Earlier this month, Hellboy and Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro revealed that he'd once been tasked with developing a Star Wars movie for Lucasfilm revolving around Jabba the Hutt. However, what everyone seemed to forget is that the filmmaker first expressed interest in the project way back in 2015!
In a resurfaced interview with Happy Sad Confused (via SFFGazette.com) which has gone viral, the filmmaker shared some insights into what he hoped to bring to the table with a movie revolving around the iconic Return of the Jedi villain.
"When I spoke to them, when I spoke to [Lucasfilm’s] John Knoll about it, and I said, if I ever do [a 'Star Wars' film], I would love to do Jabba the Hutt’s 'Scarface,'" he recalled. "You know? His ascension in the crime family. But it’s not a plan, I’m not announcing anything, don’t pick it up [as a thing]."
Lucasfilm must have hired Del Toro to develop the movie shortly after this interview took place, though he'd obviously already approached them with the idea. While it didn't ultimately come to fruition (becoming one of many Star Wars spin-offs at the studio to do so after Solo: A Star Wars Solo underperformed), it's hard to escape the feeling we missed out.
The filmmaker went on to say, "I like monsters. I just love monsters, and Jabba is a) basically my same shirt size, and b) I love him, man. I feel strangely more and more inclined to do more strange stuff; do things that are a little more cagey, a little more quirky, so I dunno."
Scarface in space sounds like a really exciting approach to Star Wars, and it's a shame the movie never materialised. Based on other recent comments from Del Toro, we'd guess that, even if Lucasfilm comes calling, it's a project he's happy to have now put in his rearview.
"We had the rise and fall of Jabba the Hutt, so I was super happy," he 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.'”
"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," Del Toro added. "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 realise where you’re going."
Would you have liked to see Del Toro's vision for Jabba the Hutt slime its way into theaters? Let us know in the comments section.