There was a brief period of time after the rights to the Star Wars franchise were first sold to Walt Disney Pictures where it seemed the possibilities for the franchise were endless. With talented filmmakers like Rian Johnson, J.J. Abrams, and Gareth Edwards helming new installments in the franchise, any great director had the potential to play in the galaxy far, far away. Unfortunately, things changed rather quickly for the series. Directors like Josh Trank and Colin Trevorrow were fired from their projects, and a number of filmmakers had their announced projects permanently sent to development hell. In a recent interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Batman Begins screenwriter David S. Goyer revealed that he had developed a project for the horror maestro Guillermo del Toro. Details about their project are secretive, but del Toro dropped a few messages on X that suggested which Star Wars character he wanted to showcase.
Guillermo Del Toro and David S. Goyer Planned a Jabba the Hutt Movie
Image via 20th Century Fox
Goyer revealed that he began working on an unproduced Star Wars script centering on Jabba the Hutt shortly after the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. During this period of time, Rogue One’s financial success encouraged Lucasfilm to continue working on new Star Wars spinoff movies headed straight for theaters. This policy radically changed after the failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story at the box office. The Han Solo origin story directed by Ron Howard and starring Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Glover failed to attract audiences, and Lucasfilm shelved many projects that were in development. Projects like the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett solo films were instead developed for television, and the success of The Mandalorian on Disney+ encouraged Lucasfilm to continue expanding its streaming arm.
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Goyer stated that “there was a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on at Lucasfilm at the time,” and that the script was “cool.” Although Goyer revealed that “a lot of cool artwork” from it was produced, the project never moved forward. Del Toro, who had recently won the Academy Award for both Best Picture and Best Director for his 2017 romantic fantasy film The Shape of Water, instead moved on to direct the critically acclaimed remake of Nightmare Alley. The 2021 horror film may have been a financial disappointment but still managed to earn del Toro generous praise from both film critics and award season voters. Outside of seeming to confirm that the script was centered on the gangster Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, del Toro has been rather tight-lipped about his potential involvement.
Guillermo del Toro Could Breathe New Life Into Star Wars
Image via Disney+
It’s unfortunate that the Star Wars franchise no longer seems to be interested in pursuing idiosyncratic directors with distinct visions for what they want to do with the saga. With the exception of Andor, the most recent Star Wars projects like Ahsoka have largely conformed to the same style that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have used with The Mandalorian. While Favreau and Filoni certainly played an important role in reigniting passion for the Star Wars franchise in the aftermath of The Rise of Skywalker’s critical failure, they should not have a monopoly on what a Star Wars story looks like. Del Toro may not have made a Star Wars movie that fit within the parameters of the “Mando-verse,” and that’s completely okay!
Del Toro’s films frequently center on misunderstood monsters, so it makes sense that he would be interested in doing a story about Jabba the Hutt. Although Jabba is mostly regarded as a villain in Star Wars, some moments in the expanded universe have hinted at his more empathetic qualities. The 2008 animated feature film Star Wars: The Clone Wars even revealed that he has a young son, Rotta, who he planned to give control of his powerful criminal empire. If del Toro was able to make a movie about “fish sex” that won the Academy Award for Best Picture, he wouldn’t have any issues getting Star Wars fans to relate to a giant space slug.
Del Toro’s aptitude for practical visual effects also fits perfectly within the Star Wars universe. Although shows like Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett have relied too heavily on “the volume” technology to bring to life their environments, del Toro has always brought a detailed amount of craftsmanship to his films. The visual blandness that has infected the Star Wars franchise is something he could easily overcome; even del Toro’s worst films have a hand-made quality to them that makes them look absolutely beautiful. “Worst films” might even be too strong of a statement, as Guillermo del Toro’s movie track record is relatively spotless compared to other directors who have as many projects under their belt. His recent success with the Netflix version of Pinocchio proved that he could reinvent well-known stories and show them from a different perspective.
Guillermo del Toro Never Got To Make ‘Hellboy 3’
Image via Sony Pictures
Although del Toro’s inability to develop a Star Wars spinoff is deeply unfortunate, it’s sadly not the first time that one of his ambitious projects was placed in development hell. Del Toro famously never got to make Hellboy 3, even though the first two installments in the franchise were critically acclaimed. The studio paid the price for not fully investing in del Toro’s unique vision when it decided to move forward with a Hellboy reboot in 2019 with David Harbour. Although 2019’s Hellboy earned the R-rating that had eluded del Toro’s films, it was a complete critical and financial disaster that essentially soiled any goodwill for the character.
Del Toro was also set to direct The Hobbit before Peter Jackson stepped in as the trilogy’s new director. Although details about del Toro’s involvement in the films are scarce, he surely would have brought a level of visual inventiveness to the series that Jackson’s films lacked. Among the most glaring issues with The Hobbit trilogy was their reliance on computer-generated imagery. This likely would not have been an issue if del Toro was in charge, as he’s frequently shown that he can seamlessly balance visual imagery with practical effects.
The Big Picture
The Star Wars franchise faced setbacks with director departures and shelved projects due to the box office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story. David S. Goyer and Guillermo del Toro developed an unproduced Star Wars script centered on Jabba the Hutt after Rogue One’s success. Guillermo del Toro’s unique vision and practical visual effects expertise could have revitalized the Star Wars franchise and offered a fresh perspective.