Simon Kinberg Is the Latest to Attempt Writing New ‘Star Wars’ Movies

Simon Kinberg, the writer of Fox’s “X-Men” movies, is the latest in a long carousel of writers and producers who will try their hand at bringing “Star Wars” back to the big screen.

Kinberg will develop, write, and produce a new trilogy of “Star Wars” films for Lucasfilm, according to a report first in Deadline. Though there’s some difference of opinion in the trades as to whether the series will continue the Skywalker Saga and be Episodes X-XII or will be focused on a new group of characters.

While there have been a plethora of “Star Wars” series on Disney+ in the last five years, there hasn’t been a single theatrical “Star Wars” movie since the Skywalker Saga concluded with “Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker” back in 2019. There have though been a lot of start and stop efforts, with a slew of filmmakers and writers coming and going over the years.

A short list of projects that haven’t come together include “Rogue Squadron” from Patty Jenkins, a set of films from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, a trilogy from Rian Johnson, and another from Guillermo Del Toro. A movie that is still active is one from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”), though that one has lost a pair of writers, including first Damon Lindelof and most recently Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”). That movie is meant to be the return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey to the franchise, but we’ll see what happens there.

Up next though is Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” an extension of his hit series onto the big screen. That film starring Pedro Pascal is currently set for release on May 22, 2026, and Disney has two other “Star Wars” films set with placeholder dates for December 2026 and Dec. 2027.

Kinberg is best known as the architect for the “X-Men” movies at Fox. He wrote “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006), “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014), “X-Men: Apocalypse” (2016), and “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” (2019). He’s also written films like “Fantastic Four” (2015), “This Means War,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Jumper,” and most recently “The 355.” His latest project was as the creator and writer of the Apple TV+ series “Invasion,” and he’s in development on a new take on “Logan’s Run” and several other projects including Jason Bateman’s “Here Comes the Flood,” Michael Showalter’s “Wayland,” and Doug Liman’s “Luna Park.”