For the most part, Lindelof and Cuse were able to joke around questions like “Did Hurley leave the island to see the new Star Wars trilogy?,” and whether Lindelof would make Hurley’s yearly golf tournament on the Island (“the DHARMA invitational”) canon post-airing by decree. Like any Lost gathering, even a digital one, there were very specific questions about the lore of the show, from debated contradictions to things that were left unanswered. He noted it’s possible a new Lost could also be a lot more vulgar, as the showrunners said the scripts for the episodes were littered with “the F word” to add emphasis. The ebb and flow of suspense, action, and character work all had to peak just before commercial. “We wrote to those act breaks,” said Cuse, by which he means the commercial breaks.

A fan asked the writers what would be different if Lost was a 2020 show made for binging and streaming and Cuse pointed out the show would be completely different.

The first three seasons of Lost have over 22 episodes each, while in comparison, Lindelof just won an Emmy for Watchmen, a story told in nine episodes. In May 2010, after six seasons, they didn’t totally crash the plane with the finale, titled “The End.” Lindelof reminded everyone that back in the first decade of the new millennium, the idea that a primetime network show with good ratings would be allowed to end was a new one. Once they knew that the television viewing public could dislike something they thought was perfect, they were prepared to bring Lost in for a controversial landing. The two Lost bosses thought the finale was pure genius and had to be told that the reaction of the public was mixed.

But the panel focused on more the ending, with Lindelof reminiscing about when he and Cuse watched the finale of David Chase’s The Sopranos, with the now infamous cut to black over Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Abrams’ house in 2004 to watch the pilot episode of Lost. The panel was pre-recorded a full 16 years since Cuse and Lindelof gathered at producer-director J.J. By the end, the two showrunners claimed to have now answered every question anyone could possibly want to know. Moderator Josh Horowitz of MTV asked pressing fan questions to the two creators about a number of Lost-related topics. In this case, the two returned to comment on the Island once again at the 2020 New York Comic Con Metaverse. Just like Jack Shephard at the conclusion of Lost season 3, executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof had to go back.

Lost & found oliver jeffers