Shawn Levy is in early negotiations with Lucasfilm to direct a “Star Wars” movie, Variety has confirmed. There are no further details available about the project, as talks are still in their preliminary stages, and whatever Levy would direct would have to wait until the prolific filmmaker completed at least two other projects on his crowded dance card.
For Marvel Studios, Levy is committed to directing the third “Deadpool” movie, which stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, and is dated for November 2024; and through his own production company, 21 Laps, Levy is expected to helm episodes of the fifth and final season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” which is anticipated to begin shooting in 2023. He’s currently in post-production on the limited series “All the Light We Cannot See” for Netflix, which Levy directed and developed with Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”).
More from Variety
The news continues a surge of feature film development for “Star Wars” after a longer than expected fallow period for the venerated movie franchise. Along with Levy, Lucasfilm recently engaged Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson (“The Counterpart”) to develop a script for Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”) to direct. Rian Johnson told Variety in October that he is still set on making the “Star Wars” trilogy that was first announced on the heels of the 2017 release of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” but he’s committed to completing his “Knives Out” movies for Netflix first. And Michael Waldron (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”) told Variety in May that he’s writing a “Star Wars” script that Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige would produce.
Taika Waititi and Patty Jenkins also still have prospective “Star Wars” movies in the works, though Jenkins’ film, “Rogue Squadron,” was recently taken off its Dec. 22, 2023, release date with no clear plans for when it would go into production.
Disney still has an untitled “Star Wars” movie scheduled for release in December 2025, which would mark six years since “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” opened in theaters. Meanwhile, Lucasfilm has a robust slate of “Star Wars” titles set for Disney+, including new seasons of “The Mandalorian” and “Andor,” and new series “The Acolyte,” “Ahsoka” and “Skeleton Crew.”
Deadline first reported the news about Levy’s possible “Star Wars” film.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
