The list of abandoned Star Wars movies has grown again, but this particular project has an unusual ending.
Rather than disappearing completely into Lucasfilm’s increasingly crowded archive of unrealized ideas, a previously unknown Star Wars movie developed by Paddington 2 and Wonka filmmakers Paul King and Simon Farnaby is being given a second life outside the galaxy far, far away.
Farnaby has revealed that he and King once developed a Star Wars film centered around a robot, with King attached to direct and the pair working on the story together. Unlike many proposed projects connected to the franchise, their idea apparently would not have revolved around an established Jedi, Skywalker or other familiar character.
Ultimately, the filmmakers and studio never found the version that worked.
The good news is that the central concept was not completely abandoned. Farnaby says the idea is now being reworked into an original science-fiction movie rather than a Star Wars project.
That distinction is important. The scrapped Star Wars movie itself is not suddenly back in development at Lucasfilm. Instead, King and Farnaby are taking the basic idea they created for that film and rebuilding it without the restrictions of an established franchise.
Paul King And Simon Farnaby Were Developing A Star Wars Movie
Speaking with Variety, Farnaby revealed that Disney approached King about making a Star Wars film following the success of their earlier work.
King was expected to direct, while he and Farnaby would develop the screenplay together.
The filmmakers settled on an idea built around a robot rather than one of the recognizable heroes or villains audiences already associate with the franchise.
Farnaby also indicated that the story did not feature any major legacy Star Wars characters.
That immediately makes the project stand apart from many of the movies Lucasfilm has developed during the Disney era.
Even stories introducing new protagonists have frequently remained connected to recognizable parts of the larger franchise. Rogue One revolved around the Death Star plans and included Darth Vader. Solo explored the younger years of Han Solo. The Mandalorian and Grogu grew directly out of an established Disney+ series.
King and Farnaby apparently wanted to move much further away from that approach.
Their protagonist would have been a machine rather than another variation on the familiar smuggler, soldier or Force-sensitive hero.
The Movie Apparently Did Not Feel Enough Like Star Wars
Farnaby suggested that the concept’s distance from familiar franchise elements contributed to the project failing to move forward.
He recalled receiving feedback that the movie needed to feel more recognizably like Star Wars.
“They were like, we really need it to be a Star Wars movie,” Farnaby explained, joking that this was probably part of the reason it ultimately did not become one.
He was also refreshingly candid about the filmmakers’ own role in the project falling apart.
Farnaby admitted that he and King “never really nailed it.”
That makes this a slightly different story from the familiar narrative of filmmakers creating a completed vision only to have a studio suddenly kill it.
There is no indication that King and Farnaby had finished a production-ready screenplay, assembled a cast or reached the point where cameras were preparing to roll.
Instead, the project appears to have remained in development while both sides attempted to determine what kind of movie it should be.
Eventually, they concluded that the answer probably was not Star Wars.
The Original Idea Is Not Dead
Usually, that would be the end of the story.
Hollywood is filled with unrealized Star Wars projects that were discussed, announced, written or partially developed before disappearing. Some have remained dormant for years, while others were eventually replaced by entirely different movies and television series.
King and Farnaby’s project has taken a more interesting route.
According to Farnaby, the filmmakers were encouraged to remove the Star Wars elements and reconsider the concept as an independent science-fiction movie.
“They basically said, it’s not right for Star Wars, but do you want to rework it as a sci-fi film?” Farnaby revealed.
His answer was yes.
King and Farnaby are currently developing that new version.
Exactly how much of the original concept remains is unknown. Farnaby did not reveal whether the protagonist is still a robot, what the story involves or whether the film retains any recognizable ideas created during its time as a Star Wars project.
No cast, production start or release date has been announced.
For now, it should be described as a project in development rather than a movie guaranteed to enter production.
A Droid-Led Star Wars Movie Could Have Been Something Very Different
Although Star Wars has featured memorable droids from its very beginning, they are almost always supporting characters.
R2-D2 and C-3PO were essential to George Lucas’ original 1977 movie and remained important throughout the Skywalker Saga. BB-8 became one of the most recognizable new characters introduced in The Force Awakens, while K-2SO became a fan favorite through Rogue One and Andor.
Characters such as L3-37, Chopper and BD-1 have further demonstrated how much personality the franchise can give its mechanical characters.
Even so, Lucasfilm has rarely allowed a droid to become the true central protagonist of a major live-action story.
A movie built entirely around one could have approached the galaxy from a perspective audiences have never properly experienced on the big screen.
Droids exist almost everywhere in Star Wars. They work in homes, military installations, starships, government facilities, criminal organizations and businesses across countless planets.
Despite possessing recognizable personalities and varying degrees of independence, they are routinely bought, sold, modified and wiped of their memories.
There is a surprisingly rich amount of storytelling potential hiding underneath the franchise’s frequent use of droids as comic relief.
Paul King’s Style Could Have Been A Fascinating Fit For Star Wars
The revelation is particularly interesting because of the filmmakers involved.
King directed Paddington and Paddington 2, with Farnaby joining him as co-writer on the second movie. The pair later reunited to write Wonka, which King directed.
Their films are often whimsical, visually inventive and deeply sincere without becoming afraid of comedy.
Paddington 2 in particular earned widespread acclaim by embracing a deceptively simple idea with complete emotional sincerity. The movie treats kindness as something powerful rather than naïve, surrounding its central character with an exaggerated world that still feels emotionally genuine.
Wonka applied a similar sensibility to Roald Dahl’s famous chocolatier, building an elaborate fantasy around a protagonist whose optimism remains intact even when almost everyone around him has stronger reasons to be cynical.
A droid-centered Star Wars movie filtered through that creative perspective could have looked dramatically different from the franchise’s usual collection of military conflicts and Jedi mythology.
It is easy to imagine King finding humor in the bureaucratic absurdity of the galaxy while Farnaby builds an emotional story around a mechanical character searching for purpose.
Whether their actual concept resembled anything like that remains unknown, but their previous work makes the unexplored possibilities difficult to ignore.
Simon Farnaby Has Already Appeared In Star Wars
The abandoned project would not have been Farnaby’s first trip to the galaxy far, far away.
He previously appeared briefly in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as Rebel Alliance pilot Farns Monsbee.
The role was small enough that many viewers probably never realized the Paddington 2 and Wonka writer was sitting inside an X-wing during the film’s climactic Battle of Scarif.
Farnaby has previously recalled that he was in the middle of working on Paddington 2 when he was offered the part. King reportedly encouraged him to accept despite the pair being under pressure to finish their own movie.
Years later, Disney would approach King with an opportunity that could have brought both filmmakers back to Star Wars in considerably larger roles.
This time they would have been responsible for creating the adventure rather than briefly appearing inside it.
Star Wars Has A Long History Of Movies That Never Happened
King and Farnaby’s film joins an unusually long collection of unrealized Star Wars projects from the Disney era.
Guillermo del Toro and screenwriter David S. Goyer developed a movie exploring the rise and fall of Jabba the Hutt. Josh Trank was once attached to direct a Boba Fett film written by Simon Kinberg. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige developed a separate project with writer Michael Waldron that never moved forward.
Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were announced as the architects of a new series of films before leaving the franchise.
Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron, Taika Waititi’s untitled film and Rian Johnson’s planned trilogy have all experienced varying degrees of uncertainty over the years, even when Lucasfilm has stopped short of formally declaring every project canceled.
More recently, fans learned about The Hunt for Ben Solo, a proposed sequel-era movie that would have brought Adam Driver back as Ben Solo under director Steven Soderbergh.
Unlike many of those projects, however, King and Farnaby’s movie was never publicly announced while it was being developed.
Fans are learning about its existence only after its time as a Star Wars story has already ended.
Turning It Into An Original Movie May Be The Better Outcome
There is an understandable temptation to view every unrealized Star Wars project as something fans were unfairly denied.
That is difficult to determine in this case because almost nothing is known about the story.
King and Farnaby themselves acknowledge that they never completely solved the movie while it was being developed for Lucasfilm.
Removing Star Wars from the equation could ultimately solve the exact problem that prevented them from moving forward.
An established franchise arrives with decades of expectations.
A new planet still needs to feel like it belongs in Star Wars. A new robot will inevitably be compared with R2-D2, C-3PO, BB-8 and every other beloved droid. Technology, politics, history and even visual design must coexist with a fictional universe audiences have studied for nearly 50 years.
An original science-fiction movie does not carry those restrictions.
King and Farnaby can create whatever world best serves their protagonist rather than asking whether each idea feels sufficiently connected to the Force, the Empire, the Republic or another familiar piece of franchise mythology.
They also no longer need a cameo from an established character to reassure audiences that the story belongs within the larger universe.
The concept can stand or fall entirely on its own.
Original Sci-Fi Could Use More Filmmakers Like King And Farnaby
There is another reason to be optimistic about the project surviving outside Star Wars.
Large-scale original science fiction has become increasingly difficult to finance in an industry built around recognizable intellectual property.
Studios know how to market another Star Wars movie. Selling audiences on a completely new science-fiction universe is considerably harder.
King’s track record may give this project an advantage.
His movies have demonstrated that unusual worlds do not have to abandon warmth or accessibility. He can build elaborate sets, exaggerated characters and visually playful sequences while keeping the emotional story understandable.
Farnaby brings a similarly unusual combination of absurdist comedy and genuine sincerity.
If their robot concept felt too detached from traditional Star Wars, that may become its greatest strength once it no longer has to pretend to be part of that universe.
Some stories improve when creators are forced to abandon the franchise that originally gave them permission to develop the idea.
This Is Not A New Star Wars Movie Announcement
The wording surrounding this story deserves some caution.
King and Farnaby’s original Star Wars movie is not being resurrected by Lucasfilm.
There is currently no indication that Disney has reconsidered the film or that the droid-centered concept will return to the official Star Wars slate.
What is happening is more unusual.
The creative foundation of that abandoned project is being rebuilt into something that will no longer be Star Wars.
That also means there is currently no guarantee the new version will ultimately reach theaters. Farnaby has confirmed that he and King are working on it, but development is only the beginning of the filmmaking process.
A screenplay still needs to be completed, financing and distribution need to be secured, schedules need to align and production needs to be approved.
Until more details emerge, the safest description is that the original science-fiction version is actively being developed.
A Failed Star Wars Movie Could Still Become Something Special
There is something fitting about a story rejected for not feeling enough like Star Wars receiving an opportunity to become entirely its own thing.
King and Farnaby no longer need to explain where their robot fits into a timeline or whether a familiar character should walk through the background.
They can take whatever originally excited them about the concept and build outward from there.
Star Wars fans may always wonder what the pair could have done with a droid-led adventure inside George Lucas’ galaxy. Given the filmmakers’ history of creating strange, funny and unexpectedly emotional characters, that curiosity is understandable.
But an original movie may offer them something even more valuable: freedom.
The proposed Star Wars film is gone. The idea behind it apparently is not.
And if King and Farnaby eventually get their new science-fiction movie in front of audiences, one of Lucasfilm’s least-known abandoned projects could end up having a much more interesting afterlife than anyone expected.
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