Acclaimed Lost co-creator and co-showrunner Damon Lindelof has finally spoken out about the upcoming Star Wars film he is no longer involved with.
Speaking to Variety, Lindelof called his former project a "true labor of love" but said that although "the movie is still happening," it will "unfortunately not [be] with me." He spoke positively of the film's prospects, however, especially with Ms. Marvel director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy at the helm. "I wish them all the best of luck," Lindelof said. "Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is an incredible director, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with."
Damon Lindelof's Star Wars Movie
It was first reported in March 2022 that Lindelof was hired to write a Star Wars film along with fellow screenwriter Justin Britt-Gibson. Although details of the film, which is set to be released in December 2025, are sparse, it was reported at the April 2023 Star Wars Celebration that it will feature the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey, who will work to reconstruct a new Jedi Order 15 years after the events of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
In March 2023, it was reported that Lindelof and Britt-Gibson would no longer be working on the upcoming Star Wars film and that British screenwriter Steven Knight was hired to replace them. However, it is unclear whether Knight was hired to continue on Lindelof and Britt-Gibson's work or rewrite the film entirely. Either way, filming will begin sometime in February 2024.
Before it was announced that Lindelof would be stepping away from the project, he had already cast some doubt on his involvement, saying in March that if the movie "can't be great, it shouldn't exist." He added that the level of difficulty when it came to making the movie was "extremely, extremely, extremely high," and that the quality of such a project was personally important to him, as Star Wars played a monumental role in his childhood.
Future Damon Lindelof Projects
Currently, Lindelof is heading the production of Mrs. Davis, a science-fiction drama series set to premiere April 20 on Peacock. The series, which will star Betty Gilpin, Jake McDorman and Margo Martindale, among others, focuses on a nun who uses her faith to take on technology. Lindelof has also teamed up with The Batman director Matt Reeves to create another upcoming series, The Human Condition, a magical-realist medical drama about a young doctor who must learn how to treat fictional and fantastical illnesses by healing the emotional difficulties that underlie them.
Source: Variety