The team behind Paddington 2 could’ve made a Star Wars droid movie

Paul King and Simon Farnaby, the directing and writing team behind Paddington 2, were approached by Lucasfilm to make a Star Wars film. The pair pitched a story centered entirely on a droid, with none of the franchise’s established characters. It did not happen. Farnaby revealed the project in a Variety interview promoting his latest film, describing it as a distraction that consumed time after Paddington 2’s success but never came together.

“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,” Farnaby told Variety. “But we never really nailed it.” The idea is not dead entirely. Farnaby said the concept is being reworked and may eventually become something outside the Star Wars universe. King and Farnaby went on to make Wonka instead, which was a hit, and are now working on a Labubu movie.

The droid pitch joins a long list of Star Wars films that were announced, developed, or rumoured but never made. Rian Johnson’s trilogy, a Guillermo del Toro Jabba the Hutt project, and a film from the Game of Thrones showrunners all fell through at various stages. Disney paid $4.05 billion for Lucasfilm in 2012 with plans to release a Star Wars film every one to three years. Fourteen years later, the franchise has produced fewer films than planned and cancelled more than it shipped.

The Mandalorian and Grogu underperformed at the box office this year, grossing $342 million against a $165 million budget. Lucasfilm’s next hope is Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, scheduled for May 2027. Beyond that, projects from Simon Kinberg, James Mangold, and Taika Waititi remain in various states of uncertainty. A Paul King Star Wars film, from the director of what many critics consider the best-reviewed sequel of the past decade, would have been the most interesting addition to that list. Lucasfilm said no.