Add yet another mysterious Star Wars movie to the mix. Deadline reports that Shawn Levy, the prolific director and producer behind Stranger Things, Night at the Museum, and Free Guy is gearing up to develop a film in a galaxy far far away. He’ll focus on that after completing Deadpool 3, which stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. There was no official comment from Lucasfilm but a source close to the situation confirmed the news to io9, with the caveat the process is in its very earliest stages. The director also confirmed this news on his Twitter. “Childhood me is losing his shit right now,” Levy wrote. “Adult me is too.”
Levy’s film gets added to a growing pile of Star Wars movies reportedly in development at Lucasfilm. There’s Patty Jenkins’ delayed, but not canceled, Rogue Squadron movie, Taika Waititi’s movie, a new one being co-written and developed by Damon Lindelof, as well as a Kevin Feige-produced film and, yes, maybe even a new trilogy from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson.
The sheer number of films in various stages of development speaks to how careful the company is being with theatrical Star Wars films. After the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which was certainly a success but not the hit Disney had in mind, the company shifted its focus to Disney+ shows. Everyone knows that Star Wars movies are exponentially more prestigious though and it seems like everyone is just working diligently to make sure whatever one is next is as good as everyone wants it to be.
That next Star Wars movie is expected to be released in December 2025 and, according to recent reports, is most likely to be either the Lindelof or Waititi films. Since Levy won’t concentrate on his movie until after Deadpool 3, which has yet to start filming and won’t be out until November 8, 2024, this is way down the line.
Nevertheless, Levy’s career has certainly made it clear he knows what audiences want. His movies and shows tend to be successful no matter what critics think and, with first Free Guy and now Deadpool 3, he’s beginning to develop a relationship with Disney. That surely played a role here and we can only begin to speculate what he has in mind for Star Wars.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water.