Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is set to write the screenplay for the upcoming yet-untitled Star Wars film following screenwriters Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson’s exit from the project, American entertainment magazine Variety has reported.
Ms. Marvel director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will direct the upcoming movie, likely to be Lucasfilm’s first Star Wars film since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
More information about the upcoming film, including a possible title, is expected to be announced at the Star Wars Celebration in London in April.
Knight is a veteran screenwriter who has written popular crime dramas like 2002’s Dirty Pretty Things and 2007’s Eastern Promises. He has also written the lighthearted dramedy The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014), war thriller Allied (2016), and Princess Diana’s biopic Spencer in 2021. Knight’s Peaky Blinders, starring Cillian Murphy in the lead role, is currently streaming on Netflix.
Apart from the one that Knight is writing, two other Star Wars films — one from Thor: Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi and the other from Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy — are still active at Lucasfilm, according to Variety.
Created by George Lucas, Star Wars film franchise started its journey with 1977’s Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), which was followed by the sequels Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), forming the original Star Wars trilogy.
A prequel trilogy, consisting of Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) soon followed.
In 2012, Lucas sold his production company to Disney, which led to a new sequel trilogy, consisting of Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017) and Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). These nine films are known as Skywalker Saga.
Apart from the Skywalker Saga films, two more stand-alone films — Rogue One (2016) and Solo (2018) — are also part of the Star Wars film franchise.
