Guillermo del Toro's Star Wars movie could have been the fresh start the series needed

Acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro recently shared the simple, but still painful, reasons as to why his Jabba the Hutt Star Wars movie never happened.

Yes, yes, I know this isn't about a video game, but I only just found out that Guillermo del Toro almost made a Jabba the Hutt film, so just let me cook, OK? Now, I'm not someone who desperately needs some of the best directors around to work on one of the biggest IPs around, but man, del Toro surely would have made one heck of a Jabba film. Last month, it came to light that the Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth director was working on a script for a Jabba film "around four years ago," according to David Goyer (Man of Steel) on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

Del Toro himself recently commented on the claim in a recent interview with Collider, where he offered a small bit of insight into the project. "We had the rise and fall of Jabba the Hutt, so I was super happy," del Toro shared. "We were doing a lot of stuff, and then it’s not my property, it’s not my money, and then it’s one of those 30 screenplays that goes away. Sometimes I'm bitter, sometimes I'm not."

You can take a look at any of del Toro's films and see just how much he loves practical effects, an aspect of filmmaking that has died out with the shift to digital effects (a side of the industry that isn't unionised, I should note). Thankfully, recent Star Wars films have embraced their practical roots, even bringing back puppet Yoda for The Last Jedi, so one can only imagine the kind of costumes we might have seen in del Toro's take on Star Wars. A fresh batch of Star Wars films are obviously on the way, but you can't help but wonder if del Toro's film could have been something the series needed. At least you'll be able to work with, or double cross, Jabba in the upcoming Star Wars Outlaws.