It might be fair to say that Star Wars is now perhaps the President of False Starts in Hollywood. It used to be unstoppable, but since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, a string of announced films have quietly disappeared from the release calendar as Disney focused on television. And then abandoned that, too. And now, another previously unannounced theatrical project has officially joined that growing list.
Screenwriter Simon Farnaby has confirmed that he and Paddington and Wonka director Paul King were developing a Star Wars movie for Disney and Lucasfilm before the project was ultimately scrapped, when Disney decided it wasn’t for them. Farnaby and King’s screenplay was based around a robot character, rather than an established character from the franchise, which made Disney think it would be better suited to another project instead.
“They were like, we really need it to be a Star Wars movie, which is probably why it didn’t get turned into a Star Wars movie! But we never really nailed it. [Disney] basically said, ‘It’s not right for Star Wars, but do you want to rework it as a sci-fi film?’ So we’re working on that now.”
Although Farnaby didn’t reveal when the project was cancelled, he explained that he and King eventually moved on to collaborate on Wonka, which was released in 2023. Farnaby was speaking to Variety when he revealed the news.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most truthful thing about you.
02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
03
What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
05
You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.
06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.
07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?
08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most truthful thing about you.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
Arrakis · Dune
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.
USS Enterprise · Star Trek
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
The Rebellion · Star Wars
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.
You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
The Nostromo · Alien
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.
The Wasteland · Mad Max
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
You don’t ask for lend a hand, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
What’s Next for Star Wars?
The news comes during a period of transition for the franchise. Earlier this year, longtime Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy stepped down, with Dave Filoni taking over leadership of the studio. Lucasfilm’s most recent theatrical release, The Mandalorian and Grogu, struggled to meet expectations at the box office, posting the lowest domestic opening weekend in the history of the Star Wars film franchise. While the movie still performed solidly worldwide, its underwhelming debut has increased scrutiny over Disney’s long-term theatrical plans.
Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest news and updates on Star Wars as it prepares to head into a brand up-to-date era for the most iconic sci-fi franchise in history.
