Summary
Losing theStar Wars: Landoshow was truly painful for its former showrunner. Disney originally expected Donald Glover‘s Lando Calrissian to star in a show of his own, led by showrunner Justin Simien (Dear White People, Haunted Mansion).Landolikely would have been a prequeltaking a similar angle to the movie that Glover’s version of the character was introduced in,Solo: A Star Wars Story. Disney and Lucasfilm have recently shifted to include even more similarities, as the show has been canceled in favor of a movie intended to cover the same topic.
While Donald Glover is still attached to the project, Simien is no longer in charge. In an interview withCollider, Simien explained that he truly struggled after discovering that he would not be leading a portion of theStar Warsuniverse. He described discovering the news “when I read it in the trades”, though he admits that “the writing was super on the wall”, and was thrust into a grieving process and struggled in the aftermath of his discovery. Check out his full explanation below:
For me, the answer is that you have to really face it. It is true grief. I’ve never had a child, I’ve never lost a child, but it’s what I imagine that pain might be like. You pour so much of your heart and soul into something, but ultimately, you don’t have control over whether it lives or dies, and it is a true grieving process. For me, it has to be done, pretty straight-on, like, “I am in grief. I do not feel good.” I have to let myself feel those feelings. There’s so much that I experience that I get to keep forever and take into the next project. I can’t obviously take the storyline or the IP or the characters, but there’s so much more that I got, as a maker, and that’s mine. Sorry, it’s too late, you can’t take that part back.
Last Reports Suggest The Lando TV Show Is Now A Movie
The Movie Is In Developmental Hell
Simien’s dream was to seeLandoas a TV show withinthe widerStar Warsuniverse. Recent months, however, have seen that plan change, asDonald and Stephen Glover are now in chargeof the project and have developed it into a movie, which will be spun off fromSolo. It is only the most recent development for a project that was first announced in 2020 and has been trapped in development hell ever since. Despite a bible and scripts having already been put together, the shift represents a new start for the project.
Upcoming Star Wars Shows: Story, Casts & Everything We Know
Several exciting Star Wars TV shows are set to be released on Disney+ in the coming years from the realm of both live-action and animation.
The SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes of 2023 presented a major stall and came shortly after Simien was removed from the show, leaving the Glovers as the lead writers. During the strike, it was practically impossible to continue developing the script and move into production, which is likely what gave the Glover brothers the opportunity to shift direction to a movie. Since that decision,the movie has been developing slowlyand little news has emerged about its progress. With so manyStar Warsmovies in progress, there are not many places on the schedule for it.
The movie represents another problem for Disney, asGlover is currently developing multiple projects. He is involved in production forMufasa: The Lion King,Bando Stone & The New World, andCommunity: The Movie, while hisAmerican Dream: The 21 Savage Storyremains in post-production. Glover will need to run the marketing circuit for each of those projects, which means less time to produceStar Wars: Lando. It remains in developmental limbo, which is undoubtedly contributing to Simien’s grief.
Lando
Cast
Lando is an action sci-fi film written by Donald Glover and Stephen Glover, with Donald also reprising his role as the titular rogue. Originally conceived as a television series, the show was converted into a film in 2024, with Donald Glover maintaining creative control for the film’s vision.
