Guillermo del Toro confirmed in an interview with Collider’s Steven Weintraub that he almost directed a “Star Wars” film about the rise and fall of Jabba the Hutt.

Guillermo del Toro’s Jabba the Hutt Film

“We had the rise and fall of Jabba the Hutt,” del Toro said, “so I was super happy, we were doing a lot of stuff. And then, you know, it’s not my property, it’s not my money, and 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.’”

Jabba the Hutt first appeared in “Return of the Jedi,” although he was mentioned in previous films and a deleted scene with Jabba was later added back into “A New Hope.”

“So you can never be ungrateful with life,” del Toro continued. “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.”

Guillermo & Goyer

In September, David S. Goyer said on an episode of Happy Sad Confused podcast hosted by Josh Horowitz that he wrote a “Star Wars” script to be directed by del Toro, but the film was never made. In response, del Toro shared the letters “J” and “BB” as a hint to the unfinished film’s content and many fans speculated it was about Jabba.

Goyer said the movie didn’t get made because there was “a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on at Lucasfilm at the time.” He added that it was a “cool script” and there was “a lot of cool artwork” produced for it. He and del Toro both said the film was in development many years ago.

Goyer is best known for writing superhero films like “The Dark Knight” trilogy and the “Blade” trilogy. Del Toro directed “Blade II,” while Goyer directed “Blade: Trinity.” Del Toro is known for fairytale and horror films like “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “The Shape of Water.” He was once attached to direct a new “Haunted Mansion” film over a decade before the recent one was released. Del Toro’s version didn’t work out and the final product was written by Katie Dippold and directed by Justin Simien.

Goyer also said he also worked on a second unproduced “Star Wars” film. He created a “scriptment” (something between a script and a treatment) for an “Origins of the Jedi” film set 25,000 years before “A New Hope.”

Future of Star Wars

While Goyer’s Jedi film isn’t happening, James Mangold (“Logan,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”) is directing a film set before the Old Republic about the origins of the Force.

Dave Filoni is set to direct a film that takes place between “The Mandalorian” and “The Force Awakens,” while Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will direct a sequel taking place 15 years after “The Rise of Skywalker.” “Star Wars” has seen success with recent live-action shows on Disney+ including “The Mandalorian,” “Andor,” and “Ahsoka.”

We recently learned the Lando Calrissian series co-written by and starring Donald Glover will be a movie. Taika Waititi and Rian Johnson are also still working on “Star Wars” projects.

The last “Star Wars” film, “Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker,” was released in December 2019.

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