We love Guillermo del Toro here at Fandom. Well, I know I love him and I’ll go ahead and speak for everyone else in the company. It’s much safer to say that everyone at Fandom loves Star Wars. Wouldn’t it be great to have those two worlds collide? Well, the possibility isn’t outside the realm of reason.
Turns out that del Toro has actually spoken to Lucasfilm’s head honcho, Kathleen Kennedy, as well as Rogue One executive producer John Knoll – who I interviewed! – about what his ideas for some Star Wars movies would be. Yes, the director of Pan’s Labyrinth has pitched the gatekeepers of Star Wars on some ideas.
Quit Stalling! What’s the Movie?!?
Del Toro said he would love to do a Godfather type saga centered around Jabba the Hutt and his rise to power. In typical self-deprecating fashion, del Toro said that he’s attracted to Jabba because he’s the character that looks the most like him. But, in all seriousness, he goes on to say that he loves the idea of a Hutt mafia.
Okay, first things first: of course we want to see this movie. Anything del Toro does is worthy of your time, and seeing him play around with a cast that would most likely be made up of alien characters is a treat. Del Toro has shown amazing aptitude at creating vibrant worlds filled with bizarre creatures. Just look at Hellboy II: The Golden Army or Pacific Rim as proof. The guy knows world-building and part of that is populating the world with unique and visually arresting characters.
And it would be great to finally get a film that explores the depths of the Star Wars universe’s criminal underworld. That backdrop has been present from the very first film. Exactly why it hasn’t been taken advantage of is a mystery. There was a video game planned called Star Wars 1313 that planned to do exactly that. However, it was axed shortly after Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney.
Don’t Get Too Excited
But, being a fan of Guillermo del Toro also means bracing yourself for disappointment. Del Toro attaches himself to countless projects and maybe one-tenth of those ever make it to production. He’s also clearly invested in his own ventures right now. His next film, The Shape of Water, is due in November and del Toro is likely beginning to drum up some press for it. Dropping some Star Wars info out into the world will get him noticed. The guy knows how this business works.
Still, it’s a fun idea that might materialize at some point, possibly without del Toro’s involvement. Even if he wasn’t in the director’s chair, he could always hand Disney a script to work with. The big thing to take away from this news: we definitely need a Star Wars movie set in the world of smugglers, scum and villainy. A Star Wars mafia movie is too good to pass up.
