Star Wars: Is Disney+'s Lando Calrissian Series Dead?

For over three years, "Star Wars" fans have waited for the release of "Lando," an in-development Disney+ series starring "Community" and "Atlanta" favorite Donald Glover reprising the role from the 2018 film "Solo: A Star Wars Story." It's been a long road for them — but it's been an ever longer road for Justin Simien, who was originally brought on to develop the series. "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," Simien admitted to The Direct in July 2023. "So I don't know, I have no idea what's going on with it."

In 2013, ahead of the release of his directorial debut "Dear White People," the former Hollywood PR manager was named by Variety as one of their "10 Directors to Watch." Ten years later, the eyes watching him most keenly are likely those of the executives at Walt Disney Studios. Simien's largest project as of the time of writing is "Haunted Mansion," a $150 million adaptation of a theme park attraction.

Ten days before "Haunted Mansion's" wide release, Simien said of the "Star Wars" spin-off series, "I certainly poured my heart and spent a lot of time working with them to put together a really great show. It feels like everybody loves it." 

Details later emerged that, if true, mean the long-gestating Disney+ "Lando" series is very much still alive — even if Simien's vision for it is not.

As reported by Above the Line, Justin Simien is allegedly no longer working on "Lando," with the series apparently set to be written by brothers and creative partners Donald and Stephen Glover. The duo worked together extensively on both "Atlanta" and "Swarm," with Stephen Glover specifically penning fifteen episodes for the former, including the harrowing and critically acclaimed episode "Three Slaps."

There was no clear answer as to why Simien is out and the Glovers are in, but Above the Line did stress in their reporting that the brothers were brought on before the WGA strike began. No matter the reason, if the reporting is true, then it would sound like not only is "Lando" alive and well, but it may finally be getting ready to blast off into production once the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes end.