Highlights
- Guillermo del Toro feels “bitter” about his canceled Star Wars movie.
- Del Toro’s canceled Star Wars movie was rumored to be about Jabba the Hutt.
- Many acclaimed directors, including Zack Snyder and Patty Jenkins, have had their Star Wars movies canceled.
Easily one of the most acclaimed directors of all time, Guillermo del Toro has helmed a slew of successful films. As a result, it makes perfect sense that del Toro has been offered the chance to join several huge franchises.
As it turns out, one of the franchises that del Toro almost contributed to was Star Wars. Since fans still want to know if the main Star Wars actors got along back then, it should go without saying that there is a lot of interest in every aspect of the movies. As a result, del Toro was asked about his canceled Star Wars movie, which led to him talking about feeling “bitter”.
Why Guillermo Del Toro Feels “Bitter” About Star Wars
In late 2023, Guillermo del Toro attended a Q&A session put on by Collider. At the event that was meant to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Pacific Rim’s release, de Toro was asked to comment on the news that he’d been working on a Star Wars movie.
Considering del Toro’s love for monsters and his ability to tell affecting stories, he seems like a perfect fit for Star Wars. Sadly, however, del Toro’s planned movie was canceled, and the famed director was asked to comment on that.
Based on de Toro’s comments, his Hollywood history has given him the perspective to take disappointments in stride. However, del Toro admitted that despite that, he still feels upset sometimes when he thinks about his canceled Star Wars movie.
“We were doing a lot of stuff, and then it’s not my property, it’s not my money, and then it’s one of those 30 screenplays that goes away. Sometimes I’m bitter, sometimes I’m not. I always turn to my team and say, ‘Good practice, guys. Good practice. We designed a great world. We designed great stuff. We learned.’”
From there, del Toro went on to explain how he tries to cope with disappointments in life. According to del Toro, he does his best to learn from every failed project he is a part of.
“You can never be ungrateful with life. Whatever life sends you, there’s something to be learned from it. So, you know, I trust the universe, I do. When something doesn’t happen, I go, ‘Why?’ I try to have a dialogue with myself. ‘Why didn’t it happen?’ And the more you swim upstream with the universe, the less you’re gonna realize where you’re going.”
As fascinating as it is to know that del Toro gets upset by his failed Star Wars project, there is more to the story than that. Given how many acclaimed and popular movies that del Toro has made, it begs an obvious question, what kind of Star Wars movie was he working on?
When David S. Goyer appeared on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in September 2023, he talked about working on del Toro’s Star Wars project. During that conversation, Goyer remarked about the movie that never was and what he thought of it.
“There was just a lot of behind [the scenes] stuff going on at Lucasfilm at the time. But it’s a cool script.” In response to what Goyer said, del Toro posted on Twitter/X about his Star Wars movie. “Can’t say much. Maybe two letters “J” and “BB” is that three letters?”
Based on that post, most Star Wars fans assumed that del Toro and Goyer had been working on a movie about Jabba the Hutt. Of course, del Toro’s post didn’t completely confirm that even though it heavily implied that was the case.
During del Toro’s aforementioned appearance at the Collider Q&A, he left zero doubt. When the subject of Star Wars came up, del Toro said something very revealing before he began discussing why his Star Wars movie was canceled.
“We had the rise and fall of Jabba the Hutt, so I was super happy.”
Considering that Jabba the Hutt was always known as the Star Wars crime boss, there is no doubt a compelling movie could focus on the character. If you factor that in with del Toro’s storytelling expertise and his love for monsters, the movie should have been amazing.
When movies get canceled, it is extremely rare for the projects to be revived with the original people involved. With that in mind, it almost certainly is the case that the world will never get to see del Toro’s Jabba the Hutt movie.
Which Directors Have Canceled Star Wars Movies?
From the moment the Star Wars franchise began in 1977, it has been one of the biggest Hollywood franchises. Thanks to that and how many people love Star Wars, the people in charge of the franchise have been able to get big names to begin working on projects related to the series.
Over the years, several successful filmmakers have begun work on Star Wars movies only to have them canceled. There have even been a few directors who are so successful that most film fans know them by name who have had that happen.
Easily the two most famous directors who’ve had Star Wars movies canceled are Zack Snyder and Patty Jenkins. In Snyder’s case, he was inspired by his plans for his canceled Star Wars movie to co-write and direct movies under the title Rebel Moon.
In addition to Snyder and Jenkins, several directors who have helmed celebrated and successful films had the Star Wars rug pulled out from underneath them.
Star Wars’ Canceled Projects Include:
- George Lucas’ Episodes VII, VIII, & IX
- Boba Fett’s Solo Star Wars Movie
- Mos Eisley Spaceport Movie
- Rogue Squadron
- Damon Lindelof’s Rey Skywalker Film
- Star Wars: Underworld
Probably the most famous example of that involves the duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The minds behind The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street, and The Spider-Verse, Lord and Miller did extensive work on Solo: A Star Wars Movie including a lot of filming. Then, the duo was fired, and the project was handed to Ron Howard.
Some other fired Star Wars directors include Chronicle’s Josh Trank, Sweetheart’s J.D. Dillard, Logan’s James Mangold, and Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow. Game of Thrones’ co-creators David Benioff & D.B. Weiss also received the same treatment. Even Marvel Studios’ creative head Kevin Feige’s planned Star Wars movie was canceled.
Source: NewsFinale
