A new “Star Wars” movie is in the works at Lucasfilm, courtesy of writer Damon Lindelof and director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, according to media reports. Lindelof will co-write the script, while Obaid-Chinoy directs.
At this point, no script has been crafted yet, but Lindelof is reported to be co-writing the project. It is not known who his writing partner is. Lindelof is best known as the co-creator of “Lost,” and has experience in space — just not the galaxy far, far away. Lindelof produced J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot “Star Trek” and co-wrote the sequel “Star Trek Into Darkness.” Obaid-Chinoy is already part of the Disney family of course, having directed several episodes of “Ms. Marvel” for Disney+.
Reps for Lucasfilm, Obaid-Chinoy and Lindelof did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
At this point, it’s unclear who or what their “Star Wars” movie will center on, and where in the timeline it’ll fall. That said, in May, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy did say it was “vital” for the “Star Wars” franchise to move away from the Skywalker saga, which technically ended with “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019. (Of course, Luke Skywalker did appear in the second season of “The Mandalorian,” that show’s spin-off “The Book of Boba Fett” and was a small part of “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” where he appeared as a child alongside his sister Leia Organa, who was a larger piece of the story).
“I think it is vital,” Kennedy said. “Just staying within the construct of George’s storytelling, to keep chipping away at that, I think would be wrong. It’s our job to step away now, but still have a connection to the mythology that George created. That won’t stop. But we are moving on from the Skywalker saga. That’s what’s taking a lot of time, discussion, and thought right now.”
Earlier this year, Lucasfilm pulled a “Star Wars” film from Patty Jenkins from its release schedule, a new film that was originally set for 2023. “Rogue Squadron” was set to follow fighter pilots across the “Star Wars” universe, though no additional details were revealed. Lucasfilm announced the news about Jenkins directing the movie as part of Disney’s Investor Day presentation back in 2020.
Meanwhile, on May 4, 2020, Lucasfilm announced Taika Waititi would co-write and direct a new, “Star Wars” film as well. But, earlier this year, Waititi told TheWrap that he wasn’t all that close to starting work on the movie yet, which is being written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns (“Last Night in Soho”).
“Not this year,” Waititi said when we asked if he’d begin working on the project soon. He explained: “I’m going to be in New Zealand from August until the end of the year with ‘Our Flag Means Death’ and ‘Time Bandits’ and during that time I will still be writing. I’m still trying to figure out what the story is.”
Also in the works is a “Star Wars” movie produced by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, which is being written by “Loki” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” scribe Michael Waldron.
Deadline first reported the news.