Untitled STAR WARS Film Still Set For 2022

Not a lot is known about how the Star Wars franchise will proceed after The Rise of Skywalker concludes the Skywalker Saga next month. Disney revealed their Star Wars film release schedule earlier this year, and that's how we know the first Star Wars film after TROS will come out December 2022. In The Hollywood Reporter's latest profile of Kathleen Kennedy, we get some confirmation that the 2022 film is still in the works (despite some complications):

"Sources say Kennedy has a film on deck for 2022, but not the one being developed by The Last Jedi filmmaker Rian Johnson. (No announcement is planned until January.)"

For the longest time, it was reported that the 2022 film was being developed by Game of Thrones' David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who had been hired by Lucasfilm way back in 2018. But now, Benioff and Weiss have walked from the project, leaving its creative direction a mystery. If Disney/Lucasfilm are still hoping to meet that December 2022 release date, then who are they in talks with to write and direct the film? The THR article notes that Rian Johnson's untitled Star Wars trilogy is not the one tied to the 2022 date, and the only other major filmmaker who has an untitled project with Lucasfilm is Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, who announced recently that he's producing something Star Wars.

I don't think we can expect a Star Wars feature from Johnson or Feige as soon as 2022, but there is another powerhouse director/producer whose involvement with Star Wars has been making waves these past couple weeks. Jon Favreau, whose The Mandalorian premiered last week to a pretty positive reception, might want in on some theatrical Star Wars action now that he's cut his teeth in the TV realm. (Although with The Mandalorian's budget, what's really the difference?) Season 2 of The Mandalorian is getting filmed right now, and once it wraps, Favreau might have a suitable gap in his schedule to work on a film. Hell, it could even be a Mandalorian film, if Disney remains as confident about the new show as they currently are.

Anyways, that's enough speculation. The THR article also brings up the fact that Kathleen Kennedy's contract with Lucasfilm ends on 2021, and she hasn't decided whether she'll stay on or not, so she may not even oversee the new film's completion. It seems like the future of Star Wars is a mystery to everyone currently, but who needs the future when you have a Baby Yoda in front of you right now.