Damon Lindelof Star Wars movie can undo J.J. Abrams’ biggest mistake
What could the man behind Lost and Watchmen bring to Star Wars?
The Star Wars universe could be getting a lot more mysterious. Damon Lindelof, co-creator of Lost and showrunner of the short-lived Watchmen series, could be developing a Star Wars film, according to a leak from The Ankler. But what could we expect from a Star Wars adventure with the Crown Prince of Mystery Boxes? We took our best guess, but knowing Damon Lindelof the best course of action is to expect the unexpected.
Unlike some filmmakers, Damon Lindelof doesn’t really have a core group of actors he goes to again and again, but in his work he’s either launched the careers of the actors he’s cast or selected some contemporary top talent. Take Watchmen. The 2019 series was a gamble, but the cast was chock full of all-star skills.
Renowned actors like Don Johnson and Regina King got large roles, but unsung heroes like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Judith Light stole scenes and are now raking in the awards. We can probably expect to see a similar casting approach to his Star Wars film, and maybe some career TV actors will make the jump to the big screen.
Damon Lindelof and the star-studded cast of Watchmen.
That said, don’t expect to see many familiar faces from Lost in an upcoming Star Wars movie. Dominic Monaghan, who played Charlie in Lost, was already given a cameo role in The Rise of Skywalker courtesy of Lindelof’s old Lost colleague J.J. Abrams. Fellow Lost breakout Evangeline Lilly has her hands full with her Marvel role and the fallout from her hot takes on vaccines. The most likely candidates for a Lindelof Star Wars role are Matthew Fox and Josh Holloway, who have relatively open schedules.
J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof are longtime collaborators, seen here at the 2005 Saturn Awards.
Regardless of who stars in Lindelof’s stories, the question of what the scripts will contain is probably the most pressing. Along with J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof revolutionized the “mystery box” model of supernatural storytelling, and Star Wars could be an excellent venue for that approach.
But however much discourse J.J. Abrams sparked with his Star Wars decisions, a Damon Lindelof Star Wars movie would only be more contentious. Still, his recent take on a landmark sci-fi story, the HBO Watchmen series, was polarizing but generally considered a success. Considering his old collaborator’s less fruitful Star Wars decisions, maybe Lindelof is what Star Wars needs to get it back to the twisty-turny space opera story that made it so popular in the first place.
