With Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron seemingly falling apart after "creative differences" with Lucasfilm, it was starting to look like we might not get a new Star Wars movie for the foreseeable future. After all, neither Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige nor Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi's respective films appear close to becoming a reality.
However, after recent rumours that Lost and Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof is tackling a big screen Star Wars project for the studio, that's now been confirmed by Deadline.
The trade reports that Lindelof is developing the movie with Ms. Marvel's Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy now set to direct. The prolific scribe is co-writing the untitled project, though there's no word on who his writing partner is.
While this all sounds rather exciting, it's best to temper expectations for the time being. While this Star Wars movie is clearly close to becoming a reality, insiders reveal that the script is still being written, likely meaning this one is a long way off from starting production.
It's said that, "sources add it was important to Lucasfilm and Lindelof that a director be brought on so that person’s own vision for where they see this story headed gets included in the script."
Needless to say, we have zero plot details as of right now, but it does sound like this one is moving along far quicker than those being worked on by Feige (who has tapped Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron to pen the script) and Waititi. The latter is teaming up with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917) on his script.
As noted, Obaid-Chinoy directed a number of episodes of Ms. Marvel, but is also known for her Oscar-winning documentary shorts Saving Face and A Girl in the River, The Price of Forgiveness. She was also recently tapped to helm Paramount's Brilliance starring Will Smith.
Stay tuned for updates on this one as we have them.