Pictured, above: My approximate feelings on a Jabba the Hutt movie. Between this and Boba Fett, it’s like the rumors are endeavoring to make movies on saga major leaguers like Han and Obi-wan more palatable. But man, if this is what they’re really knocking around for future spin-offs, no wonder Rogue One got to be first at bat.
I guess all that fan foot-stomping may finally be paying off. The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours) is in “early talks” to direct a standalone starring Obi-wan Kenobi. It’s in “the earliest of stages” and there’s no script yet, so I don’t expect we’ll hear anything official from Lucasfilm anytime soon. (EW’s Anthony Breznican also seems positive on it – though again, “very early.”)
It’s not known if Ewan McGregor will return, but he’s been open to the idea ever since the standalones actually became a thing.
There was nothing about any of the upcoming spin-off films at Celebration, but we did get this “behind the scenes” look at the Han Solo film with Warwick Davis and directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, who revealed a new alien.
Meanwhile, Kathleen Kennedy clarified the faux-issue about Han’s name for MTV’s Josh Horowitz. “It’s obviously his name,” she said. “It will always be his name.” She also hopes to announce the third spinoff film “this summer.”
And finally, here’s a rumor that a prequel-era character may appear in the Han film. (I am side-eyeing this one a bit, but stranger things have happened.)
But overall, there’s not really that much to say right now about the future. Because even Lucasfilm isn’t sure yet:
“There are [possible movies] that we have been talking a lot about,” Kennedy says. “But we are planning to sit down in January, since we will have had The Force Awakens released, now Rogue One, and we’ve finished shooting Episode VIII. We have enough information where we can step back a little bit and say, What are we doing? What do we feel is exciting? And what are some of the things we want to explore?”
It’s certainly an interesting question. I doubt we’ll be waiting 10 years for Episode X, but how long should they wait? Will the fanbase stand for an uninterrupted string of non-Episode films?
And which standalones? Perhaps the most interesting parts of this piece look back. First, it confirms the long-standing rumors that Josh Trank’s canceled standalone was about Boba Fett. (Ugh.) They even had a teaser reel ready to show us at Celebration Anaheim in spring 2015. A Fett film still might happen – Breznican calls it “backburnered” – but it’ll no doubt have to wait until the right director comes along. (And yes, the possibility of an Obi-Wan Kenobi film is mentioned. Again, Lucasfilm knows you want it.)
Secondly, Kennedy also mentions that the idea for the Han Solo standalone wasn’t one that George Lucas mentioned as a spinoff. We’ve previously heard otherwise, which makes me wonder if the original idea came from George in a different context, like the never-produced live-action series. (After all, Saw Gerrera made the jump from there to The Clone Wars to Rogue One – why not a major character like Han?)
In another article, this time at Variety, Kennedy talks about some of the Han film’s inspirations:
“This moves closer to a heist or Western type feel,” says Kennedy. “We’ve talked about [Frederic] Remington and those primary colors that are used in his paintings defining the look and feel of the film.”
She also talks about her desire to bring in more women to direct Star Wars films.
“We want to make sure that when we bring a female director in to do “Star Wars,” they’re set up for success,” says Kennedy. “They’re gigantic films, and you can’t come into them with essentially no experience.”
In the L.A. Times, director Josh Trank addresses why he dropped out of the second Star Wars Anthology film.
“I want to do something original after [Fantastic Four] because I’ve been living under public scrutiny, as you’ve seen, for the last four years of my life,” he said. “And it’s not healthy for me right now in my life. I want to do something that’s below the radar.”
“I have a great relationship with everyone at Lucasfilm and with Kari Hart,” he continued. “And they all understood it because this whole experience for me has been very psychologically hard.”
Simon Kinberg, also present at the interview, called the rumors that followed Trank’s departure “particularly cruel.”
Today’s contender is courtesy of The Wrap, who’s claiming that the second anthology movie – the one Josh Trank is no longer directing – will be “a Boba Fett origin story.” (Wait, is it Attack of the Clones? Again? In 3D?)
Of course, this is far from our first Boba Fett rumor. He’s been a frequentsubject since the standalone films were announced, including a recent one that claimed ‘Boba Fett’ will turn out to be a Dread Pirate Roberts-like figure, passing the name from the original clone onto others. The Wrap is a far more trustworthy source than many, and Out Like A Chump: The Boba Fett Story may seem inevitable, but only time will tell if any of these rumors pan out.
Josh Trank will no longer be directing the second Star Wars Anthology film, Lucasfilm has announced.
“After a year of having the incredible honor of developing with the wonderful and talented people at Lucasfilm, I’m making a personal decision to move forward on a different path,” Trank said in a statement released through Lucasfilm. “I’ve put a tremendous amount of thought into this, and I know deep down in my heart that I want to pursue some original creative opportunities.”
Josh Trank will be directing the second Star Wars spinoff film that’s due in 2018, but first up is his take on Marvel’s Fantasic Four for Fox. It’s been kept mostly under wraps, but Trank and Simon Kinberg talked to Collider about it the other day.
In the 
