‘Lando’: Justin Simien Was Unaware of Being Dismissed From Series, Wishes Glover Brothers Good Luck
News about Justin Simien’s departure from the long-awaited Lando Disney Plus series has caught several off-guard, including, apparently, Simien himself, who learned the news with the rest of us.
When news broke that Donald and Stephen Glover would take over writing duties on the series, the reports suggested that this was a smooth decision worked out well in advance between all parties. Jeff Sneider, who broke the news, said on Thursday’s The Hot Mic podcast that he believed Lucasfilm moved on from Simien after he was caught up on a time-consuming post-production process for Haunted Mansion. This happened last summer, when Donald Glover was finally available after finishing Atlanta for FX.
Apparently, this was not the case exactly, as Simien posted on social media that he learned of the change in plans via Variety‘s Thursday headline. He wrote the following on a no-longer-available Instagram story (hat tip The Direct), in response to a headline announcing his exit:
“This is me finding out rn”
Nonetheless, Simien took the shocking news of his own departure in stride, wishing the Glovers the best of luck as they took a crack at the character of Lando in the same Instagram story:
“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”
You can see a screencap of the Instagram stories below:
As it stands, the Glovers appear to be the sole credited writers on Lando at this time, but we’ll have to wait on the WGA’s ruling once the series comes out. No work is currently being done as Hollywood writers, including them, are on strike. Meanwhile, Justin Simien, who probably joined Disney’s Haunted Mansion once he saw an opening in his schedule while he waited on Glover to finish Atlanta (season 4 aired last September), has finally seen the movie out in theaters this week. But he’ll be busy himself, as he signed on to do a Flashdance reboot for Paramount Plus last year, while Deadline reported earlier this year that he’s also doing a Hollywood Black docuseries with Forest Whitaker, exploring the Black experience in film history, for MGM Plus.
Star Wars: Lando is in development at Disney Plus.
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
