After Years of Speculation, A ‘Lost’ Reboot Might Be in the Works
We have to go back? Ten years after the Lost castaways “moved on together” in the emotional series finale, the ABC drama may be pulling a John Locke and getting a second life.
According to We Got This Covered sources, discussions about a Lost reboot are afoot. Nothing is final, the site cautions, but the prospective reboot would be “more mature” and would likely crash-land on a streaming service.
This report might seem like a baseless rumor, but the same sources previously teased that the Transformers film franchise was getting rebooted and that Ahsoka Tano would be a part of The Mandalorian Season 2, and in both cases, the scoop seems to have proven accurate.
Talk of a Lost reboot has circulated for years, though ABC is usually mentioned as the new version’s home. “I think it’s likely that at some point, ABC will want to reboot Lost because it’s a valuable franchise, and there will be some young, bright writer or writers who will come up with a great idea that the network responds to, and that’ll be great,” Lost showrunner Carlton Cuse speculated in a 2014 Entertainment Weekly interview.
In 2017, showrunner Damon Lindelof told the magazine he hopes any Lost reboot would focus on new characters. “Carlton and I always said that we welcome any future crack at the [intellectual property]. Lost was bigger than us and bigger than [co-creator] J.J. [Abrams]. There’s something really exciting about the fact that George Lucas sold the Star Wars universe and now the people who grew up watching it are making it. Maybe the same thing could be said for Lost.”
A year later, then-ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey revealed to TVLine that the network hadn’t had any “official discussions” about rebooting Lost but that the idea is “on a list of ‘wouldn’t that be great if…’”
Dungey left her ABC post in late 2018, and her successor, Karey Burke, enthused about a Lost update just months later. “Yes, I would like that very much,” Burke said at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in February 2019. “That is a reboot I would be interested in seeing.”
At the time, we covered the widespread backlash to the prospect. “You can’t recreate the hype around Lost, at least not around a reboot of the series,” wrote The Mary Sue’s Kate Gardner. “That phenomenon usually occurs around a new show that captures the zeitgeist in a fresh, unique way.”
Jean Higgins, who was an executive producer on the show, agrees. “I don’t know if you could do it again,” she told Observer this May. “It’s lightning in a bottle … Leave it alone. Let it be what it was. It was fabulous, it was wonderful. It was, I think, life-changing for a number of people.”
And much like her character, Kate Austen, actress Evangeline Lilly doesn’t want to return to the island. “For the most part, I don’t usually love [reboots],” she told EW in 2018. “I feel like it’s just tainting something that’s precious. I’ve said I don’t want to do things in the past and I’ve done them—you know, never say never—but sitting where I am today, my assumption is no.”
A Lost reboot could serve as a worthy successor to the Emmy-winning series. The most recent Star Trek film series, another entry on J.J. Abrams’ filmography, cleverly introduced an alternate timeline to both pay homage to, and free itself from, the Star Trek canon. An innovative storyteller might be able to do the same for Lost, but it’d be a tall order.
If it’s any consolation for puristic Losties, at least it’s a reboot that’s reportedly in the discussions stage, not a revival. The original Lost was divisive, but for all of its perceived flaws, it told a complete story, ending with the very finite “The End.” A successor would have to forge into new territory instead of retreading the past and trying to redo the original mysteries. Take it from Daniel Faraday: Whatever happened, happened.
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G
What if Walt, Aaron, Clementine, Ji Yeon, and young Charlie, and Julian are brought together and return to the island? I’d check that out!!
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C
The reason Lost was so great was because they made you fall in love with every character, even the ones you didnt want to like. If they can capture that again it will be great.
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O
I loved this show so much, id love to see some kind of reboot, like what happened with Hurley and Ben, maybe somekind of new people with new adventures with maybe a return of Locke or Jack....
16 1
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G
Lost was the best TV show there ever has, or ever will be. It was just perfect. The ending was perfect, and there were no unresolved questions. If you paid attention, everything was explained and wrapped up properly. I'd love to see something along the lines of Ben and Hurley's time as island protectors, but I'm not sure about a full reboot.
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S
Lost is the ultimate unresolved cliffhanger in some ways,the Island is still there after the show and there is also prequel opportunities.What I think would be difficult is either the same characters or the same characters at a later date who return etc,to get all those people back seems unlikely and recasting seems as unlikely so my bet is it would be all new people and storylines.That universe can be worked to fit almost any possibility.
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O
The ending was great. You simply did not understand what was going on the entire time, or wanted a different ending. What did you expect to happen? Magical fairies, or everyone was dreaming the whole story>??
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O
I understood it and it was horrible and by ending I mean the whole final season, you dont understand how bad it was
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P
Didn't Hurley and Locke stay behind on the island? There's your premise for a years later reboot!
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P
Hurley and Ben stayed behind...it would be kind of interesting to see what happened with them. But I Think I’d be more interested in seeing some of the stuff that happened waaaaayyy before Oceanic 815 crashed
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O
Easily could do a show about Ben & Hurley still on the island and at the same time dig into the DeGroots, Hanso and Dharma Initiative
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C
The biggest problem a reboot would have is that LOST thrived on the mysteries that were slowly revealed, and even though many people complained that a lot of the loose ends were never resolved, the truth is that most of them were revealed and explained.
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O
I agree the first season, was nearly magical. But it was also our first introduction to "Everything" and the mystery was just beginning to unfold. Sometimes the mystery is Far more important than the solution or answer. This is the case with lost. WE had no idea if the island was real, if they were dead, if there was some crazy island hidden from the world or what was going on. We tend to create our own answers, and if they are not what the show goes with, we feel it is wrong. I agree the later seasons got a bit incoherent at times also. I think 4 seasons would have been enough for sure, and the writers strike messed up things quite a bit also.
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B
We got this covered is compete fake trash. Even James Gunn has called them out for untrue news
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O
Lost was one of the best tv shows ever if they do a reboot they better not screw it up like they have with Star Trek
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G
Put it on HBO and surround the story around Walt and Aaron being drawn back to the island. (Hurley and Ben are now the MIB and Jacob.)
Play that fantastic LOST music!
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R
Two words: Frozen Donkeywheel.
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B
It would be easy and wise to go back
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G
Alex, Walt was not resolved
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B
What if they all walk out of the church into the light but it just transports them right back to the island?! And Hurley has become corrupted and is the new man in black while Ben is the new Jacob. And the reason they're back is because of Ben needing them but Hurley deceives them?
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G
I loved lost, understood the whole thing but quite frankly the ending seemed rushed. It made sense but I feel as though they could of done it better. The whole show was very slow, we spent atleast3 episodes with out even knowing why they were clicking a button and now all in the last episode too many things were wrapped up. They should of spread it out more. I was not a fan of the ending or the last season.
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P
Just keep the flashbacks to a minimum please! And, the flash forwards! But, I'll be front and center for a reboot!
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J
The first season was terrific, the second was good too, but then it "lost" its way and meandered into incoherence. If the previous showrunners are involved in any reboot, I can only hope they learned their lesson from prior mistakes.
3 11
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O
the last season was horrible
3 14
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O
I won't watch it anyway, but don't really see the point.
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R
LOST was ruined by the ending. One of the worst endings ever. I refuse to ever watch it again.
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