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Post–Rise of Skywalker Galaxy

Star Wars Episode X
New Jedi Order Era

A single-page atlas of the sequel‑era survivors, the evolving Lucasfilm strategy, and the narrative possibilities that define the de facto Episode X.

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01 Content Curation & Structure

Sequel-Era Landscape & Core Questions

The attached investigation maps how New Jedi Order, shifting studio leadership and unresolved character arcs combine to define what a post‑Rise of Skywalker continuation must answer.

Curated Focus Areas

From Source Report
  • De facto Episode X: New Jedi Order continues Rey’s arc in theaters while Lucasfilm withholds the numbered label.
  • Timeline anchor: The film sits around 50 ABY, roughly 15 years after Exegol and the fall of the First Order and Sith Eternal.
  • Rey’s mandate: As a seasoned Jedi Master, she attempts to reconstruct a Jedi Order from near zero, guided only by texts and Force spirits.
  • Finn’s unresolved path: Canon‑supported Force sensitivity, stormtrooper trauma and leadership potential remain unpayoffed on screen.
  • Poe’s emerging role: From ace pilot to inevitable military or political leader in a galaxy without a stable Republic.
  • Rose’s sidelined perspective: Moral conscience and anti‑exploitation thread interrupted by The Rise of Skywalker’s minimal screentime.
  • Lando & Jannah: Implied family connection and a larger reckoning with the First Order’s abduction of children.
  • Legacy companions: Chewbacca, R2‑D2, C‑3PO and Maz Kanata as tonal anchors and long‑lived witnesses to generational change.
  • Leadership transition: Kathleen Kennedy’s exit and Dave Filoni’s elevation reshape internal incentives around sequel‑era stories.
  • Companion projects: Mandalorian & Grogu, Starfighter and the Kinberg trilogy collectively define the broader theatrical context.
  • Business trajectory: Strong box office but eroding returns and merchandise softness complicate the sequel‑era commercial case.
  • Creative debts: Unfinished threads around Finn, Jannah, Rose and the nature of the new Jedi Order become the franchise’s open obligations.
02 Development Timeline & Leadership

Interactive Development Timeline

This CSS‑only timeline traces New Jedi Order’s emergence, its writer turnover, and the leadership pivot from Kathleen Kennedy to Dave Filoni within the larger theatrical slate.

Key Milestones

Click To Expand Context
April 2023 · Celebration
Announcement
Kathleen Kennedy publicly announces a Rey‑led New Jedi Order film, confirming Daisy Ridley’s return and Sharmeen Obaid‑Chinoy as director, positioning the project as the first sequel‑era theatrical continuation.
2023–2025 · Writer Cycle
Story Turbulence
Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt‑Gibson depart, Steven Knight briefly takes over and exits, and George Nolfi becomes the current writer, re‑architecting the story while consulting George Lucas and leaning into broad political themes.
October 2025 · Ben Solo Project
Cancelled Sequel
Adam Driver reveals that a Soderbergh‑directed sequel, The Hunt for Ben Solo, was cancelled by Disney leadership on the grounds that Ben Solo could not be alive, signaling corporate veto power over sequel‑era continuations.
January 2026 · Leadership Shift
Filoni Era Begins
Kathleen Kennedy steps down as Lucasfilm president after 14 years, moving to a producer role, while Dave Filoni becomes President and Chief Creative Officer with Lynwen Brennan as Co‑President, realigning priorities toward Mandalorian‑era storytelling.
March 2026 · Finn & Filoni
Re‑Opened Door
At MEGACON Orlando, John Boyega confirms he has spoken directly with Dave Filoni about Finn, a significant shift from his previous public distance from Star Wars and a hint that sequel‑era character returns are under discussion.
2026–2027 · Parallel Films
Context
The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) and Starfighter (2027) return Star Wars to theaters with fresh characters and eras, while Simon Kinberg’s post‑TROS trilogy is developed as a long‑term “next saga” that may eventually inherit the Episode X–XII mantle.
03 Character Status & Threads

Sequel-Era Survivors & Unfinished Arcs

New Jedi Order inherits a cast of survivors whose unresolved stories, traumas and political positions define the narrative work a functional Episode X must do.

Survivor Status Table

Where TROS Left Them
Character End-State After TROS Primary Unresolved Threads Episode X Potential
Rey Skywalker Buries Skywalker sabers on Tatooine, claims the Skywalker name, wields a new yellow saber and stands as the last known Jedi. Rebuilding the Jedi Order from nothing, navigating Palpatine lineage, processing Ben Solo’s death and the unresolved Dark Rey vision. Institution builder defining what the Jedi become after learning from two fallen Orders, spiritual and narrative center of New Jedi Order.
Finn (FN‑2187) Resistance leader and former stormtrooper whose Force sensitivity is strongly implied but never explicitly named on screen. Lack of a formal Force journey, unresolved confession to Rey, unexamined trauma from child abduction and conditioning, future with Jannah. Groundbreaking path as a Force‑sensitive Black ex‑stormtrooper whose relationship to the Force is defined by moral courage rather than bloodline.
Poe Dameron Co‑commands Resistance forces in the final battle, de facto hero poised to shape post‑First Order governance and security. Evolution from pilot to statesman, reckoning with past as a Spice Runner, deeper exploration of bond with Finn beyond unfulfilled bromance hints. Reluctant political leader navigating the messy reconstruction of democracy and the temptations of endless war.
Rose Tico Brilliant engineer and moral voice drastically reduced in TROS after a major role in The Last Jedi. Grief over Paige, arc about war profiteering and exploitation, potential leadership in rebuilding infrastructure and defending the oppressed. Galaxy’s conscience foregrounding ordinary people, workers and children in a story often dominated by Force mysticism and generals.
Lando Calrissian Returns with the Citizens’ fleet and shares a suggestive moment with Jannah that hints at a personal connection. Implied search for a stolen daughter, emotional reckoning with decades of loss and complicity within larger galactic conflicts. Anchor for a storyline about family, restitution and the lingering human cost of First Order kidnappings.
Jannah (TZ‑1719) Former stormtrooper leading defectors, positioned as voice for thousands of ex‑child soldiers liberated but unsupported. Unconfirmed parentage, community‑wide trauma of conscripted children, role in shaping accountability and healing in the new era. Lens on the galaxy’s reckoning with the First Order’s crimes and the ethics of forgiveness, justice and belonging.
Chewbacca, R2‑D2, C‑3PO Surviving legacy companions with partial memory restoration for C‑3PO and symbolic gestures such as Chewbacca receiving Han’s dice. Unclear extent of C‑3PO’s restored history, how these icons function as living memory for a generation beyond the Skywalkers. Tonally rich cameos or supporting roles that connect Rey’s era to the deeper history of the saga.
Maz Kanata Ancient Force‑sensitive ally with millennia of history, seen briefly in TROS with much of her backstory still opaque. Origin of Luke’s saber in her care, centuries of Force wisdom and relationships spanning Jedi, smugglers and royalty. Ideal mentor‑adjacent presence in a Jedi Academy story, offering non‑Jedi perspectives on the Force and galactic cycles.
04 Business & Creative Logic

Why Episode X Is Hard & Necessary

New Jedi Order faces a paradox: the sequel heroes drive global recognition, but the trilogy’s trajectory, corporate vetoes and fandom fractures make continuing their story unusually risky.

Sequel Trilogy Box Office Trend

Stylized Data Bars
The Force Awakens
≈ 2.07B (Baseline)
The Last Jedi
Down vs. VII
The Rise of Skywalker
≈ 1.077B · Nearly –1B vs. VII

The trilogy’s declining returns, combined with softer merchandise performance, make any direct sequel both commercially tempting and structurally fragile.

05 Narrative Architecture

What Episode X Could Actually Be

Beyond recycled empires and Sith, the report outlines new conflict engines that would justify a fresh trilogy while honoring the galaxy’s unhealed wounds and institutional failures.

Potential Conflict Axes

Non-JS Interactions
Internal Jedi Fracture
Order vs. Ideology
Rey’s attempt to build a more humane, less dogmatic Jedi institution invites schisms over attachment, politics and recruitment, allowing the primary antagonists to be her own former students rather than another empire.
Post‑War Power Vacuum
Galaxy of Grey
Crime syndicates, warlords and populist movements step into the void left by the destroyed New Republic and fallen First Order, forcing Poe, Rose and Jannah to confront structural injustice instead of a single monolithic villain.
Unknown Regions & Beyond
Outside the Map
Exegol’s placement in the Unknown Regions points toward threats and cultures untouched by Republic or Imperial history, echoing the logic of the Legends‑era Yuuzhan Vong without repeating its exact form.
Shadow of Palpatine
Without Resurrection
Rather than reviving Palpatine, some treatments imagine a “Shadow” tied philosophically to Rey or to Sith Eternal experiments, a dark‑side presence that challenges her ideology more than her dueling skills.
06 Risk & Conditions

Will New Jedi Order Happen?

The report closes by weighing development headwinds against the franchise’s need to resolve its own promises, treating New Jedi Order as both opportunity and stress test for Star Wars’ future identity.

Conditions for Success

Synthesis
  • Unique conflict: Center the story on institutional and social reckoning the old Jedi never faced, rather than resurrecting Palpatine‑style threats.
  • Finn’s Force journey: Treat his arc as structurally central, not as a side note, redeeming one of the sequel trilogy’s clearest missed opportunities.
  • Rose as compass: Let her ground decisions in the lived realities of workers, children and the oppressed, widening the story’s moral lens.
  • Lando & Jannah: Pay off their implied connection to give emotional closure and spotlight the long tail of First Order atrocities.
  • Poe’s growth: Challenge him with governance dilemmas that test his charisma, ethics and appetite for endless conflict.
  • Time gap honesty: Use the 15‑year jump to allow genuine change, scars and evolution instead of resetting the ensemble to their TROS personas.