STAR WARS: Idris Elba Reportedly Won't Play REY Movie's Villain; Shooting Start Date Possibly Revealed

STAR WARS: Idris Elba Reportedly Won't Play REY Movie's Villain; Shooting Start Date Possibly Revealed

Despite reports he's been tapped to play the lead villain in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Star Wars movie, it appears Idris Elba hasn't joined the project after all. We also have an update on production...

By JoshWilding - Jun 17, 2023 07:06 PM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Source: The Hot Mic (via SFFGazette.com)

It was recently revealed that 2025's Star Wars movie, believed to be the Daisy Ridley-led story about Rey Skywalker, has shifted to May 22, 2026.

At Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy revealed that writer Steven Knight was going to submit his latest draft by mid-May, something we know must have been delayed seeing as the WGA strike began on May 1 and has lasted ever since. With that in mind, this latest update is all the more surprising.

According to Jeff Sneider on The Hot Mic podcast (via SFFGazette.com), Disney and Lucasfilm are still planning to get cameras rolling by next April. On the one hand, that makes sense as it's a long way off, though depending on when this strike ends, that pre-production window is likely to be drastically shortened. 

The studio presumably feels that, assuming the strike ends within the next month or two, this is enough time for Knight to finish writing and for pre-production work to begin in earnest.

Anything beyond, that, though, and we can't help but think another delay might be on the table (some fans have already questioned how wise it is to have this Star Wars movie open mere weeks after Avengers: The Kang Dynasty). 

Talking of the MCU, in the same podcast, Sneider also debunked recent claims that Thor: Love and Thunder star Idris Elba will play the movie's villain.

While this feels a little like the scooper version of he said/she said, the rumour was always a little random and not one we put too much stock in. It's a shame, though, as the actor would be a fine addition to this Galaxy Far, Far Away.

The still-untitled Star Wars project will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and is set 15 years after the last events of the Skywalker Saga. We'll reunite with Rey and follow the story of rebuilding the New Jedi Order and the powers that rise to tear it down. 

Stay tuned to SFFGazette.com for the latest on all things Star Wars.

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RedHood92
RedHood92 - 6/17/2023, 7:05 PM
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 6/17/2023, 7:14 PM
He Dodge a bullet. Put star wars on ice for a few more years. Focus on streaming. Also kill Rey in the first five minutes 😎
Knightrider
Knightrider - 6/17/2023, 7:16 PM
I feel like Rey could be like Ashoka. In the right hands someone could make a great character from not so great beginnings.

While I wasn’t a fan of taking the Skywalker name at the end of the RoS, I feel it can be a good setup for her trying to live up to it while having to accept that it has also caused many a lot of pain and suffering. Perhaps, it could be a film about her deciding to drop the name to forge her own, new path.

The trick with any new movie is where can we go in terms of story? The war is over, it appears the Jedi won. We can’t go ‘Oh, actually somehow the dark side survived again’
I always thought there should have been a meeting in the middle with the new trilogy, that rather than dark = bad, light = good the Jedi should have been called out for controlling the force in a way they saw fit
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 6/17/2023, 7:18 PM
TyrantBossMedia
TyrantBossMedia - 6/17/2023, 7:23 PM
He can't play a Disney villain because he's not a white male.

Yeah, I know Reva was the villain in Kenobi, but she had a tortured past and was actually a villain simply to get close to Darth Vader to kill him to get revenge.

JFerguson
JFerguson - 6/17/2023, 7:28 PM
@TyrantBossMedia - Giancarlo Esposito is the villain of the Mandalorian. Your point makes zero sense.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 6/17/2023, 7:36 PM
@JFerguson - his every comment is an exercise in trying to justify his own fractured inclinations
KaptainKhaos
KaptainKhaos - 6/17/2023, 7:56 PM
@TyrantBossMedia - What's wrong with White Dudes being Villains?
CaptainCheese
CaptainCheese - 6/17/2023, 7:26 PM
Who's set to direct this farce? Let me guess. No one. And who is writing? No one.
McGee
McGee - 6/17/2023, 7:28 PM
Typical woke Hollywood. Why does the leading character / protagonist have to be a woman? Why can't it be a 45 year old white Christian male with a history of domestic violence? Smh
CoHost
CoHost - 6/17/2023, 7:35 PM
Idris Elba did Sonic and even he won't stoop so low to be in what this franchise has become.
SuperCat
SuperCat - 6/17/2023, 7:36 PM
ForceofWakanda
ForceofWakanda - 6/17/2023, 7:40 PM
LucasFilm is one of the worst ran studios of all time. I'm not talking about the quality of their products...because there are things that came out of it I liked...but their production management.
KaptainKhaos
KaptainKhaos - 6/17/2023, 7:57 PM
Off Topic: Has anyone heard any updates to Johnathan Majors?, His court date was a couple days ago but there's been no updates
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