Lawrence Kasdan
Simon Kinberg
Boba Fett, the movie? Han Solo in a solo project? These ideas may not seem as far-fetched as they once were.
It was reported a little over a week ago that
Lawrence Kasdan (“The Empire Strikes Back,” “Return of the Jedi”) and Simon Kinberg (“X-Men: The Last Stand,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past”) had been signed to write scripts for future Star Wars movies. It was assumed at the time that they would be penning Episodes VIII and IX.
That may not be the case.
The Hollywood Reporter reported on Wednesday that Kasdan and Kinberg will be working on “separate projects.” According to the Reporter’s source, that means their stories could end up folding into the primary storyline and become future installments of the main franchise or they could turn into spinoffs.
Disney has already had great success with movie spinoffs via Marvel Studios, so it’s not surprising to see them considering this route. There are a million possible stories to be told in the Star Wars universe. Diehard fans might prefer creating a “Star Wars Cinematic Universe” to go alongside the “Star Wars Expanded Universe” rather than the former overwriting the latter as canon.
This also opens up the possibility of stealing from other parts of the Expanded Universe for future films, going back thousands of years to tell the story of the early Jedi like in the
Knights of the Old Republic video games or the
origin of the Sith. Maybe we’ll see a movie based on Han Solo’s younger years, or the fanboy dream of a bounty hunter movie centered on Boba Fett. Or a
Rogue Squadron movie with Wedge Antilles and Corran Horn.
The task will be more difficult than building the Marvel Cinematic Universe in some ways. The early Marvel films all built toward “The Avengers” and were working from scratch in distinct settings, so they were allowed to remain largely independent while weaving in bits of story that tied them together in the same larger picture. In essence, Marvel started with the “spin-offs” and used them to build toward the primary movie series. Also, expectations weren’t through the roof until the success of “Iron Man” got things rolling.
Star Wars will be going the other direction, and it’s hard to follow a successful franchise in a way that will appeal to the masses. Sure, diehard fans would love to see movies centered around their favorite characters, but would the average moviegoer turn out just for Boba Fett?
And there just aren’t a lot of successful movie spinoffs out there. Remember
“Catwoman” with Halle Berry? Or
the made-for-TV “Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure?” Failed remakes are a lot more common than hits.
Chances are Disney will be careful with any possible Star Wars movies, but there’s a lot of risk in moving outside the main storyline. Star Wars has a broader appeal than many franchises, so it might work, but it’s a definite gamble if Disney decides to take it.
