A new Twenty Twenty theme in WordPress 5.3 will be introducing the Twenty Twenty default theme. Considering that we are approaching the year 2020, it makes sense to see a 2020 default theme.
UPDATE: We now have WordPress 5.3 and the new Twenty Twenty theme, but you may want to check out a new theme I made based on a redesign of Twenty Twenty–a theme we called Protoge.
Twenty Twenty Theme for WordPress
It was recently confirmed that WordPress 5.3 will include a new bundled default theme. The 2020 default theme development will be taking a slightly different route. All previous default themes have been full originals that were built from the ground up.
WordPress Executive Director, Josepha Haden quoted in a recent article at WPTavern:
I think something that would be cool is taking a theme from the community that is already doing cool stuff with the features we’ve been introducing, and modifying it to fit with the 5.3 release.
Josepha Haden
It sounds like the plan for the new default theme will definitely be utilizing Gutenberg.
Will it be Original or Modified
There was no additional information about what theme or concept it will be built from, so you will need to wait. I am not sure why they would not design an original theme.
I am sure you are curious as to what they have in mind, but you can be guaranteed that the Gutenberg block editor will be a big part of it. That is a given, of course, and it was the Twenty Nineteen theme that was built with Gutenberg in mind.
UPDATE: Anders Norén, a long-time and known theme author, who was an early adopter of Gutenberg in his themes, will be leading the design of the upcoming Twenty Twenty default theme. Rumor has it, that the new 2020 theme could be a repurposed version of Norén`s theme called Chaplin.
Well, the rumor has been confirmed with the recent beta of WordPress 5.3. I’m testing it out right now and exploring the new Twenty Twenty theme. I do see some Chaplin concepts throughout the new default theme, although they are still working on it, this definitely will be the new theme for 2020.
A Sneak Peek
If you head over to the Make WordPress blog, you can see the proposed design concept. For example, here is a sneak peek at one part:
I am sure there will be some tweaks to the overall concept, but now you know, or at least have an idea how it will look. However, as of today, here is an updated style for the Twenty Twenty theme:
Release Date for WordPress 5.3
WordPress 5.3 will be the last major release of 2019, so expect a lot to happen throughout 2020. The estimated timeline of releases will have the beta 1 version around September 23, the release candidate for October 15. Then, 5.3 is expected to be released around November 12, 2019.