left) ‘Elevation’ director George Nolfi. (Right) Daisy Ridley as Rey in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’. Photo: Lucasfilm.

Preview:

George Nolfi is the newest writer aboard ‘New Jedi Order.’
The movie aims to continue Rey’s –– played by Daisy Ridley –– story.
Documentarian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is aboard to direct.

A new week, a new writer for the ‘Star Wars’ movie that seems to be stuck in a Sarlacc’s gut of development hell.

Yes, the movie currently known as ‘Star Wars: New Jedi Order,’ which was confirmed with much fanfare at Star Wars Celebration a long time ago (well, April 7th, 2023) in a galaxy far, far away (er, London), has found yet another write to work on its script.

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George Nolfi, whose resume includes 2004’s ‘Ocean’s Twelve,’ is, according to The Hollywood Reporter, now crafting a fresh draft of the movie, which will follow the further adventures of sequel trilogy stalwart Rey, played by Daisy Ridley.

Documentarian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who popped up on Disney/Lucasfilm’s radar after working on an episode of Marvel’s Disney+ series ‘Ms. Marvel,’ remains on board to direct.

What’s the story of ‘New Jedi Order’?

Daisy Ridley as Rey in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’. Photo: Lucasfilm.

The new story is said to take place 15 years after the events seen in 2019’s ‘The Rise of Skywalker,’ with Ridley’s character now a mentor to a new crop of Jedis.

You can imagine that it won’t be an easy task fraught with danger, but it might be easier than actually getting the movie made.

‘Lost,’ ‘The Leftovers’ and ‘Watchmen’ writer Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson were the initial duo on the project, working on it before Obaid-Chinoy was brought on.

By the time Ridley was revealed as returning, ‘Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight was tapping away at the keyboard. But by October 2024, he was no longer on the project.

What else has George Nolfi written?

(L to R) Morena Baccarin and Anthony Mackie in ‘Elevation’. Photo: Vertical.

Nolfi is known for writing elevated thrillers across a variety of genres.

He worked on two ‘Bourne’ action thrillers with Matt Damon (who, of course, was also a lead in Ocean’s Twelve’), before going on to make his directorial debut with ‘The Adjustment Bureau,’ a 2011 sci-fi thriller that starred the actor alongside Emily Blunt.

Nolfi also directed and co-wrote 2020’s ‘The Banker,’ a period drama of race and finance that starred Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson, and then reunited with Mackie for 2024’s ‘Elevation,’ a postapocalyptic thriller.

His credits also include TV series ‘Allegiance’ and other movies such as ‘Timeline,’ ‘The Sentinel’ and 2016’s ‘Spectral’.

What else is in development for big screen ‘Star Wars’?

(L to R) Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer, Lucasfilm and Jon Favreau appears at the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim, California on August 09, 2024. Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney.

Jon Favreau’s ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ is first among ‘Star Wars’ equals right now, having shot last year and now speeding through post-production for a release next year.

‘Mandalorian’ co-creator and fellow steward Dave Filoni is still putting the pieces together for his own film, and more recently, we learned that one with Shawn Levy in the director’s chair took a leap towards hyperspace thanks to Ryan Gosling entering talks to star.

Jonathan Tropper, who collaborated with Levy on films such as ‘This is Where I Leave You’ and ‘The Adam Project,’ has been working on that script for over a year. Levy is also producing the feature via his 21 Laps banner, joining ‘Star Wars’ steward and Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy.

The time period for the potential new offering is unknown, though it reportedly charts its own course and doesn’t feature anyone from the Skywalker saga, with the emphasis on this being a standalone adventure.

(L to R) Director James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy at Star Wars Celebration 2023.

Then there’s James Mangold’s film, which explores the origins of the Jedi and early force users and is awaiting a release date.

And not forgetting Simon Kinberg, who was reported last November as working on his own planned trilogy.

We’d guess that while Filoni (who promoted earlier this year to Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm) is still going full speed ahead on his movie, he’s also been busy figuring out a second season of ‘Ahsoka.’

Here’s what he said about that:

“I’m so well into that as well… I’ve been writing it, and I’m still the single writer on it, and so I’ve been enjoying doing that, but it’s a challenge, of course, and working some of these arcs through has been a challenge and making sure it’s all going to come out in a way that I think is exciting for fans. I know that they’re interested in where some of the things I developed in Season One. I’m pretty happy with it… Love working with Rosario [Dawson], so I can’t wait to get back to that.”

Beyond those, there are several movies (and potential trilogies) which don’t seem to be moving forward and may have been scrapped altogether, including new potential movies from ‘The Last Jedi’s Rian Johnson (who is busy with his ‘Knives Out’ movies and may not wish to dip back into the toxic stew of ‘Star Wars’ fandom after the divisive reaction to his first effort) and ‘Wonder Woman’s Patty Jenkins, who had a much-touted ‘Rogue Squadron’ story of rebel pilots that appears to have had trouble leaving the development hanger.

When will the next ‘Star Wars’ movie be in theaters?

So far, only ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ has a confirmed release date, that being May 22nd, 2026.

Disney and Lucasfilm do have an untitled ‘Star Wars’ movie on their release calendar for December 17th, 2027, so we’ll see which one of the other projects secures that berth –– right now, our guess is Levy’s.