Damon Lindelof Departs Upcoming ‘Star Wars’ Movie

Damon Lindelof is jetting out of a galaxy far, far away. “The Leftovers” and “Watchmen” creator will no longer write the screenplay for an upcoming “Star Wars” film, Deadline reports.

Lindelof leaves the project along with his co-writer Justin Britt-Gibson, and a replacement writer has yet to be announced. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, best known for directing episodes of Disney+’s “Ms. Marvel,” reportedly remains set as the director for the film. Plot details for the project remain undisclosed, but will reportedly be announced at Star Wars Celebration next month, from April 7-10.

IndieWire has reached out to Lucasfilm for comment.

The film is still reportedly expected to be one of, if not the first, film from the “Star Wars” franchise to release in theaters since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” Currently, Disney has a slot in its theatrical release calendar for an untitled “Star Wars” film dated for December 19, 2025, but its unclear if it’s Obaid-Chinoy’s feature or another project.

Lindelof is one of several high profile creators attached to film projects in the franchise who have departed or had their projects stall in development; earlier this month, it was reported that Patty Jenkins’ long-delayed “Rogue Squadron” and a film produced by Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige were shelved at Lucasfilm.

Since “Rise of Skywalker,” which debuted to mixed reactions from most critics and fans, and the underperformance of spinoff film “Solo” in 2018, Lucasfilm and Disney have been extremely cautious about bringing the franchise back to cinemas. Aside from Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, two other “Star Wars” films are currently in development at the studio: a film from “Deadpool 3” director Shawn Levy, and a movie directed by and potentially starring “Thor: Love and Thunder’s” Taika Waititi.

The “Star Wars” franchise has instead existed mostly on television since 2019, with Disney+ launching several live-action shows in the universe including “The Mandalorian,” “Andor,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and the upcoming “Ahsoka.” On Monday, it was announced that “Everything Everywhere All at Once” director’s Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert will direct for the upcoming “Star Wars” show “Skeleton Crew.”

As for Lindelof, the acclaimed writer isn’t getting out of sci-fi entirely; his Peacock series “Mrs. Davis” premiered at South By Southwest Film Festival earlier this month and will debut on streaming April 20.

Above the Line was the first to report on the news of Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson’s departure from the “Star Wars” film.