As Lucasfilm has plotted out what it what’s to do with upcoming Star Wars movies, the Disney-owned company has been satiating fans’ appetites with TV shows set in the galaxy far, far away. The production that launched this new phase in the franchise’s history is The Mandalorian, which was met with acclaim and high viewership when it debuted for Disney+ subscribers in 2019. It was back in 2017 that the show was announced to be in the works, and it was eventually confirmed that Jon Favreau would spearhead it. As it turns out though, a series with a similar vibe was apparently pitched years ago by a different director. And the show would’ve differed from Din Djarin and Grogu’s adventures in a few key ways.
There are plenty of filmmakers who would love the opportunity to play in George Lucas’ cosmic sandbox, and Louis Leterrier is one of them. The French filmmaker recently appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast for a rewatch of his 2008 superhero film The Incredible Hulk. During the conversation, he revealed to host Josh Horowitz that he once approached Lucasfilm with two ideas. And interestingly enough, one of them was apparently a TV series with a “lone wolf and cub” vibe. Sound familiar? Letterier recalled pitching the idea and how the powers that be responded:
… I came to [Lucasfilm] a long time ago and pitched… ‘We should do a Star Wars TV show conceived as a lone wolf and cub [idea].’ They said, ‘Ah, we don’t know if it’s a great idea.’ … ‘We’ll get back to you with this idea.’ [laughs]
What should be noted here, of course, is that we don’t know exactly when the Fast X director went to the company with this idea. It’s very possible that the producers already had a similar concept in mind and were maybe deflecting as to keep plans under wraps. Still, based on what the filmmaker said, the execs didn’t seem too keen on the story at the time. What’s even more surprising about that is his idea involved two of the most famous characters from the Skywalker Saga:
It was not [a] Mandalorian, it was two things. I wanted to do the missing part between… Basically, before New Hope, where Obi-Wan takes Luke [under his wing]. I wanted to do that.
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That information adds a bit of additional irony to this situation, if you ask me. That specific gap of time and elements of that idea were covered in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series last year. It goes without saying that these are very wild coincidences, and I’d love more information on the exact timeline of Louis Leterrier’s meeting with Lucasfilm. It’s interesting to think about what his show would’ve looked like, and the same is true of the Boba Fett project he wanted to make. (And Fett was later re-introduced for his own show.)
Nevertheless, I’m incredibly pleased with The Mandalorian and how its creators have used it to expand the franchise’s lore. Louis Leterrier probably could’ve brought something unique to the table, though Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni deserve a lot of credit for their work. It sounds like Leterrier would’ve been eager to put his own stamp on Star Wars. Yet in the grand scheme of things, his career has worked out just fine, especially when you consider the other massive productions he’s gotten to work on.
All three seasons of The Mandalorian are available to stream now along with Obi-Wan Kenobi. And while you look over what’s been said about Mando Season 4, take a look at the 2023 TV schedule for more immediate viewing options.
