A Star Wars showrunner just found out that Lucasfilm fired him from his upcoming series on Disney+ in quite an unfortunate manner.
It's no secret that Star Wars has struggled to maintain connections with its creatives in recent years, with more than a dozen major names having left their projects behind since Disney purchased and absorbed Lucasfilm.
Whether it's Disney and Lucasfilm moving in a different direction or the creatives themselves leaving their work behind, the franchise hasn't had an easy time with stability behind the scenes.
Lucasfilm Let Go of Star Wars Showrunner
News recently broke that, at some point before the WGA strike began in May 2023, Lando's originally-announced head writer/showrunner Justin Simien was no longer attached to develop the series.
Donald Glover and his brother, Stephen, were revealed to have boarded Lando to take over as the writers for the upcoming Disney+ show.
Shortly after the report dropped, Simien shared an image of Lando along with the report, noting that this was his first time hearing he had been removed from the project to be replaced by Glover.
He also shared a second post with the same image, congratulating the Glover brothers and admitting that he's looking forward to seeing their work on the hero:
"Donald is a national treasure. Glad he and Stephen get to carry the character forward their way. Can’t wait to see. Rooting for everybody Black."
This also comes after Simien revealed in an exclusive interview with The Direct that he hadn't gotten any updates on the show's progress since it was first confirmed at Disney Investor Day 2020.
Simien even told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on July 27, just hours before the news of Glover's signing broke, that, at least as far as he knew, he was still "attached" to the project but hadn't heard anything in a while:
"I am attached, I think, but I don’t really know. (Laughs.) The last thing I was told was that they loved it but needed to put a pin in it until they could figure out everybody’s availability. I haven’t investigated further, but I’m not an idiot. I’m not alone in that experience. But I can’t help but wonder, “Am I too Black? Am I too queer? And people just don’t want to say that?” Because it seems like I develop things with these companies and they just never happen for reasons unknown."
When Will Lando Arrive on Disney+?
Even with Donald Glover having completed his most recent work for a cameo role in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, he remains one of the busiest men in Hollywood, leaving Lando's release up in the air for now.
Additionally, with no signs pointing to when the writers' and actors' strikes will actually be over, Glover wouldn't even be able to begin any work on the series until new deals are in place for him and his fellow Hollywood stars.
Outside of a comeback as Troy Barnes in the upcoming Community movie and a spy comedy from Amazon based on 2005's Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Glover's schedule will largely be decided by the outcome of these strikes.
And with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy even admitting in May 2022 that Glover holds all the cards with regard to when he can start his work, he is now more important to the series' success than many initially predicted.
Currently, Lando stands without a Disney+ release date.
