Disney hits a roadblock with Daisy Ridley’s ‘Star Wars’ movie — the latest project it’s had trouble getting off the ground

• Daisy Ridley is set to return as Rey in Disney’s new untitled “Star Wars” sequel.
• The project has hit a major roadblock after writer Steven Knight departed.
• It’s the latest “Star Wars” movie that Disney has had trouble getting off the ground in recent years.

Disney has hit a roadblock with its next “Star Wars” sequel, which will star Daisy Ridley, after writer Steven Knight left the project.

Variety reported on Thursday that Knight, best known as the creator of the BBC drama “Peaky Blinders,” is no longer working on the film.

The sequel, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, will reportedly follow Rey (Daisy Ridley) as she attempts to start a new Jedi Order after the events of “Star Wars: Episode XI — The Rise of Skywalker.”

Knight joined the project in March 2023 after writers Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson also stepped away from the film.

The galaxy has flourished on its streaming platform, Disney+, since 2019 with “Star Wars” TV shows including “The Mandalorian,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “Ahsoka,” and “Andor.”

The new sequel is the latest cinematic project that Disney is yet to release.

In November 2017, one month before “Episode VIII — The Last Jedi” arrived in theaters, Lucasfilm announced that director Rian Johnson was working on a trilogy about entirely new characters separate from “The Skywalker Saga.” Nearly eight years later, the project hasn’t been canceled, but neither is it in development, IGN reported.

Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss also had a deal to create their own Jedi trilogy, but parted ways with Lucasfilm in 2019, per Deadline.

The same year, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige confirmed he was planning a “Star Wars” movie. However, in 2023, he said he was no longer working on the project.

In 2020, “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins announced that she was working on a “Star Wars” fighter pilot movie titled “Rogue Squadron.”

The project was then shelved last year, only to be revived in March. Jenkins said it was still in development.

Finally, there’s also a movie in the works from “Thor: Love & Thunder” director Taika Waititi first announced in 2020. In November 2023 he told Business Insider that his film is “still marinating.”

Blockbusters require huge amounts of cash to produce — “The Rise of Skywalker” had a budget of just over $400 million — so it’s perhaps surprising that so many “Star Wars” movies are on the slate.

Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4.1 billion in 2012. Despite several box office successes it is yet to recoup the cost of the acquisition, according to calculations by Forbes.

The studio’s struggles with these projects suggest there could be recurring issues concerning scripts, storylines, deadlines, contracts, shooting schedules, or a combination of factors.

For now, Ridley is still on board and teased an “exciting” update about the film when speaking to Collider at a recent screening of her next movie, “Magpie.”

She said: “Things are evolving. I continue to be very excited. There will be an update soon.”

Ridley’s comment was unlikely to be a reference to Knight’s exit.

The next confirmed “Star Wars” movie, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” is due to land in theaters in May 2026.