Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron Star Wars movie reportedly delayed due to creative differences

Last Updated on November 17, 2021

Last week it was announced that Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron Star Wars movie was officially delayed. The reason that seemed to spread rather quickly was that the delay was caused by Jenkins’ very busy schedule as she is in development on Wonder Woman 3 and Cleopatra. Now, a new report suggests the delay may not be about the director’s packed schedule and more about creative differences between Jenkins and Lucasfilm.

Former “The Hollywood Reporter” editor, Matthew Belloni, took to the latest edition of his newsletter to report that the delay is reportedly due to “creative differences” and not any scheduling conflicts. Belloni says that Jenkins came into a conflict with Lucasfilm over the film’s script, and states that Jenkins was unwilling to “dick around”, as he so delicately put it. Belloni’s newsletter also indicates that disagreements between creatives and the Star Wars studio producers are becoming more frequent under Kathleen Kennedy’s watch and it’s becoming worrisome for all for agents of filmmakers who become involved with the franchise. You can check out Belloni’s full comments on the matter below!

“[T]he real culprit was the dreaded “creative differences”; specifically, Jenkins couldn’t agree on the script with Lucasfilm executives… That’s not unusual, of course, but it’s a laughably recurring problem at Lucasfilm under president Kathleen Kennedy, say agents: Top filmmakers are dying to make a Star Wars movie—until they sign on and experience the micromanagement and plot-point-by-committee process. […] Jenkins wasn’t willing to dick around, and she has other projects, notably Wonder Woman 3 at Warner Bros., where she enjoys more creative freedom.”

If creative differences are the real culprit at play here, I wouldn’t be surprised. There have been several Star Wars projects that have started and then been dropped due to this issue. Colin Trevorrow was the original writer and director of what would become The Rise of Skywalker but he was ultimately replaced by J.J. Abrams due to disagreements over the film’s script. Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were once lined up to direct a new Star Wars trilogy but their plans have seemed to be scrapped with no word as to what’s going on with the project. Despite reports that Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy is still alive, it appears that the project is pretty much abandoned because no new word has come to light about it in quite some time. Perhaps the most well-known Star Wars case of creative differences getting in the way involved the duo of Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Solo: A Star Wars Story was to be helmed by the directing team but the biggest drama with the film actually occurred offscreen. In the summer of 2017, four months into filming, Lucasfilm announced directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller had left the blockbuster “creative differences.” Everyone with a lick of sense knew they were fired and it became known that the clash was with none other than Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy. They were ultimately replaced by Ron Howard who did deliver a fine but not great Star Wars prequel that underperformed at the box office.

The complaint of most Star Wars fans is that Kathleen Kennedy has blocked many progressive ideas that could move the franchise in a more fresh direction. She essentially plays it safe and is probably driven more by box office receipts than breaking the mold creatively. Fans have pointed to Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, who are doing great work with the Star Wars series on Disney+, as the people who should be the captain of this ship but, so far, it appears Kathleen Kennedy isn’t going anywhere.

What are YOUR thoughts on the reported reason for the delay of Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron?