‘Eastern Promises’ Writer Steven Knight To Pen New ‘Star Wars’ Film Following Damon Lindelof’s Exit

Late last year we learned that Damon Lindelof was among a group of writers putting together the story for a new Star Wars movie, the first since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. That film would eventually land Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel), and everything seemed to be good to go. But earlier this week all of that changed when Lindelof and fellow writer Justin Britt-Gibson dropped out, leaving many to wonder if this would be another project shelved by Lucasfilm.

Fortunately, that’s not the case as a new writer has already been found, and it’s at least a lateral move in my opinion. Steven Knight, known for his work on Peaky Blinders, Eastern Promises, Allied, the Princess Diana biopic Spencer, and the Tom Hardy thriller Locke, has come aboard to script Obaid-Chinoy’s Star Wars movie. Variety adds that production is expected to start between now and 2024 so as to have the film ready for the open December 19th 2025 release date. So Knight will need to get crackin’.

There are still no details on what this new movie will be. However, with Star Wars Celebration happening in a couple of weeks that’s where we could finally learn more. Stay tuned.

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.