Why Disney’s New Skywalker Trilogy Is a Very Risky Star Wars Bet

Disney and Lucasfilm may be heading back to the Skywalker family, but fans should slow down before calling it a comeback. Reports say Jon Watts is attached to direct the first film in a new trilogy written by Simon Kinberg. Daisy Ridley’s Rey may return. The project reportedly hasn’t been officially greenlit by Disney, and Lucasfilm has declined to comment. If it moves forward, the trilogy would mark a sharp change in course. Disney sold Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker as the end of the Skywalker Saga. Now, only seven years later, the studio appears ready to reopen the same story line with what would effectively become Episodes X, XI, and XII. The idea could work, but Disney has to explain why it should. The last trilogy didn’t leave audiences asking for more Rey Skywalker. It left many fans arguing over who Rey was, what she wanted, and why the trilogy kept changing direction. A new set of films has to offer more than a familiar last name and another lightsaber in the desert. Watts is the least troubling part of the report. He directed Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, three huge hits for Sony and Marvel Studios. Those mo...