UPDATE – THR has provided more details on this Star Wars project starting with Linelof’s writing partner, and a secret writers room that met after Celebration to discuss the film. Details after the original story.
Original Story on Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Involvement
According to Deadline and its sources, the secret Star Wars film being co-written by Damon Lindelof (LOST, Watchmen) has chosen its Director.
The film, which isn’t even fully written yet, nor is there any inclination what it could be about, will supposedly be directed by Ms. Marvel’s Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
Per the report, insiders only know that Damon and now Sharmeen are involved, and that the script isn’t even finished yet. Damon’s writing partner is unknown, as well as the film’s plot, so again, this is very early stage stuff, but it appears that this movie project may be getting more attention than others at this point.
By choosing a Director, this Star Wars film project could very well be in the lead now to be the first to hit theaters since Rise of Skywalker’s 2019 release. Based on a recently released Disney movie release schedule, this film could hit in 2025, which is the soonest Disney’s schedule showed any Star Wars films coming out.
The question now becomes will Damon’s project be the first out of the gate and beat Taika’s and Kevin Feige’s Star Wars movies? Considering how cautious Lucasfilm has been with Star Wars movies, it’s truly anyone’s guess in regards to which project hits theaters first.
Secret Writers Room and Damon’s Writing Partner
According to THR, Damon’s writing partner on this Star Wars project is Justin Britt-Gibson, who has worked on The Strain and more recently, The Counterpart.
What’s interesting about this new information is that Britt-Gibson joined the writing team after some secret meeting of the minds at Star Wars Celebration 2022. The meeting lasted two weeks, and according to the report it featured Damon, Patrick Somerville (Leftovers/Station Eleven), Rayna McClendon (Obi-Wan Kenobi/Willow), Andy Greenwald (Briarpatch), and even Dave Filoni was rumored to be present.
Sources have told THR that this movie is intended to be a standalone project, but success could breed sequels. They’ve also said that it would take place post The Rise of Skywalker, but not as a direct continuation of those character stories, but characters from the Sequels could be featured.
If this film continues to gain steam and move forward, it could very well be the one that takes the open Star Wars movie slot for Lucasfilm’s 2025 release schedule.
Nick and I will talk more about this rumor on this week’s episode of the SWTS, so don’t forget to tune into the Star Wars Time Show on a weekly basis via our podcast platforms or via YouTube if you prefer the livestream angle.
