Damon Lindelof Opens Up About STAR WARS' Identity Crisis and How His Movie Would've Changed the Force

Even with a new Star Wars movie finally hitting theaters this week, Lucasfilm still feels like it’s trying to figure out what the future of the galaxy far, far away actually looks like.

Back at Star Wars Celebration 2023, three new films were announced with plenty of excitement. Three years later, none of them have gained any real momentum publicly, while the projects that have moved forward seem disconnected from each other.

That uncertainty is something Damon Lindelof knows firsthand. The Lost and Watchmen writer recently appeared on House of R to talk about The Mandalorian & Groguand the current state of Star Wars, and eventually the conversation shifted to the project he was removed from.

Lindelof had been developing a film with director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, which was widely believed to be an early version of the Rey-focused New Jedi Order movie set after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Lindelof explained: “They asked me, ‘What do you think a Star Wars movie should be?’ And I said, ‘Here’s what it should be.’ And they said, ‘Great, you’re hired.’ And then two years later, I was fired. And so I was wrong. At least through that prism.

“What we were attempting to do, my partner Justin Britt-Gibson and Rayna McClendon and I, was to have this conversation [that he was currently having on the podcast] in the movie, which is to say there is a force of nostalgia and there is a force of revision and and they are at odds with one another and let’s do the Protestant Reformation inside Star Wars and and it didn’t work. […]

“The conversation that the fandom is having without winking and looking at the audience… that didn’t feel necessarily that risky.”

That’s actually one of the more fascinating descriptions we’ve heard about a cancelled Star Wars project. Lindelof wasn’t trying to simply continue the saga. It sounds like he wanted the movie to wrestle directly with what Star Wars has become, especially the tug-of-war between honoring the past and pushing the franchise somewhere new.

According to Lindelof, the real challenge wasn’t just the script itself. It was trying to define what this era of Star Wars is supposed to be in the first place.

He said: “I may have been fired, they seem to like the premise, just the writing was really hard. It was slow. The tone. Getting it right. Where it was inside of the canon? What its relationship was with to Episode IX? Is it starting a new trilogy? All of those things.

“They’re so massive. They’re so big. It’s sort of the tanker equation which is you turn the wheel and it takes 5 minutes before it turns a little bit like this.”

That sums up modern Star Wars better than almost anything Lucasfilm has officially said in years. Every project feels like it’s carrying the weight of an entire franchise strategy on its shoulders instead of just telling a great story first. But, I think that’s what The Mandalorian and Grogu does so well.

Lindelof also touched on what may be the biggest issue of all: Star Wars no longer has a clear center. He explained:

“When Episode VII came out, we all knew what it was. It was Rey and it was Finn and it was Poe and then we were migrating back in and Luke and Leia and Han and Chewy and all those guys.

“But we got the sense that, when this new trilogy was over, we were going to be launching with these new characters, and that was the center of Star Wars. The new question are Mando and Grogu the center of Star Wars?”

That’s the question Lucasfilm still seems unable to answer. Is the franchise anchored by Rey’s next chapter? Is it all about Din Djarin and Grogu now? Is Lucasfilm building toward something completely different with new characters and filmmakers? There are pieces on the board everywhere, but no obvious direction tying them together.

That lack of focus may explain why Star Wars movies keep stalling while the TV side continues moving ahead. The Disney+ shows have mostly succeeded because they’re allowed to exist in smaller corners of the universe without needing to define the entire future of the franchise.

The films don’t seem to have that luxury. Whether fans agree with Lindelof’s creative approach or not, his comments pull back the curtain on why Star Wars has felt creatively stuck since The Rise of Skywalker.

There’s still passion for the franchise. There are still talented filmmakers eager to jump in. But maybe until Lucasfilm decides what the heart of modern Star Wars actually is, the galaxy is probably going to keep drifting from one project announcement to the next.

I don’t know. I think there is room for multiple stories in Star Wars and it doesn’t need to focus on one thing. That seems very limiting.