Getting to play in the Star Wars sandbox is an honor for any filmmaker. George Lucas’s work inspires millions, and from time to time, one person pushes through the crowd and gets the go-ahead from Lucasfilm to make their dreams come true. However, that doesn’t mean that the powers that be are greenlighting any project that hits their desk. Adam Driver recently revealed that Steven Soderbergh, best known for his work on the Ocean’s trilogy, pitched a Ben Solo movie to Lucasfilm. Disney didn’t see the vision, though, not understanding how Driver’s character could be alive after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, so it shot Soderbergh down.
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Being rejected by the people who run a galaxy far, far away puts Soderbergh in an elite club. It turns out that Lucasfilm frequently puts the cart before the horse by partnering with talented filmmakers before crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is. Here are seven directors who almost made a Star Wars movie, including one who should get another crack at it.
6) David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Climbing to the mountain top came easily to David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who created HBO’s adaptation of Game of Thrones. Toward the end of that show’s run, Disney decided to keep the directors busy by assigning them to create a trilogy of films that would be released after the sequels wrapped.
Well, a deal Benioff and Weiss made with Netflix ensured that their Star Wars films would never see the light of day. The duo never revealed what their movies would’ve been about, but the fans really wanted them to tackle the Old Republic era.
5) David Lynch
David Lynch never had to field questions about the content of his Star Wars project because Lucas came to him about directing Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original trilogy.
The two couldn’t see eye to eye despite their mutual respect, and Lynch actually told Lucas that, since the movie was his baby, he should direct it. Lucas didn’t agree with that idea, so he kept searching and landed on Richard Marquand, who did a fine job helming Episode VI.
4) Josh Trank
When Disney first got its hands on Star Wars, it cast a wide net to find writers and directors to kick off the next era in the franchise. Josh Trank made the cut initially, signing on to direct a Boba Fett solo movie.
The trainwreck that was Fan4stic led to Trank’s bounty hunter-led project falling apart. Lucasfilm didn’t toss Boba on the back burner for good, though, as the character returned in Star Wars: The Mandalorian and got his own TV show called Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett.
3) Guillermo del Toro
A galaxy far, far away is home to so many unique creatures, many of which have enough lore to headline their own project. Guillermo del Toro thought he had something special when he pitched a Jabba the Hutt movie to Lucasfilm that would shine a light on Star Wars’ underworld.
While that project didn’t come to fruition, Lucasfilm would be smart to keep del Toro’s number on speed dial, as he’s still one of Hollywood’s biggest names and hasn’t lost his love for monsters.
2) Colin Trevorrow
J.J. Abrams came back to direct the final film in the sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker, but he didn’t always have the job. Jurassic World‘s Colin Trevorrow worked on a version of the movie that sounded pretty wild, featuring not only the return of Coroscaunt but also Mortis’ live-action debut.
Creative differences led Trevorrow to walk away from Episode IX, so he took his talents back to Universal and directed Jurassic World Dominion.
1) Patty Jenkins
Star Wars might be under the Disney umbrella, which also houses Marvel, but it won’t ignore a filmmaker from DC if they have the right stuff. At one point, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins was working on Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, which would take inspiration from the video games and books.
While rumors every few months suggest Rogue Squadron is moving forward, no concrete information has surfaced on the Internet in years. The most likely scenario is that the project is dead, especially with Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starighter covering similar ground.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
