Steven Knight, best known for penning the award winning BBC series Peaky Blinders, will take over writing duties from Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson for Lucasfilm’s upcoming Star Wars film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
“Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight is set to write the screenplay for the untitled “Star Wars” movie that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”) is attached to direct, as original screenwriters Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson have departed the project, Variety has confirmed.
The movie is widely expected to be among Lucasfilm’s first “Star Wars” films since 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” More information about the movie, including a possible title, is expected to be announced at the Star Wars Celebration in London in April. (A representative for Lucasfilm did not respond to a request for comment.)
Knight is a veteran screenwriter who launched his career specializing in gritty crime dramas like 2002’s “Dirty Pretty Things” and 2007’s “Eastern Promises,” eventually branching out to lighthearted dramedies (2014’s “The Hundred-Foot Journey”), war thrillers (2016’s “Allied”), and biopics (2021’s “Spencer”). He also created and executive produced the BBC period crime drama “Peaky Blinders,” which streams on Netflix in the US.
Lindelof — best known as the co-creator of the TV series “Lost,” “The Leftovers” and “Watchmen” — brought on Britt-Gibson (“Counterpart,” “Into the Badlands”) to write a “Star Wars” movie together. After turning in a draft earlier this year, the duo departed the project in February, becoming the latest creatives to part ways with Lucasfilm after signing on to develop one or multiple new “Star Wars” film projects to great fanfare.
Earlier in March, Variety reported that separate movies — one shepherded by director Patty Jenkins, the other by producer (and Marvel Studios chief) Kevin Feige — had been shelved by Lucasfilm and were no longer in active development. Director J.D. Dillard (“Devotion”) told TheWrap in November 2022 that he was no longer developing a “Star Wars” project at the studio.
A Star Wars film still remains on the schedule for December 2025 and presently we have no idea what that film is likely to be. It could either be the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy directed film or the Taika Waititi film. Here’s hoping we get some Star Wars film news at Celebration Europe 2023 next month.
