Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, a plethora of new Star Wars movies and TV shows have been released. However, as many fans know, there’s also an ever-growing list of unrealized Star Wars projects that never got off the ground for a multitude of reasons (despite Lucasfilm officially announcing many of them). It was only last year when fans learned of another cancelled Star Wars movie: The Hunt for Ben Solo, which would have reunited Adam Driver with his Logan Lucky director Steven Soderbergh. To the chagrin of many, that film is truly dead, but another scrapped Star Wars film has come to light — and this one has found a new lease on life … from a certain point of view.
Speaking with Variety, Paddington 2 writer Simon Farnaby detailed a Star Wars movie he and director Paul King were developing. The film would have been about a droid and didn’t feature legacy franchise characters. “They were like, we really need it to be a Star Wars movie, which is probably why it didn’t get turned into a Star Wars movie!” he said. “But we never really nailed it.”
While King and Farnaby’s idea won’t become part of the galaxy far, far away, it’s morphing into its own thing. “They basically said, it’s not right for Star Wars, but do you want to rework it as a sci-fi film?” Farnaby said. “So we’re working on that now.” Additional details, like a potential production timeline and release date, are unknown for the time being.
While obviously not as massive as something like The Hunt for Ben Solo (which had a completed script that Lucasfilm loved before Disney rejected it), the revelation of King and Farnaby’s scrapped Star Wars movie pitch will likely be a frustrating development for fans. Paddington 2 is one of the most critically acclaimed movies of all time (99% Rotten Tomatoes score with 252 reviews), winning people over with its sincerity, wholesomeness, and King’s distinct visual style. It would have been great to see what King and Farnaby could have done in the massive Star Wars sandbox, especially since their idea was so drastically different than any previous film in the franchise. All of the other Star Wars movies have a human protagonist; this would have elevated droids from supporting player to headliner.
Star Wars is nearly 50 years old. As evidenced by the many movies Lucasfilm has in various states of development, the studio isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon. In order for Star Wars to remain viable in the years to come, Disney and Lucasfilm need to be willing to think outside the box and embrace fresh concepts. Change of the sake of change isn’t necessarily what’s best, but if creative filmmakers like King and Farnaby have a captivating idea for a unique Star Wars movie, the higher-ups shouldn’t turn it down because it doesn’t fit neatly in a box. There was a time when the original Star Wars movie was George Lucas’ weird passion project that didn’t align with traditional Hollywood norms. Capturing a bit of that innovative spirit and challenging the notion of what a “Star Wars movie” can be could do the franchise some good.
Without knowing story details for King and Farnaby’s Star Wars movie, it’s difficult to say with any degree of certainty if Disney made the right call here. On one hand, the Mouse House counts on Star Wars to be a major tentpole franchise, and typically those releases are big-scale action/adventure movies with exciting set pieces. The story of a lone droid making their way through the galaxy might have been a tough sell to general audiences. That said, droids typically rank among the most popular Star Wars characters, as the scene-stealing antics of R2-D2, BB-8, and more can attest. It’s easy to see a scenario where King and Farnaby could have created a new Star Wars droid that would have resonated with audiences, crafting some combination of a special design and an endearing personality. If Pixar can make something like WALL-E work, Lucasfilm likely could have found a way to make King’s Star Wars movie work.
At least King and Farnaby’s idea isn’t completely dead. Disney liked the concept enough to let the duo develop an original sci-fi film. Assuming things go smoothly from here, the project will likely find a home at 20th Century Studios or Searchlight Pictures. Star Wars fans will always wonder what this movie would have looked like in the galaxy far, far away, but a case can be made this was the best result for King and Farnaby. They’ll now have complete creative freedom to tell their own story without worrying about how it fits as a piece of a much larger puzzle.
