Lamenting Jabba the Hutt’s Cancelled Star Wars Movie

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The trailer released in September 2025 for the new Star Wars film, The Mandalorian and Grogu, might signal a turning point for the franchise. It appears this movie will be the furthest departure yet from the core characters and familiar locations of Star Wars.

It’s great to see new stories being told in the Star Wars universe, especially ones that focus on lesser-known characters. However, it makes us wonder about a project that never happened: a film centered around Jabba the Hutt. That would have been an unexpectedly fascinating story.

A Labor of Love

Okay, so for anyone who doesn’t know, Jabba the Hutt is this massive, gross slug-like alien who basically runs a whole criminal organization across an entire planet. He first showed up in Return of the Jedi back in ’83, and he had Han Solo captured as, like, a trophy. Eventually, Luke and Leia managed to rescue Han by, well, taking Jabba down.

While glimpses of his history appeared in later Star Wars content like the prequels, TV shows, comics, books, and even Fortnite, fans never fully understood how Jabba the Hutt rose to power. Director Guillermo del Toro aimed to address this missing piece of the puzzle.

“I would do the sort of Godfather saga that Jabba the Hutt had to go through to gain control. One, because it’s the character that looks the most like me, and I like him. I love the idea of a Hutt type of mafia, a very complex coup. I just love the character.” – Guillermo del Toro, 2015

It’s not surprising that people compare this crime boss’ story to the film The Godfather (1972), as Jabba’s death scene was clearly based on a similar moment with the character Luca Brasi. The creators designed Jabba to represent the vices – like excessive desire, laziness, overindulgence, and greed – often found in criminals and politicians who benefit from war.

An Unfortunate End

Guillermo del Toro and David S. Goyer started seriously planning a movie centered around Jabba the Hutt in 2017, after del Toro publicly shared his enthusiasm for the idea in 2015. This development took place at Lucasfilm while other standalone Star Wars stories, like Rogue One (2016) and Solo (2018), were also in the works.

Goyer shared that the project moved past initial ideas and involved significant work, including the development of impressive designs. Del Toro later noted that a great deal of effort was put into crafting the story. Given the complexity and cost – half a million dollars and three months – of creating the original Jabba the Hutt puppet in 1983, it’s probable they would have relied heavily on computer-generated imagery.

After the movie Solo (2018) didn’t succeed with audiences or critics, Disney cancelled it. Both Guillermo del Toro and Philip Goyer confirmed this in 2023. Del Toro has said that, although he was initially disappointed by the cancellation, he still considers working on Star Wars to have been a worthwhile experience.

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2025-10-22 21:10