Shortly after the high profile pair turned in their draft of the project, Lucasfilm opted not to go forward.
As Disney tries to find their bearings after bringing Bob Iger back on board, the recently reported top-secret Star Wars project that is to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, known for Ms. Marvel, has just lost writers Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson. While Kathleen Kennedy navigates through rough developments of projects like the now-jettisoned Rogue Squadron, there have been no new Star Wars features announced, with the brand focused on TV projects, which include The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew. Kennedy mentioned before that she wanted to tread carefully before announcing film projects due to some turbulent productions, and it looks like many of the in-development movies aren’t panning out.
Indeed, Above the Line reports that the screenwriters, Lindelof and Britt-Gibson, turned in a draft of their script in mid-February, and it wasn’t long before they ended up leaving the film. Lucasfilm reportedly has a new writer now taking up the vacated position, although it is not yet known who it is. The plot of the film is being kept under wraps. However, there was to be a formal reveal of the project at Star Wars Celebration next month as the title and plot of the movie would be unveiled. The production was scheduled to begin in February of 2024 and is was scheduled for release sometime in December 2025.
In a recent interview at SXSW, Lindelof would be very cryptic about his strained involvement with the brand. “I will just say, that for reasons that I can’t get into on this Sunday morning, on this day, the degree of difficulty is extremely, extremely, extremely high. “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. 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.”
While the Star Wars shows on Disney+ continue to thrive, the movies have suffered a great deal of complications after their announcements for future projects, which may still include a Rian Johnson trilogy and a Taika Waititi standalone film.
Originally published at https://www.joblo.com/david-lindelof-and-justin-britt-gibson-exit-their-secret-star-wars-project/
