Patty Jenkins’ foray into the Star Wars universe apparently found its writer, and has past work may be a bit of a surprise to fans of the sprawling sci-fi series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the man most widely known for a Ricky Gervais comedy will apparently be responsible for penning the script for Rogue Squadron, the highly-anticipated next film in the franchise.
The outlet reported that Matthew Robinson, who co-wrote and co-directed the 2009 film The Invention Of Lying, will be responsible for the script that Jenkins is expected to shoot sometime next year.
Little else is known about the project nor is it clear how long Robinson has been on it, although sources say he is currently furiously keyboarding away on a draft. The project is hoping to go into pre-production this fall for a shoot sometime in 2022. It has a Dec. 22, 2023 release date.
Since the end of the Skywalker Trilogy with 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and previous missteps such as Solo: A Star Wars Story, the beloved George Lucas-created sci-fi fantasy has retrenched and been reborn as an acclaimed, Emmy-winning Disney+ franchise that can still influence pop culture. Squadron will be the first feature to come since that rebirth.
Robinson’s best-known work is likely the Gervais-led Invention Of Lying, which drew mixed reviews more than a decade ago. The plot of the movie is simple: Gervais’s character lives in a world where everyone tells the truth, brutally and without remorse, all the time. Until he alone realizes that he can lie. And hijinks, of course, ensue.
That movie had a loaded cast, with Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, and Rob Lowe in the mix. In more recent years, Robinson has written the screenplay for 2019’s live action Dora The Explorer film and also has a number of projects still in the works, most notably the post-apocalyptic Love and Monsters and an Edge of Tomorrow sequel still in development. That pivot to action-adventure movies is likely what landed him the Star Wars gig, but it will certainly be interesting to see just how much humor is injected into the plot once Rogue Squadron sees the light of day in December of 2023.
[via THR]