Guillermo Del Toro’s Cool Idea for a Jabba the Hutt Movie

Part of the reason I’m excited for Disney’s Star Wars Anthology films is to see how other filmmakers can leave their mark on the franchise by exploring untold stories.

I’m not particularly interested in how the Death Star plans were stolen, but I’m curious to see how Gareth Edwards brings the dread-filled atmosphere of Godzilla to a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars: Rogue One. I really don’t care for a Han Solo origin story, but unleashing the comic sensibilities of Philip Lord and Chris Miller onto Star Wars makes me perk up in anticipation.

By recruiting these interesting young filmmakers, Disney helps sell these ideas as fruitful extensions of the franchise rather than shallow cash-ins. That’s why I’m not as averse to stories out of left field, like, say, a Jabba the Hutt origin story, because the director who just floated the idea is one Guillermo del Toro.

Speaking to Yahoo Movies while promoting his new film Crimson Peak at San Diego Comic-Con, del Toro revealed his dream Star Wars project would be a film focused on the Huttese crime lord that bears the hallmarks of a classic mafia film, a la The Godfather:

"“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.”"

Del Toro is quick to add that this is just him thinking aloud. “This is me as a fat geek just geeking out and talking about it,” he said.

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But the idea has plenty of merit. We don’t get too much of Jabba’s backstory in the films, although his character is featured a bit in the Clone Wars animated series. There’s certainly plenty of material to explore his rise to power in the criminal underworld as well as his histories with characters like Han Solo and Darth Vader. And combining our first focused look at the seedier side of the galaxy with themes from classic gangster movies would give the film its own unique flavor.

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Plus, the project sounds like a natural fit for del Toro. His most popular films, like the Hellboy series or Pan’s Labyrinth, have proven that he’s adept at creating fantastical worlds out of both practical and special effects.

It’s unclear if he’ll ever free up his schedule enough to sign on with Disney, but his sensibilities and experience as a director would deliver a one-of-a-kind Star Wars film.

As long as it doesn’t feature a Hutt Jedi.

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