EXCLUSIVE: Disney and Lucasfilm are in the early stages of another Star Wars spinoff movie, this one telling the origin story of the new villain Kylo Ren. The studio has tapped Blade Runner 2049‘s Denis Villeneuve to co-write a script with Silence of the Lambs scribe Ted Tally. Villeneuve will direct the movie, and JJ Abrams will produce it with Villeneuve. This will be the first film under a new banner that has yet to be named in which Lucasfilm can expand the lore of Star Wars properties and create unique storylines with different actors playing the iconic characters.

FSW is told that the intention is to make an origin story that isn’t part of the current Star Wars canon similar to Dark Horse Comics’ Star Wars Infinities which explored “what-if” scenarios. Kylo Ren was memorably introduced in JJ Abrams’ The Force Awakens played by Adam Driver. He will reprise the role in Rian Johnson’s upcoming sequel The Last Jedi, but this new film will launch the character with a different actor, possibly younger.

An intriguing part is the setting. The intention is to make a gritty and grounded hard-boiled drama film set in Kylo’s early days with the Knights of Ren that isn’t meant to feel like a Star Wars movie as much as a coming of age film about a disturbed dark side young man. FSW is told that Villeneuve and Tally are writing already, but there is nothing firm on where this will fit into the Disney film release schedule.

What do you think of this news? Are you on board with non-canon Star Wars films? What non-canon story would you like to see? Let us know in the comments below!

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–Link “Voxx” Voximillian