Is Damon Lindelof Lucasfilm's Next Jedi?
Is Damon Lindelof Lucasfilm's Next Jedi?
Where there's smoke there's fire as reps won't respond to rumors he's taking on Star Wars
The Transom has been hearing a persistent rumor the past couple of months, and it's a doozy. Word around Buena Vista St. is that Damon Lindelof, the Emmy-winning creator of Watchmen, Lost and The Leftovers, is working on a Star Wars movie for Lucasfilm.
I don't know what it's about, I don't know if he has a co-writer (he might) and I don't know if there's a director attached yet (there might be), so while there isn't always fire where there's smoke, my "Sneidy senses" are tingling.
Back in 2015, on the eve of the Tomorrowland premiere, Lindelof indicated an interest in the Star Wars franchise, but seemed concerned about what fans might think about the move.
“I would certainly never say never, but right now, whether Tomorrowland succeeds or fails, I’m committed to a space of trying to make something more original,” he told THR. "[One] that doesn’t come with the intense focus of ‘Jesus, Lindelof, don’t f— this up, too.’ If it’s an original piece, I f—ed up my own thing, which I’ve also been accused of, mind you. But it would be immensely distracting to the fans, for my name to be involved in the franchise at this stage.”
However, he told Fandom two years ago that he'd be interested in writing a Marvel or Star Wars movie.
"I think that doing something in the Marvel universe, anywhere in the Marvel Universe, would be really potentially exciting for me, especially as they start to get a little more experimental," Lindelof said. "Some of the things that I've seen for WandaVision, for example, just feel like, 'Okay, now we're getting somewhere.' Particularly in a television space."
"And, at some point, but certainly not in the immediate future, I feel like I would love to do something in the Star Wars universe... Maybe a decade from now when I would no longer be blamed for ruining it. That would be a hoot."
Well, according to sources, Lindelof apparently spoke it into existence. Lindelof reps declined to to comment on the rumor while Lucasfilm did not respond to a query, leading one to believe there is fire beneath the smoke here.
News that the controversial writer/producer has his mitts in the Star Wars empire is likely to touch off World War III in the fan world, where the multi-hyphenate is alternately the multi-hypenhate loved and castigated for his past creative choices.
The ominpresent Lindelof produced 2009's Star Trek and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, which he also wrote, also has writing credits on the well-reviewed genre movies World War Z and Prometheus, as well as Blumhouse's controversial thriller The Hunt and the costly flops Tomorrowland and Cowboys & Aliens.
Lately, Lindelof has been busy running a writers room for Peacock's Mrs. Davis with Tara Hernandez, but otherwise, Lindelof has kept a suspiciously low profile since the stunning success of Watchmen. You don't make a piece of television like that and just go work for Peacock. Every big-name writer in town is juggling multiple projects and I'm willing to bet that Lindelof is working on something in secret, something set in a galaxy far, far away...