The entire galaxy is still reeling from the confirmation that Daisy Ridley will make her return as Rey Skywalker in Star Wars' next theatrical offering. Last April, Lucasfilm announced that the star of the sequel trilogy will once again headline her own film which will be set generations after The Rise of Skywalker.
But even before the production company could get the ball rolling for the project, the untitled film already experienced a major setback after Disney confirmed its release date has been pushed back to 2026.
Now, a new report details what exactly led to Disney's surprising decision to once again delay the next Star Wars movie.
Daisy Ridley's 'New Jedi Order' Film Reportedly Set to Begin Filming in April 2024
On a recent episode of The Hot Mic podcast, insider Jeff Sneider shared new details about the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy project and why it had to be delayed. Initially, fans were under the impression that the ongoing WGA strike had to do with the film's production being halted but apparently, that wasn't the case.
Sneider claims that the third Avatar film's release being moved to December 2025 was the main reason Disney had to push back the upcoming "New Jedi Order" film.
According to the tipster, the House of Mouse doesn't want both franchises going head-to-head around the same time as it could affect their respective box office potentials.
Here's what Sneider had to say: "I said they [Disney] were going to let her [Kathleen Kennedy] make that next Star Wars movie, right? If there’s not a Star Wars movie out by December 2025 then she’ll be let go. In this case, there’s not going to be a Star Wars movie, but that’s because they [Disney] pushed it to May [2026] because of Avatar [3] – Avatar needed a delay."
He added that the film is set to enter production in Spring 2024. Sneider added: "Does that speak to our rumor that he [James Cameron] was going to something with the extra footage [of Avatar], could that come in next year? But with regards to that, they [Disney] couldn’t have Star Wars and Avatar releasing in December 2025, so they delayed Star Wars to May 2026 and it’s still going to start filming in April [2024], it’s not delayed or anything."
Also Read: Daisy Ridley's Star Wars Return Reportedly Delayed
Of course, it makes a lot of sense from a business standpoint but it's also worth noting that Marvel Studios is expected to release Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in the same month in 2026. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.
Meanwhile, you can get your Star Wars fix — from movies to series exclusively on Disney+.
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