Yesterday, news broke that Damon Lindelof, co-creator of hit shows like “Lost” and “The Leftovers,” was working on a new “Star Wars” feature film, to be directed by Oscar-winning documentarian and “Ms. Marvel” director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
Now TheWrap has confirmed that Justin Britt-Gibson will co-write the screenplay alongside Lindelof. In addition, other new details have emerged about what the project is and how Lindelof is developing the story.
According to a report in THR, a writers’ room was convened shortly after Star Wars Celebration, the all-“Star Wars” convention that was held in Anaheim, California, across the street from Disneyland (and their expansive, 14-acre “Star Wars” land) earlier this year. The writer’s room was held for two weeks in July and included participation from Lindelof’s “Leftovers” collaborator (and “Station Eleven” creator) Patrick Somerville; “Obi-Wan Kenobi” consulting producer Rayna McClendon and Andy Greenwald, creator of the short-lived but deeply brilliant USA series “Briarpatch,” which had the misfortune of airing as the network was sunsetting its original narrative programming.
According to THR, there may have been other writers in attendance, including Dave Filoni, who moved from “Star Wars” animated series like “Clone Wars” into a becoming a respected figure at Lucasfilm, working on many of the Disney+ projects.
Since that writer’s room, Lindelof and Britt-Gibson have been diligently working.
This continues Lindelof’s streak of choosing new and interesting writing partners, from former Entertainment Weekly writer (and regular “Lost” theorist) Jeff Jensen on Brad Bird’s “Tomorrowland” to Nick Cuse, the son of “Lost” executive producer Carlton Cuse, on Blumhouse’s “The Hunt” (he also worked on some of the best “Leftovers” episodes). Britt-Gibson wrote episodes of parallel universe series “Counterpart” and Cinemax’s “Banshee” and was an executive story editor on Guillermo del Toro’s vampire series for FX, “The Strain.”
It’s unclear what the new storyline is, but the THR reports that the new project involves some characters from the sequel trilogy. (Oscar Isaac’s cocky pilot Poe seems like a safe bet.) That means, in this new chronology, it would take place after the events of the last feature film, 2019’s divisive “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
Obaid-Chinoy’s film, it is suggested, could be ready by Christmas 2025 at the earliest and joins several highly secretive, still-in-development “Star Wars” feature projects, including one being produced by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige (to be written by “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Loki” writer Michael Waldron); a project directed by Taika Waititi and co-written by “1917” and “Last Night in Soho” screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns; another project by “Devotion” filmmaker J.D. Dillard; and “Rogue Squadron,” the standalone “Star Wars” film announced in 2020 by filmmaker Patty Jenkins and recently put on the backburner.
No Doubt more details will emerge soon about the new project – but it sure does sound exciting.
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