As director Justin Simien started to promote Haunted Mansion, based on the popular Disney World theme park attraction, he was inevitably asked about the status of Lando. Simien was attached to develop the Disney+ series, which would see the return of Donald Glover‘s take on the character from Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Unfortunately, Simien didn’t have much to offer in the way of an update for Lando. He cited the widespread industry delays caused by the COVID pandemic as an understandable reason.
“I certainly poured my heart and spent a lot of time working with them to put together a really great show,” Simien told The Direct earlier in the month. “It feels like everybody loves it. And, you know, I was told we had to put a pause on it because of scheduling, and the next update I got [was in 2020], some years ago. So I don’t know, I have no idea what’s going on with it.”
Simien also made similar remarks to Uproxx, but a new report paints a different picture of what’s been happening behind the scenes. According to Above the Line (via Hollywood Reporter), Simien left Lando last summer, which prompted Lucasfilm to reach out to Glover and his brother Stephen, who have both taken over writing duties for the show:
The siblings agreed to board the project together, and their take is said to have Lucasfilm brass excited.
It’s worth noting that the Glovers’ involvement has been top-secret for months, as they signed on well before the WGA strike and haven’t performed any work on the project since writers took to the picket lines on May 2.
Above the Line writes that Simien’s diplomatic answers about the status of Lando was “likely” the director “not wanting to make waves on the eve of his new film’s premiere in theaters.”
(Via The Direct, Above The Line)