Damon Lindelof's new Star Wars project may bring back characters from the prequel trilogy.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Lindelof's Star Wars project is intended to be a standalone movie as opposed to a trilogy, though the project could lead to more films depending on its success. According to sources, the film will take place after the events of 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but will not continue the story of the Skywalker saga. Despite this, the project could feature familiar characters from the Star Wars sequel trilogy, which consisted of The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

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It was recently announced that a new Star Wars feature film was in the works with Lindelof (Watchmen, Lost) at the helm, attached to co-write the script with rising writer Justin Britt-Gibson. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel) is currently in talks to direct. Lindelof stated in May 2020 that he was interested in stepping into the Star Wars universe "at some point, but certainly not in the immediate future." He added, "Maybe a decade from now when I would no longer be blamed for ruining it. That would be a hoot." However, rumors began circulating in March that the acclaimed showrunner was writing a new movie for Lucasfilm.

Star Wars Goes Back to Movies

Along with the sequel trilogy, a total of 11 live-action feature films have been released as part of the Star Wars franchise, starting with the original trilogy, which ran from 1977 to 1983, and the prequel trilogy, which ran from 1999 to 2005. The franchise also released two anthology films, Rogue One and Solo, in 2016 and 2018. Lucasfilm has been steadily releasing several Star Wars series for Disney+, with the newest release being Andor, which will be followed by the third season of The Mandalorian in late 2022 or early 2023, and Ahsoka in 2023.

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Lucasfilm has been on a Star Wars film hiatus since the release of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, which Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy contributes to the unsustainability of the previous release schedule which saw at least one film hit theaters a year. "Anyone who comes into the Star Wars universe needs to know that it's a three-, four-, five-year commitment," she said in May. "That's what it takes. You can't step in for a year and shoot something and then walk away… It requires that kind of nurturing."

This news may indicate that Lucasfilm's movie hiatus is coming to an end. Along with Lindelof's mysterious project, it was announced that Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins would direct Rogue Squadron with a scheduled December 2023 release, though the film was delayed indefinitely in November 2021. However, a Star Wars feature from Thor: Love and Thunder's Taika Waititi is still in development, as well as a new trilogy of films from Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter