I know I am sort of taking this from Mandy Bierly's article from Entertainment Weekly in which she ponders what the cast of Lost will do afterward. With only one episode left until the grand finale of one of television's most exciting and amazing shows, one wonders what is going to become of the many important touchstones that exist within Lost. This includes the cast, the creators, and the legacy of the show itself. Where will it all be in the years following the climax of the original series. Well no one really knows for sure, but let me tell you what I think.
J.J. ABRAMS
The show's very notorious co-creator, writer and director J.J. Abrams. Eh, there is not much to say, seeing as how he pretty much moved on from Lost after the pilot episode. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have said that throughout the series, Abrams' biggest contribution was being one of Lost's top fans. While his second genius series, next to Alias, flourished, Abrams spent his time as director of the action adventure films Mission Impossible 3 and Star Trek, creator of another successful sci fi series Fringe, and producer of the science fiction thriller Cloverfield. He is also in the middle of weaving up his next mysterious science fiction thriller Super 8, which I am really looking forward to at this point. So yeah, the future of J.J. Abrams is looking pretty sunny.
DARLTON
Lost's main writers and producers, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, will not be looking for a great deal of work after completing Lost, apparently. Can't blame them really. After a strenuous and intricate six year saga I'd want to take a load off in my own fortress of solitude for just a little while too. It was rumored that Team Darlton and J.J. Abrams were going to adapt Stephen King's glorious fantasy series The Dark Tower (I would have orgasmed). But seeing as how The Dark Tower is a seven book series, Damon and Carlton didn't really want to take that big of a chunk out of their lives again for fear they may screw it up. It would have been freaking awesome though. But I'm sure they will have more work in the future, because they are talented as hell.
THE CAST
I am not the first to admit that Lost has one of the most incredible ensemble casts ever put together. We have veterans like Matthew Fox from Part of Five playing Jack and journeyman actor Terry O'Quinn in the Emmy winning role of John Locke. From The Practice (which he won an Emmy for) and Saw, Michael Emerson plays Ben. Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim (Sun and Jin), Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Nestor Carbonell (Richard), Ken Leung (Miles), and Mark Pelligrino (Jacob), who have been given small or supporting roles in movies and television beforehand, now have epic roles and brilliant performances. Talented newcomers Josh Holloway (Sawyer) and Evangeline Lilly (Kate) show their chops and have prospered greatly. Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) even once played Jesus...And a Scarface-esque druglord in Hitman, but still. And a wealth of other familiar faces appear to give us all fresh and exciting characters. They are all extraordinary actors who were brought on to a show that was almost universally character driven and made way for depth, great stories, and marvelous acting. But where will they go once Lost is all said and done.
The commentors on Ms. Bierly's EW article have a great many ideas: Josh Holloway, Michael Emerson, maybe the entire cast of Lost being on True Blood. Sawyer and Miles in a buddy cop spinoff show. Terry O'Quinn on Glee or just about anything else. Yunjin Kim as a Bond girl. Matthew Fox in dad roles. Michael Emerson on Dexter as a rival killer, Breaking Bad as a badass cop, or The Office. Jorge Garcia in a spot on Saturday Night Live. Naveen Andrews or Henry Ian Cusick on 24 (if it was still on). Lots of ideas like that.
Where do I think they'll be, though: Hopefully they all branch off into either films or television roles that are just as good as Lost. Or at least shows that strive to be as good as Lost. Actors Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly are apparently retiring from acting for awhile for personal reasons, but hopefully just for awhile. Hopefully their work as pretty much the male and female leads of the show will inspire lead movie roles in the future should they choose to get back in the game. The thought occured to me that Josh Holloway could play Jesse Custer in an adaptation of the awesome graphic novel series Preacher, seeing as how he's already mastered the badass southerner very well. Daniel Dae Kim is already getting movie roles and I hope to see him more frequently, even one alongside Samuel L. Jackson. The thought crossed my mind that Jorge Garcia and Naveen Andrews could be in a buddy comedy together, I always liked the immediate friendship of their characters on the show = regretful, stoic Iraqi man meets easy going, lovable nice guy. I also wouldn't mind Yunjin Kim as the leading lady in a James Bond movie, or maybe more serious roles. Either way they go, their futures in the business will more than likely be promising.
O'QUINN AND EMERSON REUNION
Perhaps the two most beloved actors on Lost, Terry O'Quinn (Locke) and Michael Emerson (Ben), may be brought to the small screen again. It has been said that O'Quinn has been developing his own idea for a series that he has been passing around stations to possibly get a run. The show would apparently be about O'Quinn and Emerson starring as "awkward suburban hitmen." That sounds like an interesting dark comedy idea, and with these two award winning powerhouses behind it, I probably wouldn't mind checking it out. But then again, I'd say these two are pretty much set if the show does or doesn't get picked up. Terry O'Quinn has been acting on television and movies since the early 80s, appearing in one of Star Trek's sequel series' as well as garnering acclaim as the deranged killer in the original film The Stepfather, and now having played the pivotal and famous role of John Locke maybe he can move into larger film roles. Michael Emerson is a sophisticated actor and is tremendous even in small roles like Saw or on The Practice, just watching one scene of that could make it clear to anyone that he is an impressive actor and his role as Benjamin Linus only strengthened that impression. Right now we've all got high hopes for this dynamic duo.
LOST ITSELF
Team Darlton has made it clear that, even if they are not involved, there is bound to be something in the future with a Lost label on it. It is not something that just comes along, becomes one of the most epic things ever, and goes away never to be brought up again. I predict there will most likely be some sort of spin off like former genius George Lucas did to his glorious Star Wars saga. Yeah, I don't want to be seeing my kids watching an animated show called Lost: The Island Wars on Saturday mornings and thinking it is the greatest thing ever...well unless I really love my kids which I probably will. A friend, my best friend actually, told me that they were making a movie out of Lost, an idea which he thought was good. Of course, my best friend has not watched Lost (only the first disc of season 1) so I don't put to much stock in this supposed fact. That and I really think making Lost into a movie is the worst idea for it, unless you were going to chuck out whatever saga and mystery there is to Lost. If anything they could make more spin off novels for it. I can see reading a book in which the story pertained to Lost (the missing years of the Dharma Initiative, the missing years of Jacob's life on the Island and his failed candidates, whole story arcs from the main characters past we may have missed, or whole new character stories in general). Books could work. I know as well that they are more than likely going to make something else with Lost further down the road. But if it's bad, I can take comfort in the fact that it will never grasp the magic and excitement of watching the genuine Lost, a lot like Star Wars.
Only one episode left and then we see what it all meant. Well, I will hold out for as much as they can give us. And I will eat it with a spoon!
This has been another late spectulative Lost post from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.
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