Star Wars: Guillermo del Toro had talks with LucasFilm, possibly regarding Godfather-style film about Jabba the Hut

'There are some characters that are great'

When Disney and LucasFilm announced they were expanding the Star Wars saga to include spin-offs, fans immediately began speculating about what could possibly come.

Rogue One has since come and gone, with the Han Solo film coming soon. A Boba Fett film was almost announced, with pre-Fantastic Four Josh Trank set to direct.

One of the many directors to flag their interest in the Skywalker saga was Pan's Labyrinth and Pacific Rim’s Guillermo del Toro, who spoke candidly about wanting to make a film about Jabba the Hutt.

"I would do the sort of Godfather saga that Jabba the Hutt had to go through to gain control,” he said at the time. "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.”

Turns out del Toro actually had discussions with LucasFilm’s Kathleen Kennedy and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) chief creative officer John Knoll about making a Star Wars film.

"There are some characters that are great," del Toro told Collider. "And I have talked to Kathleen Kennedy and John Knoll about ideas. But you know, I want to do my sh**. I want to do it first. I'm veering a lot towards animation. I love animation.”

It’s unclear whether del Toro specifically spoke about Jabba the Hutt, but considering the character is ripe for an animated series like Clone Wars of Rebels, it’s not hard to imagine him bringing up the character in the discussion.

Meanwhile, Star Wars has launched their next Force For Change campaign, offering fans the chance to star in the upcoming as-yet Untitled Star Wars film.

Del Toro is currently filming The Shape of Water — starring Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, and Octavia Spencer — while promoting the Netflix series Trollhunters.