In the modern era of Star Wars, far more movies have been rumored than actually made. There’s the Rian Johnson trilogy. One from the Game of Thrones guys. Guillermo del Toro’s Jabba the Hutt idea. The list goes on and on. And, today, we can add another: a droid movie from the guys behind Paddington 2.
We’re talking about Paul King and Simon Farnaby, the directing and writing pair behind both Paddington 2 and Wonka. In a Variety interview promoting Farnaby’s latest project, the writer revealed that after the success of Paddington 2, Lucasfilm came calling with the offer for the pair to do a Star Wars film. They came up with an idea centered on a droid that had none of the other major Star Wars characters in it. It, of course, did not happen.
“So we got distracted by that for a while,” Farnaby said. “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! But we never really nailed it.” He did add, however, that the idea is being reworked and might turn into something non-Star Wars in the future.
For King and Farnaby, it was probably for the best. The duo then went on to make Wonka, which was a huge hit, and now they’re working on a Labubu movie. They’ll be fine. Star Wars, on the other hand, is not.
The Mandalorian and Grogu failed to live up to expectations, and now all hope is pinned on 2027’s Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling. Many, many other projects are in various states beyond that (Simon Kinberg’s trilogy, that Rey movie maybe, Taika Waititi’s movie possibly, James Mangold’s idea potentially) so, hopefully, we get some clarity on that soon. Help us, Dave Filoni. You’re our only hope.
Would you have turned up for a Paul King Star Wars droid movie? Would it have actually made money? Let us know below.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
