Director J. D. Dillard has confirmed that his planned Star Wars project has been canceled. The filmmaker made this revelation during an interview with The Wrap while promoting his latest project titled Devotion.
Dillard revealed that the cancelation was not for "lack of trying [on his part]." The filmmaker also revealed that Disney canceled his other project, The Return of the Rocketeer, a sequel to the 1991 film The Rocketeer. However, the director seemed fine with the cancelation of the latter project especially since he just finished a period aviation film in Devotion, saying: I am not on that movie. But, you know, it's tricky. I love, love, love The Rocketeer. What I have a slightly hard time wrapping my head around now is going back to pre-1970 aviation. You know, I'm not saying never. But I think I need a breather from period aviation. Devotion is an action film based on the Korean War. The film, a biographical war drama, is inspired by a 2017 book titled Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos. It chronicles the camaraderie between two naval officers Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner during the Korean War in the 1950s. The film stars Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell, alongside Spencer Neville, Christina Jackson, Joe Jonas, Thomas Sadoski, and Nick Hargrove. It is set for theatrical release on November 23.
Disney has not released a film in the Star Wars universe since 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which was the third and final entry in the Skywalker saga. However, the studio is changing that. Last month, reports surfaced that it had hired Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Ms. Marvel's director, to direct a secret Star Wars project.