Star Wars is best-known as a movie franchise, but the galaxy far, far away has left its mark on several other mediums as well. With the launch of Disney+ in 2019, Star Wars became a major player in the realm of live-action television. Starting with The Mandalorian, several series were produced for the streaming service, ushering in a new era for Star Wars. While some shows turned out better than others (with Andor considered to be one of the best Star Wars projects ever), each one contributed to canon by continuing compelling character arcs and expanding the lore in ways that wouldn’t be possible within the confines of a standard feature film run time.
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The push for Star Wars TV shows coincided with Disney’s decision to put the film series on ice for a bit. Following the mixed receptions to Solo: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the studio felt it was best to slow down on movie production. Of course, prior to this shift in strategy, there were several Star Wars films in the works that never got to see the light of day. However, a few of those found new life by being repurposed for TV.
1) The Book of Boba Fett
After Disney acquired Lucasfilm, it didn’t take long for rumors about a Boba Fett movie to begin circulating. That development was understandable, seeing as the bounty hunter has been one of the most popular Star Wars characters for decades. Infamously receiving minimal screen time in the original trilogy (and seemingly suffering an undignified death), a spin-off film would have been the perfect way to flesh Boba out and give him the spotlight he deserved. At one point, Fantastic Four director Josh Trank was attached to helm the Boba Fett movie, but he stepped away following his negative experience on the Marvel reboot. Removing Boba Fett from the schedule was a last-minute decision on the part of Lucasfilm; there were plans in place to officially unveil it during Star Wars Celebration 2015, as Trank was supposed to be part of a panel highlighting future films.
Boba Fett finally made his big comeback in The Mandalorian Season 2, which set the stage for the character’s own TV show, The Book of Boba Fett. Unfortunately, the series struggled to live up to its hype. While it was interesting to see Boba’s dynamic with the Tusken Raider tribe, The Book of Boba Fett never truly found its footing from a storytelling perspective, taking a distracting mid-season detour to focus on Din Djarin, Grogu, and Luke Skywalker. As of now, The Book of Boba Fett remains a miniseries, and star Temuera Morrison is unsure if he’ll return to the franchise at some point.
2) Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi was another character who frequently came up in rumors about Star Wars spin-off movies. Ewan McGregor’s performances as the Jedi in the prequel trilogy were beloved by fans, and audiences long expressed interest in seeing the actor return to the franchise in some capacity. They eventually got their wish, but McGregor’s Star Wars comeback could have looked very different. Initially, the plan called for McGregor to headline a trilogy of Obi-Wan spinoffs. Writer Stuart Beattie explained his pitch, saying he envisioned multiple evolutions for the character leading up to the events of the original trilogy.
But with the Star Wars movie on hiatus and Disney+ in search of new content, Obi-Wan Kenobi was reimagined as the TV series released in 2022. It drew from the first of the three arcs Beattie had conceived, telling a story of Obi-Wan rediscovering his connection to the Force as he embarked on a rescue mission to save a young Princess Leia. Obi-Wan Kenobi proved to be divisive in some respects, but it also served as a nice bridge between the prequels and originals, further fleshing out Obi-Wan’s dynamic with Darth Vader. Seeing McGregor reunite with Hayden Christensen was fun for prequel fans, and while Obi-Wan Kenobi was a hit in terms of viewership, there currently aren’t any plans for it to continue (though McGregor remains open to another return).
3) Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
In the buildup to Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, much was said about how the creative team was heavily influenced by old-school Amblin productions like E.T. – the Extra-Terrestrial and The Goonies, as the story revolved around a group of kids who go on a wild journey across the galaxy. With those inspirations in mind, it probably isn’t surprising to hear that co-creator Jon Watts initially pitched Skeleton Crew as a movie. The project had to be put on the back burner due to Watts’ Spider-Man commitments, and when he finally had time to revisit the concept, Skeleton Crew had evolved into something else entirely.
The launch of Disney+ gave Watts an opportunity to reimagine Skeleton Crew as a show. Details about his original movie concept are slim, but it seems like the general idea remained the same. The biggest difference was that instead of condensing things to fit a movie run time, Watts could do a deeper dive into the characters and the world of galactic piracy, which proved to benefit Skeleton Crew as a whole. The series gave Star Wars a much-needed win on the heels of The Acolyte being cancelled, with many praising it for it classic adventure tone and chemistry between the cast. Skeleton Crew tells a complete story, but the door is open for a second season if Watts strikes the right idea.
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Image courtesy of Paramount+
