Over the weekend, it was reported that a new Star Wars film, which we previously knew was being written by Simon Kinberg, would be directed by Jon Watts. It’s supposedly meant to be Star Wars: Episode X , the beginning of what’s described as a new Skywalker trilogy that may feature the last trilogy’s Rey Palpatine (now Skywalker) to some extent.

I think the part of this worth blasting is the Skywalker aspect, as the series badly needs to move away from this time period, and it’s now getting a bit ridiculous given that all the Skywalkers, including Luke, are dead, and Rey has simply adopted the name. Disney needs to take a hard look at the chokehold this idea of endless Skywalker trilogies has on them.

However, I think both Kinberg and Jon Watts may be overly hated here, at least based on their past successes, and ones within Star Wars itself.

Kinberg is rightly viewed skeptically based on his writing and directing o f X-Men: Dark Phoenix and co-writing the pre-MCU Fantastic Four , widely viewed as two of the worst superhero movies ever made. However, it’s worth noting that he also co-wrote the excellent X-Men: Days of Future Past . The most important bit, however, is that Kinberg wrote a number of hugely beloved episodes of Dave Filoni’s Rebels , including Fire Across the Galaxy, Twilight of the Apprentice and Family Reunion – and Farewell, which likely is the main reason he was chosen to write something like an important, live-action Star Wars project.

Jon Watts, meanwhile, some have deemed an uncreative choice, but again, that seems too harsh. Watts directed the entire original MCU Spider-Man trilogy. All three films were highly rated by both critics and fans, and Homecoming, Far from Home and No Way Home made a combined $3.9 billion at the box office. While you may debate Spider-Man translating into Star Wars , you may not know/have forgotten that Watts was the co-creator of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew , the Goonies -like Star Wars series on Disney+ that ended up being one of the best-reviewed series in a live-action corner of Star Wars that struggled with quality offerings, outside of Andor and early Mandalorian seasons. Skeleton Crew , unfortunately, was the least-viewed Star Wars series in the service’s history. That doesn’t take away from its quality, however.

Does this mean I think that a new Star Wars trilogy from these two will be good? No, not necessarily. I mean, frankly, the odds are against it. Most of Disney’s Star Wars era has not been great, and of course there are better writers and directors they might have nabbed for this. And continuing on more Star Wars with Skywalker tales, led by the somewhat flat Rey, no less, isn’t great. But I do think saying the movies are doomed because these two are involved is not exactly fair if you really study their past work and ignore a couple of rogue misses.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy .