Jon Watts is attached to direct a new Star Wars movie currently in development. Simon Kinberg is set to write the screenplay, bringing together a director with recent franchise experience and a writer-producer-director known for his work across the X-Men films.
The report establishes an important point, but also leaves the project’s biggest creative questions unanswered. There is no confirmed title, release date, cast, setting, or plot. For now, the clearest news is the pairing of Watts and Kinberg, and Watts’ return to the galaxy far, far away after co-creating the 2024 series Skeleton Crew with Christopher Ford.
What is confirmed about the new film
Watts is attached to direct the in-development feature, while Kinberg will write it. In film development, “attached” means a filmmaker has been connected to a project in a specified role. It is meaningful progress, particularly when a writer and director are both named, but it does not by itself confirm that production has begun or that a release timetable has been established.
That distinction matters with a property as expansive as Star Wars. A director and screenwriter can shape the foundation of a film long before audiences learn who will appear in it, when it takes place, or whether it connects to an existing storyline. Until those details are officially shared, fans should treat theories about characters, eras, and sequels as speculation rather than project information.
The new movie will be the first theatrically released Star Wars film since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, if it reaches theaters before any other announced or developing feature. That film, directed by J.J. Abrams, remains the latest entry in the franchise to debut theatrically.
Why Jon Watts is a notable choice
Watts is closely associated with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy: 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, and 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Those films placed Peter Parker’s personal growth at the center of increasingly large superhero stakes, moving from a school-focused story to international travel and then a multiverse-scale crisis.
That background does not tell audiences what this Star Wars story will be, but it does provide a useful indication of the kind of production experience Watts brings. He has directed three connected films featuring a globally recognized character, a large supporting cast, action set pieces, comedy, emotional drama, and continuity that reaches beyond a single installment.
His earlier directing work includes Cop Car and Clown. The contrast between those titles and the scale of the Spider-Man films also helps explain why the appointment is more interesting than a simple franchise-to-franchise move. Watts’ filmography includes smaller genre work as well as blockbuster filmmaking.
Related coverage includes Jon Watts Attached to Direct a New Star Wars Film.
For readers following the broader Marvel side of popular culture, the multiverse remains an active storytelling space in other media too; Miles Morales faces an apocalyptic crossroads in Marvel Mangaverse: Web of Destiny #1.
Skeleton Crew gives Watts direct Star Wars experience
Watts is not approaching Star Wars as a complete newcomer. He co-created Skeleton Crew alongside Christopher Ford. The coming-of-age series is set during the New Republic era and follows four young characters on a new adventure.
Jude Law starred as Jod Na Nawood. The young central cast included Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Wim, Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Fern, Kyriana Kratter as KB, and Robert Timothy Smith as Neel.
That credit is relevant because television and theatrical films pose different creative and production demands, while still requiring an understanding of the same fictional world. Skeleton Crew placed youthful perspectives at the center of its adventure. The newly reported film has no stated premise, so it would be premature to assume it will use the same approach. Still, the series means Watts has already helped build a story within the franchise rather than simply stepping into it for the first time.
The New Republic is the era in which the series is set; that is a setting detail specific to Skeleton Crew, not a confirmation of the new film’s timeline. Separating those two facts is essential. A creator’s prior franchise project can be informative context, but it is not proof that the next project will continue its characters, story, or period.
Simon Kinberg’s role: screenplay first, unanswered story questions later
Kinberg has been reported as the screenwriter for the film. He is best known for work as a writer, producer, and director associated with the X-Men franchise. A screenwriter develops the script: the document that establishes scenes, characters, dialogue, narrative structure, and the progression of the story. The director then translates that script into the finished film, while collaborating with performers and the wider production team.
In practice, the boundary between those jobs can involve extensive collaboration, especially on a large franchise feature. But the reported credits give the project a basic creative division: Kinberg on the screenplay and Watts in the director’s chair.
There is no supplied information identifying whether Kinberg’s story is an original standalone adventure, a continuation of an existing film or series, or part of a larger sequence of planned movies. There is likewise no confirmation of a producer, cinematographer, composer, or any actors. Those omissions are normal for an early development report, but they are also why the announcement should not be overstated.
Where Watts fits among Star Wars film directors
Watts joins a long line of filmmakers who have directed Star Wars movies. That group includes creator George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Richard Marquand, J.J. Abrams, and Rian Johnson.
Every director enters the franchise with a different relationship to its history and a different filmmaking background. Lucas created the saga; Kershner directed The Empire Strikes Back; Marquand directed Return of the Jedi; Abrams directed entries including The Rise of Skywalker; and Johnson directed The Last Jedi. Watts’ situation is distinct because he has already worked in the franchise’s television space through Skeleton Crew, while his highest-profile film work has been built around Spider-Man.
The choice also puts a filmmaker with major shared-universe experience behind a franchise whose stories span film and television. That is analysis, not a confirmation of narrative crossover. The report does not say that the new movie will tie directly into any particular show or previous trilogy. It simply means Watts is familiar with the practical challenge of working inside a world audiences already know closely.
What fans should and should not infer now
The announcement offers a useful reason to watch the project, but it is not a substitute for concrete production details. The following points are established:
- Jon Watts is attached to direct a Star Wars movie in development.
- Simon Kinberg is set to write the script.
- Watts directed the Tom Holland Spider-Man trilogy: Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home.
- Watts co-created Skeleton Crew with Christopher Ford.
- The Rise of Skywalker, released in 2019, is the most recent theatrically released Star Wars film.
The following remain unconfirmed in the available information:
- The film’s title and release date.
- Its era, setting, characters, and story.
- Any cast members.
- Whether it connects to Skeleton Crew, the sequel trilogy, or another established corner of the franchise.
- When filming may begin.
Watts also has an established relationship with Walt Disney Studios through a reported 2024 first-look feature deal involving his production company Freshman Year and producer Dianne McGunigle. A first-look deal generally gives a studio an opportunity to consider a producer or company’s projects before they are offered elsewhere. It is useful industry context, though it is not itself a disclosed plot or production detail for this particular Star Wars feature.
For now, the project is best understood as a significant creative attachment rather than a fully revealed movie. Watts’ work ranges from Cop Car and Clown to a three-film Spider-Man run and the New Republic-set Skeleton Crew; Kinberg brings his own franchise background from X-Men. What their collaboration means for the next theatrical Star Wars story will depend on details that have not yet been announced.
