Star Wars: Rogue One Writer Reveals the Spinoff TV Series He Hoped to Make

By Patrick Cavanaugh

With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story being a direct prequel to Star Wars: A New Hope, some audiences were surprised that the film earned its own prequel with Star Wars: Andor, though writer Gary Whitta recently pointed out he already had his own ideas for a TV series in the galaxy far, far away. On Twitter, the writer noted that he and co-writer Chris Weitz had talks about a film in which Rebels would go hunting down holdouts from the Galactic Empire after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, though he pointed out those ideas were nothing more than talks.

"Years ago my Rogue One co-writer Chris Weitz and I had a cool idea for a TV show about a Mossad-style Rebel team hunting down Imperial war criminals who fled and disappeared after the fall of the Empire," Whitta shared on Twitter. "Could have been a cool bookend to R1. We never did anything with it though."

Years after Rogue One, Lucasfilm would release its first live-action Star Wars series with The Mandalorian, which unfolds in the same timeframe as the concept Whitta discussed. Between the title characters and the various Rangers that audiences have seen in the series, some of Whitta and Weitz's ideas look to have been incorporated into that narrative, though their take on the time period would have made those Rebels the main focus.

This point in time for the galaxy far, far away and the inherent potential of seeing how former Rebels handle the transition from under the control of the Galactic Empire is clearly rife with storytelling possibilities, which likely led to the initial announcement of the TV series Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic.

Announced in December of 2020, specific details about the narrative were kept under wraps, yet audiences caught their first glimpses at such organizations in The Mandalorian. At the time, reports claimed that Gina Carano would be starring in the series, with her Cara Dune becoming a focal point of the narrative alongside other Rangers. Shortly after that project was announced, Carano was released from her contract by Lucasfilm and the future of Rangers of the New Republic was thrown into question. In the years since its announcement, the studio seems to have pivoted away from the concept entirely.

Stay tuned for details on the future of the Star Wars franchise.

Would you have liked to have seen a show like Whitta pitched? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

0comments
Start the Conversation

of