‘Paddington 2’ Team Turning Failed Star Wars Idea Into a New Film

Simon Farnaby says a failed Star Wars movie pitch he’d done with director Paul King is getting a second life as an original science-fiction film for Disney. Farnaby, who co-wrote Paddington 2 and Wonka with King, told Variety that the pair met with Lucasfilm after the success of Paddington 2. Their idea focused on a droid and did not include major characters or events from the long-running franchise. “They were like, ‘We really need it to be a Star Wars movie,’ which is probably why it didn’t get turned into a Star Wars movie,” Farnaby said. “But we never really nailed it.” Lucasfilm didn’t move forward with the project, but Disney also didn’t discard the central idea. Farnaby said the company encouraged the team to reshape it outside the franchise. “They basically said, it’s not right for Star Wars, but do you want to rework it as a sci-fi film? So we’re working on that now,” he said. Farnaby didn’t reveal the plot, cast, production schedule, or release date. It is also not known whether King will direct the new movie, though he remains Farnaby’s writing partner on the project. The move would give Disney a chance to put an original story on its live-action slate after years of lea...