Solo: A Star Wars Story production designer Neil Lamont confirms Lucasfilm scrapped plans for a Tatooine-set spinoff movie. The galaxy far, far away's return to the big screen saw not just a sequel trilogy in the Skywalker saga, but also standalone anthology films that worked to flesh out the universe further. 2016's Rogue One got this initiative off to a great start, as it received strong reviews and grossed $1 billion worldwide. Unfortunately, this summer's Solo became the first Star Wars movie to lose money, despite a generally positive reception.
In the aftermath, Lucasfilm has reconsidered their plans for the franchise, reportedly putting other spinoffs like Obi-Wan and Boba Fett on hold. Around the time that news broke, there was also word Lucasfilm was developing a spinoff around Mos Eisley, although none of these projects were ever confirmed by Disney or Lucasfilm. Now, however, it seems that there was some truth to the rumors, and there was a return trip to Tatooine in the cards.
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Speaking with CinemaBlend, Lamont briefly discussed work he was doing on another Star Wars spinoff, one that would take place (at least partially) on Tatooine, the famous desert planet that was home to both Anakin and Luke Skywalker:
We were just starting our work on another Star Wars spinoff and yeah. We were actually just making our mark on Tatooine -- which would have been interesting and some other new galaxies. So hopefully, if that comes back, we'll get the chance to be able to do that further.
Obviously, Lamont couldn't reveal any real juicy story details, so fans will have to debate amongst themselves what movie he's talking about here. It's possible he's referring to the aforementioned Mos Eisley film, but there are a number of other candidates. Lamont's mentioning of "some other new galaxies" makes it sound like this would have been a planet-hopping adventure, perhaps one featuring Boba and other bounty hunters. The long-speculated Obi-Wan movie, of course, would need scenes on Tatooine, as would a potential sequel to Solo. As some may recall, Ron Howard's film ended with Han and Chewbacca en route to meet with Jabba the Hutt about a big score. Given Solo's box office, it's unlikely to get a followup, but star Alden Ehrenreich did sign a three-picture deal, so Lucasfilm could have been tossing around ideas.
It'll be interesting to see if this mysterious Tatooine movie eventually sees the light of day. After Episode IX, Lucasfilm has Rian Johnson's new trilogy and David Benioff & D.B. Weiss' series in the pipeline, but it remains unknown if they will tell other stories adjacent to the Skywalker saga. Moving beyond the foundation of the original trilogy and truly pursuing new horizons reads as the smartest way for Star Wars to continue to thrive over the next decade, but audiences would be interested in seeing some old favorites return. Ideally, by the time Celebration 2019 rolls around, fans will have a better idea of what Lucasfilm has in store.
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Source: CinemaBlend
