Last week Damon Lindelof explained how hard it was to write a great Star Wars movie, and now it seems like he is not going to deliver any Star Wars movie. As the saga of where Star Wars goes next continues, a new report has said that both Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson have stepped away from the project that is set to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and hit cinemas in December 2025. According to Above the Line, the film is still aiming to start filming early in 2024 for its 2025 premiere, and has already acquired its new writer.

The report says that Lindelof and Britt-Gibson handed in a first draft script last month and apparently exited the project just a few days later. This would possibly explain why Lindelof was reluctant to say too much when appearing at SXSW recently. At the time he said:

"I will just say, that for reasons that I can't get into on this Sunday morning, on this day, the degree of difficulty is extremely, extremely, extremely high. If it can't be great, it shouldn't exist. That's all I'll say, because I have the same association with it as you do, which is, it's the first movie I saw sitting in my dad's lap, four years old, May of '77. I think it's possible that sometimes when you hold something in such high reverence and esteem, you start to get in the kitchen and you just go, 'Maybe I shouldn't be cooking. Maybe I should just be eating.' We'll just leave it at that point."

Related: Star Wars: 11 Characters That Should Jump from TV to the Movies

Are Expectations of What A Star Wars Movie Should Be Killing The Franchise?

Star Wars a New Hope
20th Century Fox

As has been proven many times over, finding the right balance in a Star Wars movie is something that at times appears to be impossible. While even Return of the Jedi comes under some criticism, both the prequel movies and sequel trilogy have been as panned as they are loved, with only Rogue One standing out from the crowd for being pretty much everything that other Star Wars movies are not.

Recently, Lucasfilm’s Star Wars output has been completely focused on Disney+ shows like The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well as a number of new animated shows. However, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has made it clear that the future of Star Wars is big screen adventures. The only problem seems to be getting someone on board to see it through.

Recently the list of possible projects has been drastically cut down, with offerings from Kevin Feige, Patty Jenkins and Rian Johnson all seeming to have bit the dust. While somewhere in the background Taika Waititi is said to still be moving forward with his script for a new Star Wars story, whether it ever comes through is yet to be seen. For many fans of the franchise, this continues a long-standing trend, where many possible projects come and go and those that do get made are then torn apart by the fan base. So the question now really should be, does anyone really want to take on a Star Wars project?