It was in July when news of Star Wars series-turned-movie Lando moving ahead with new writers Donald Glover and his brother Stephen came to the fore. But the announcement came along with a troubling development that the previous writer Justin Simien wasn’t informed he had been replaced. Now, in a recent interaction with Wrap, Justin maintains he still hasn’t heard from Disney about his replacement. The Dear White People fame claims he learned about the new writers through reports that he saw on social media. “It was and remains the only official word I ever heard about my involvement in the project,” he said.
Justin Simien admits he did get an appraisal of the script he wrote. However, the studio otherwise hadn’t been in touch with him. He went on to compare the Lando situation with director Guillermo del Toro and his Star Wars movie that was later shelved. For those unaware, Guillermo was originally recruited to be a part of The Rise and Fall of Jabba the Hutt. Later in October, he reportedly shared that the film will likely not be made.
“There’s a pattern, isn’t there? And at least I’m not alone in this situation,” he said. Although Justin doesn’t exactly know the situation that Guillermo del Toro faced, the writer cannot fathom the idea of learning about such replacements online.
“I don’t know why anybody would sign up for that again, to sort of like pour your heart and soul into something, and then to wait for several years, and then find out in an article that someone else is doing it,” he added. If given a chance to write for Lando again, Justin says that he wouldn’t want to do it because it won’t be “fun” for him now.
Notably, when he first saw news reports that Glovers were the new “Lando writers after Justin Simien’s exit” in July, Justin re-shared the announcement on his official Instagram stories. “This is me finding out right now,” he captioned the post. If the previous online updates are anything to go by, it does confirm he only learned about the Lando changes online.
Justin Simien hailed Donal Glover as a “national treasure” adding he’ll root for the brothers as a fan. “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,” he wrote in another Instagram story.
Disney is yet to announce the release date of the Lando movie.
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