Byron Lafayette
The upcoming Rey Skywalker solo movie reminds me very much of the mid-’90s and the Fugitive franchise. Let me explain.
The Fugitive was released in 1993, and audiences instantly connected with the onscreen chemistry between Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford, who played US Marshal Sam Gerard and Dr. Richard Kimble. The cat-and-mouse dynamic between the relentless lawman and the desperate fugitive made the film a massive success, earning $368 million worldwide and becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 1993. Afterward, they sought to capitalize on this with a solo film for Jones that centered on his US Marshal.
The film, US Marshals, is quite good, but as you can expect, without the interplay between Ford and Jones, the film failed to connect. It grossed only $102 million worldwide, a staggering 72% drop from its predecessor. In short, without Kimble, audiences did not care about Gerard.
I see a lot of parallels with the sequel trilogy. Audiences loved the chemistry between Daisy Ridley (Rey Skywalker) and Adam Driver (Ben Solo). Rey and Kylo were very popular together—their Force-connection scenes were consistently praised as highlights. But the numbers tell a troubling story: The Force Awakens earned $2.07 billion in 2015, The Last Jedi dropped to $1.33 billion in 2017, and The Rise of Skywalker fell to $1.07 billion in 2019, a nearly 50% decline across the trilogy.
The Rey solo film—officially titled Star Wars: New Jedi Order—was announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023 with director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy at the helm. Set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker, the film will follow Rey as she attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order based on the books and what she promised Luke. However, the project has been plagued with problems. The film has cycled through multiple screenwriters, starting with Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson, then Steven Knight, and most recently George Nolfi. According to reports from late 2024 and 2025, the film has been put on hold multiple times and doesn’t have a confirmed release date, with production now unlikely before late 2026 at the earliest.
Once this Rey solo film was announced, very few people had any interest because what made her popular, Kylo Ren, was not present. However, when news of a film centering on Ben Solo came out that was cancelled, audiences went nuts, and a new fan campaign. Why? Because he was who one audiences connected with, just like how if The Fugitive 2 with Harrison Ford was announced, people would have connected with it more than the spinoff.
Rey is not an unloved character. She was well liked, but in the same way that Sam Gerard was—both characters rely on the interplay with their antagonistic rival. Without that, audiences have little interest. The production troubles plaguing New Jedi Order may reflect this underlying problem: the concept itself doesn’t excite audiences the way the Rey-Kylo dynamic did.
I fear that the Rey solo film is doomed to follow US Marshals in being a disappointment and failing to jump start a franchise. In the 90s, the only way to make Sam Gerard work was to bring back Kimble, and if Disney wants the Rey film to work? They need to bring back Ben Solo. Whether through Force ghost appearances, flashbacks, or some creative resurrection, his presence is essential. The dyad made them both stronger—separating them weakens the very foundation that made audiences care in the first place.
