In a galaxy far, far away, Guillermo del Toro might have once directed a Star Wars movie about Jabba the Hutt. In our galaxy, however, the project is one of many tantalizing features within the Star Wars universe that never came to fruition.
Speaking to Collider, the Oscar-winning filmmaker confirmed his potential Star Wars film was about the monstrous space gangster who made his first official appearance in “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.”
“We had the rise and fall of Jabba the Hutt, so I was super happy,” del Toro said. “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.’”
The beloved filmmaker added, “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.”
asked @RealGDT how close he came to directing a #StarWars movie at @collider's 10th anniversary screening of #PacificRim in @IMAX 3D.
His first answer is pure del Toro. He then talks about what he took away from the experience. #theriseandfallofjabbathehut pic.twitter.com/470DAsFrXd
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) October 7, 2023
Last month, screenwriter David S. Goyer (“Man of Steel”) told journalist Josh Horowitz about the lost Star Wars project that del Toro was planning to direct – but didn’t offer specifics about its subject.
“I wrote an un-produced ‘Star Wars’ movie that Guillermo del Toro was going to direct. That was about four years ago,” Goyer said. “There was a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on at Lucasfilm at the time. It’s a cool script… you have to ask him about it.”
David Goyer wrote a STAR WARS movie to be directed by @RealGDT that we’ll never see?! I’m going to need a minute.
My full chat with David here: https://t.co/3qAJn5Zv5c pic.twitter.com/XcSHQA8pL0
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) September 21, 2023
On social media, del Toro amplified the clip of Goyer and confirmed his involvement with Lucasfilm. The “Shape of Water” director teased that it was about Jabba the Hutt without mentioning Jabba the Hutt.
True. Can't say much. Maybe two letters "J" and "BB" is that three letters? https://t.co/qpGaSD3y7F
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) September 21, 2023
The lost Jabba movie joins the lost Boba Fett movie among Star Wars projects that never materialized. Before “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett” became Disney+ television shows, plans were in motion to create a feature film about Boba Fett, the mysterious bounty hunter who first appeared in “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.” Among the filmmakers attached to that film at one time or another were Josh Trank and James Mangold.
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