A Star Wars movie project, which would have centered on Boba Fett, was being developed with Josh Trank as the director and Simon Kinberg penning the script. It was rumored that the film would explore the story of bounty hunter Boba Fett, with a planned release date in 2018. However, Trank's departure from the project occurred in 2015 due to on-set issues, the negative reception of his movie Fantastic Four, and Lucasfilm's hesitance to keep him as director. The film was originally intended to be the second movie in the Star Wars Anthology Series of spin-off films.
After Solo: A Star Wars Story was released, Disney later announced that a third separate film was being planned for 2020, but it was not confirmed whether it would focus on Boba Fett or if Kinberg would still be involved. In May 2019, Disney revealed its theatrical schedule extending to 2027; however, no Star Wars film was included until 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this schedule was revised, and the next film was then scheduled for 2023. In 2023, Kinberg verified that his project centered around Boba Fett but was ultimately removed from development.
Lucasfilm was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, leading to the planning of the Star Wars franchise's future. The sequel trilogy was immediately announced, followed by announcements of several stand-alone pictures separate from the main Skywalker family saga. Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, confirmed this on February 5, 2013, stating that there would be at least two stand-alone films, one written by Lawrence Kasdan and the other by Simon Kinberg. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was released in 2016 as the first stand-alone film, while Kasdan and his son Jon co-wrote Solo: A Star Wars Story, which was released in 2018.
On June 14, 2014, it was revealed that Josh Trank would direct Kinberg's film. Reports indicated that the film's focus would be on the bounty hunter Boba Fett. According to Entertainment Weekly, Trank's film would have centered not only on Fett, but also on the group of bounty hunters seen alongside Fett in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back–4-LOM, Bossk, Dengar, IG-88, and Zuckuss. Daniel Keys Moran, who wrote the well-known Star Wars Legends short story "The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett," mentioned in an interview that a Disney employee had contacted him about the possibility of Lucasfilm adapting his short story into a Boba Fett-centered film's plot. Trank and a teaser for the film, which was originally scheduled for release in 2018, were slated to appear at Celebration Anaheim on April 19, 2015, but the convention appearance was canceled and reorganized to focus solely on director Gareth Edwards and Rogue One. It was reported that Lucasfilm intended to announce the Fett-focused film during the panel, along with a teaser reel. Shortly after, on May 1, 2015, it was announced that Trank was no longer involved in the project.
Trank stated that he left the project to pursue smaller feature films. However, media sources reported that Lucasfilm made the decision due to the problematic production of Trank's critically criticized film, Fantastic Four. Trank had expressed his desire to pursue his own vision for Fantastic Four and claimed that studio interference had hindered his efforts. Despite Trank's attempts to downplay reports of issues between him and the studio, Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, reportedly did not believe the spin and removed him from his Star Wars film. At the time, Kennedy told Entertainment Weekly: "It's still one of the stories that we absolutely want to tell. There is a lot of innovative technology in and around what it is we're doing with that story, so for a lot of reasons, we were comfortable postponing that. But we're definitely still developing it."
The Han Solo film, directed by Ron Howard, ultimately took the 2018 release date originally intended for the film. Later, Disney confirmed plans for a third stand-alone film to be released in 2020, although there was no confirmation about whether it would focus on Boba Fett or if Kinberg would continue to be involved. Kinberg has remained with Lucasfilm as an executive producer on the television series Star Wars Rebels and has since been chosen to make his directorial debut with 20th Century Fox's Dark Phoenix for a release on February 14, 2019.
On August 17, 2017, The Hollywood Reporter reported that an Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off film was being developed, with Stephen Daldry in early discussions to direct. Additionally, it was mentioned that films centered around Boba Fett and Yoda, respectively, were still being considered for the future. The Hollywood Reporter reaffirmed its report about a Kenobi film on May 24, 2018, while also stating that James Mangold, the director of The Wolverine and Logan, would write and direct a Boba Fett film. However, in September 2018, Bob Iger announced that there would be a "slowdown" in the release of Star Wars films, as he felt there had been "a little too much, too fast." (He reiterated this in April 2019: "We will take a pause, some time, and reset … There will be other Stars Wars movies, but there will be a bit of a hiatus."). In October 2018, it was reported that the planned film had been canceled, with Lucasfilm instead focusing on The Mandalorian, a television series led by Jon Favreau. On February 22, 2019, CNBC reported that Hasbro anticipated a decrease in sales in 2020 due to the absence of a new feature film, indicating that the film had been removed from its original schedule. On May 7, 2019, Disney released its theatrical release schedule for 2020-2027, revealing that Star Wars films were scheduled to be released in theaters in 2023, 2025, and 2027, but not in 2020. On August 30, 2023, Kinberg confirmed that he was going to write the Boba Fett film, which was ultimately replaced by The Book of Boba Fett, a series set in the time of The Mandalorian.
- New Spinoff Films Set to Expand the Star Wars Galaxy on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Josh Trank to Direct Stand-Alone Star Wars Film on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- " Launchpad " — Star Wars Insider 151
- Star Wars Celebration 2015: Conversations with Gareth Edwards and Josh Trank on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- SWCA: Conversation with Gareth Edwards Panel Liveblog on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Josh Trank Departs Star Wars Anthology Film on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- /Film Interview: 'Star Wars Rebels' Simon Kinberg Talks Daily Schedule, Internet Rumors and Episode VII on /Film (archived from the original on July 19, 2019)