After creating Disney+'s Skeleton Crew alongside Christopher Ford, Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts will return to a Galaxy Far, Far Away for Star Wars Episode IX.
The continuation of the Skywalker Saga will be written by Simon Kinberg and is the first chapter in a new trilogy meant to restore the Star Wars franchise to its former glory in theaters after several years spent on streaming. The Mandalorian and Grogu didn't find a huge audience, but the hope is that Star Wars: Starfighter will receive more attention next summer.
Many unmade movies and TV shows were in development when Kathleen Kennedy was in charge of Lucasfilm, and the hope was that Skeleton Crew might receive a second season. That didn't happen, but it's now been revealed that Watts was developing a separate series for Disney+.
According to Knight Edge Media (via SFFGazette.com), "The series had a full writers' room hired in January and ran through August of this year. The series was going to be 8 episodes long." The report adds that Watts and Ford were developing it "as a 'western' series, much like how Skeleton Crew was a swashbuckling pirate adventure set in the Star Wars universe."
It's unclear whether the series has been shelved while Watts shifts attention to Episode X or if Lucasfilm decided to scrap the show as the studio's attention shifts back to theatrical stories, not streaming ones.
What could a Western-inspired Star Wars series have looked like? Well, fans are already speculating that Timothy Olyphant's Cobb Vanth could have been the show's lead, especially as the hugely popular sheriff he hasn't been seen since The Book of Boba Fett's post-credits scene.
"It was fascinating talking to Dave [Filoni] about his conversations with George [Lucas] and his original Star Wars influences," Watts previously said of how he approached Star Wars with Skeleton Crew. "That really helped open our minds about the right way to approach the universe and figure out if something feels correct or not."
"We went back and watched a bunch of pirate serials and classic pirate films from the twenties and thirties," he continued, sharing some fascinating insights into his creative process. "It was important to create that tension, showing that the galaxy is scary and dangerous and that the galaxy is also peaceful and boring."
What Star Wars Episode IX will look like remains to be seen. Fans have reservations about Kinberg being on writing duties after his work on the X-Men franchise for 20th Century Fox, but Watts has delivered three critically acclaimed box office hits for Marvel Studios with his Spider-Man movies.
Stay tuned for more Star Wars updates as we have them.