Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Briefly Discusses Upcoming Star Wars Film: 'Were About To Create Something Very Special'

Happy New Year! It's shaping up to be a big one for Star Wars, and among other things, it may be the first since early 2019 in which cameras are rolling on a new Star Wars feature film. That's exciting! If all goes well, that will be the case for the new film starring Daisy Ridley in which Rey Skywalker is set to rebuild the Jedi Order. Last night, as the year came to a close, we heard about it from someone who hasn't publicly talked about it much, director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy!



Speaking to CNN's Kristie Lu Stout as Pakistan was getting ready to welcome the New Year, Obaid-Chinoy (who is Pakistan-born) was briefly asked about her upcoming Star Wars movie, which she said will be something very special:

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 07: Daisy Ridley and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy attend the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)



Obviously, it wasn't a big statement but, much like with Daisy Ridley's comments a couple of months ago, the big takeaway is that she's talking about it. We've heard nothing from her since a Vice News TikTok video published shortly after the announcement at Star Wars Celebration, and the main statement here is that the project continues to progress.



The news anchor also confirmed that Obaid-Chinoy's film will be released in 2026 -- even though Lucasfilm hasn't dated yet, there have been multiple times in which we could read between the lines from official statements that this will be the case. That includes Obaid-Chinoy's Instagram post following her walking on stage at Celebration:






Exactly a year ago, we were sharing a rumor about the film targeting an April 2023 shoot in London. Much has happened since then, including a creative overhaul that saw the departure of then-co-writers Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson. Obaid-Chinoy stayed on, and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight was brought to pen the script, which would now see the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker, the Jedi Master who will be rebuilding the Jedi Order in the film. Whether she's going to be the protagonist or some of the students will be, we don't know yet.



The first draft of the script should be completed by now, and should everything look good enough, Lucasfilm is likely targeting to start pre-production in the spring, with casting possibly taking place over the first few months of the year. (Moreover, they likely have a shortlist for some of the actors they're looking at for key roles.) With a director like Obaid-Chinoy at the helm, so focused on bringing equality and representation everywhere she goes, we wouldn't be surprised if the cast was filled with people of color. So get ready for some Internet outcry!



Obaid-Chinoy's film has not been officially dated, but the plan seems to be to come out on May 22, 2026.



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