Skip to main content

All the canceled Star Wars movies

These days, Star Wars is just getting more and more projects. While the franchise continues to expand with shows on Disney+, there hasn’t been a new movie made since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. Given that Disney spent a while figuring out what it wanted to do with the iconic sci-fi property, many films had been announced, only for most of them to get blasted off the company calendar.

But with three new films confirmed to be on the horizon, now is the time to catch up on all the Star Wars films that never came to be.

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

Disney

Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins was previously set to helm a film centered around a new generation of starfighter pilots. Her role in the project was announced in 2020, and it was supposed to be released on Christmas 2023.

But after a long time spent in pre-production, Rogue Squadron threatened to delay another film Jenkins was hired to make, so Disney withdrew the project from their release calendar, leaving its future up in the air.

Zack Snyder’s film

Zack Snyder at San Diego Comic-Con 2016.
Wikimedia Commons

Back in the 2000s, director Zack Snyder had pitched an R-rated film to Lucasfilm set in the Star Wars universe that followed a new team of heroes inspired by the works of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (which had inspired George Lucas while creating the franchise in the first place).

Though discussions for this Star Wars film ended when Disney bought Lucasfilm, Snyder still redeveloped his passion project as the upcoming Netflix sci-fi space opera, Rebel Moon.

Boba Fett-led spin-off

Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen in The Book of Boba Fett.
Disney

Along with Solo: A Star Wars Story, Disney CEO Bob Iger had announced that a spin-off about Boba Fett’s origins during the original trilogy was in development. It was implied that Chronicle director Josh Trank was meant to be the director, but he had backed out of the project just two weeks after skipping out on Disney’s Star Wars Celebration.

Though Boba Fett never got a solo film, he did get his own miniseries on Disney+ that followed his exploits after Return of the Jedi. The Book of Boba Fett has aired only one season so far, with no second season announced at the time of publication.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’s trilogy

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In February 2018, Benioff and Weiss, the duo who helmed HBO’s Game of Thrones, were once set to make an entire trilogy of Star Wars films scheduled to premiere in 2022, 2024, and 2026.

Despite this, they both walked away from the project in October 2019 to honor their deal to work on another project for Netflix. Given their overall success in bringing the world of Westeros to life, one can’t help but want to see what Benioff and Weiss would’ve brought to the Star Wars universe.

Kevin Feige’s film

Kevin Feige speaking on stage at Comic-Con 2019
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige seemed to have been in the running to produce a Star Wars movie with Loki writer penning the script. For a while, there had been conflicting reports about whether or not the project was still being developed.

Finally, in March 2023, Kathleen Kennedy said in an interview with IGN that the film was never in development, claiming it was just an idea that was brought up, but that she was open to working with Feige on a Star Wars project if he had an idea.

Damon Lindelof’s Rey film

Damon Lindelof at San Diego Comic Con 2017.
Gage Skidmore

Damon Lindelof had signed up to write a script for a film following Rey as she rebuilds the Jedi Order after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Though Lindelof had submitted a screenplay for said project, Lindelof revealed to Esquire that he was “asked to leave” the production, with Spencer writer Steven Knight taking his place.

Though the film technically isn’t canceled, it would’ve been exciting to see what kind of the story Lindelof had swirling around in his head, given that he is the mind behind Lost, The Leftovers, and HBO’s Watchmen, three of the most popular and acclaimed TV shows in history.

Splinter of the Mind’s Eye

The cover art for "Splinter of the Mind's Eyes."
Del Ray Publishing

Before Star Wars had been released in theaters, George Lucas decided to create a sequel novel that he could adapt into a low-budget film should the original fail at the box office. Written by acclaimed sci-fi author Alan Dean Foster, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye follows Luke and Leia as they search for the mystical Kaiburr crystal after crash-landing on the plant Mimban, leading to both heroes engaging in a lightsaber duel against Darth Vader.

Clearly, with the remarkable success of the first film and the presence of The Empire Strikes Back, the novel never got the Hollywood treatment, with only minor references to the story popping up in the Star Wars universe now and then.

Star Wars: Duel of the Fates

Kylo and Rey fighting in Rise of the Skywalker
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow was originally hired to direct Episode IX of the franchise, and his intended version of the film was very different from what audiences saw in J.J. Abrams’s The Rise of Skywalker. In Duel of the Fates, Kylo Ren is the main villain, Rey faces him on the Force planet Mortis, and Finn, Rose, and Poe lead a revolution against the First Order on Coruscant.

Likewise, Emperor Palpatine remains dead, and Rey has no familial relation to him. Though Trevorrow’s early story had some parts that needed fixing, for the most part, it would’ve arguably been a better conclusion for the Skywalker saga than what appeared in theaters.

Exegol-set film

The Throne of the Sith on Exegol in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."
Disney

The planet Exegol was introduced in The Rise of Skywalker as a hidden world of the Sith Eternal, where Emperor Palpatine resurrected himself and established the seat of power for his Final Order.

Though Palpatine and the Sith were destroyed by the end of the film, according to Deadline, Disney had started developing a movie that took place on Exegol, with director J.D. Dillard (Sleight) and writer Matt Owens (Luke Cage) involved in the production. But in 2022, Dillard said his mysterious project was no longer a go.

Editors' Recommendations

Anthony Orlando
Anthony Orlando is a writer/director from Oradell, NJ. He spent four years at Lafayette College, graduating CUM LAUDE with a…
The best anime on Amazon Prime Video right now
MOnkey D. Luffy with the rest of his Straw Hat Pirate friends in One Piece: Stampede.

With new shows coming to Amazon Prime Video, anime fans can get their fix for the genre as well. Even more so when including buy/rent options and supplementary subscriptions like Starz and Freevee. Streamers like Crunchyroll, Funimation, and HIDIVE will expectedly suit enthusiasts best, but Prime Video can be a respectable anime supplement when it streaming.

The platform hosts some of the best the genre has to offer across a diverse catalog spanning movies and TV. But as accessible as the genre has mercifully become in more recent years, we've put together a consistently curated guide on the best anime to find on Amazon Prime Video.

Read more
The 10 most popular TV shows on Netflix right now
Two friends put their arms around each other in Sex Education.

Exploring the thousands of titles on Netflix can be both exciting and overwhelming. Content of all types abounds, from dramas and comedies to reality shows and documentaries. There's even a top 10 list to help narrow down your decision by letting you see the most popular Netflix shows.

Every week, Netflix releases a list of the 10 most-watched TV shows over a recent seven-day period. Below, we've listed the top 10 shows in the U.S. from September 18 to September 24, along with general information about each show, including genre, rating, cast, and synopsis.

Read more
Hollywood writers strike ends after agreement on AI and other issues
The Hollywood sign.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has called off its strike after five months during which a slew of popular shows were taken off air.

The WGA said it had reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on a new three-year Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA), and voted unanimously to recommend it to its 11,500 members.

Read more