When it was announced that Damon Lindelof was leading a group of writers to come up with the idea that would be the next “Star Wars” feature film, everything seemed to be going swimmingly. Soon thereafter, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was brought on to direct, fresh off her run on “Ms. Marvel.” But this is Lucasfilm, right? Things don’t go smoothly for this studio. And with that in mind, Damon Lindelof is no longer attached to a “Star Wars” film.
According to Above the Line, Damon Lindelof and his co-writer Justin Britt-Gibson are no longer attached to the forthcoming “Star Wars” film being directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. The good news, however, is that the film is still moving along and will likely still be announced at the upcoming Star Wars Celebration event next month. That said, it’s hard to read yet another instance of a “Star Wars” film project losing its creative head.
Update: Deadline confirms the news; both writers are off the project, which does not bode well considering it was originated from them in the first place.
The report claims that Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson turned in their first draft of the “Star Wars” script in February and left the project soon thereafter. A new writer has already been hired to work on the film, but there’s no word yet on who that writer might be. Again, it’s worth mentioning that the timeline for production and the announcement of the film are not being affected by this change.
Interestingly, in a recent Slash Film interview, Lindelof hinted at a disturbance in the force when it came to this film.
“If it can’t be great, it shouldn’t exist. That’s all I’ll say, because I have the same association with it as you do, which is, it’s the first movie I saw sitting in my dad’s lap, four years old, May of ’77,” he explained. “I think it’s possible that sometimes when you hold something in such high reverence and esteem, you start to get in the kitchen, and you just go, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t be cooking. Maybe I should just be eating.’ We’ll just leave it at that.”
That sure does sound like a writer who has come to peace with the idea that he is no longer attached to a “Star Wars” film.
Nothing really is known about this new “Star Wars” film. Much like the typical “Star Wars” development, nothing is revealed until things are announced. And thankfully, Star Wars Celebration is right around the corner, so we’ll likely learn much more about the forthcoming film. This movie is expected to be the first “Star Wars” film to hit theaters since ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ debuted in December 2019. Currently, the new film has an expected release date of December 19, 2025.