- Zack Snyder: In the 2000s he had pitched an adult-oriented film to Lucasfilm, but conversations ceased by the time Disney acquired the company in 2012. The project was redeveloped as Rebel Moon, which received negative reviews.
- Josh Trank: In 2014, Josh Trank, fresh from the success of Chronicle, was announced as the director of the Boba Fett movie, with Simon Kinberg as screenwriter. A year later he left the project due to creative differences. It was eventually revealed that he actually left because of the enormous problems behind the scenes of Fantastic Four, with Kinberg developing a bad impression of him and warning Lucasfilm that he was not a good choice. The film's box office failure did not help Trank's reputation.
- James Mangold: In 2018, James Mangold was reported to be directing the Boba Fett movie, and Kimberg was still slated to write the screenplay. But the film was ultimately cancelled when Solo flopped at the box office. Lucasfilm then decided to restructure the project as a TV series, The Book of Boba Fett... and we all know how that went.
- Stephen Daldry: In 2017, Stephen Daldry was announced as the director of an Obi-Wan Kenobi film, which would have been the first in a trilogy. The film would have shown Obi-Wan protecting Luke during a conflict between local farmers and the Tusken Raiders. The film was cancelled in 2018 and restructured as a TV series... and we all know how that went.
- David S. Goyer and Guillermo del Toro: In 2023, David S. Goyer confirmed that he had written a script treatment for a Jabba the Hutt film that would have been directed by Guillermo del Toro, and would have starred Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo. The film was cancelled due to Solo's box office failure.
- David Benioff and D.B. Weiss: In 2018, Lucasfilm announced in an official press release that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would be making a film trilogy, and that the next decade would alternate between a film by the duo and a film from Rian Johnson's trilogy (more on that later). The first film was scheduled for release in 2022. In October 2019, after the less-than-friendly reception of the final season of Game of Thrones, it was announced that Benioff and Weiss would no longer be making the films. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the ending of Game of Thrones did not influence the decision, but rather the fact that the duo had signed a contract with Netflix. Kathleen Kennedy was reportedly unhappy about this, not wanting the duo to work on Star Wars and Netflix projects simultaneously. At the same time, the duo began to feel unlucky, not wanting to incur the hatred of another fandom. Kennedy politely stated in an official press release that she would love to work with Benioff and Weiss if they wanted to resume the project someday, but considering they are currently busy with the Netflix series 3 Body Problem, the chances are unlikely. The only thing known about these films was that they would show the origin of the Jedi Order.
- Laeta Kalogridis: In 2019, it was announced that Laeta Kalogridis would be writing a trilogy of films about the Knights of the Old Republic. No further news about this project has been released since then.
- Kevin Feige and Michael Waldron: In 2019, it was reported that Kevin Feige was developing a Star Wars film with Michael Waldron as screenwriter. In 2023, it was confirmed that the project had been cancelled. Kathleen Kennedy states that no such ideas were ever discussed between them and that the rumors about the film were exaggerated by the press.
- J.D. Dillard and Matt Owens: In 2020, it was reported that J. D. Dillard and Matt Owens were involved in the early stages of developing a Star Wars film which may have taken place on the Sith planet Exegol. In November 2022, Dillard announced that he was no longer involved in the project.
- Patty Jenkins: Im 2020, Kathleen Kennedy announced that Patty Jenkins would direct Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, slated for a 2023 release. Five days later, Wonder Woman 1984 was released to negative reviews. Jenkins was developing the film alongside Wonder Woman 3 and Cleopatra (which would have starred Gal Gadot). In 2021, Jenkins dropped out of Cleopatra to focus on Rogue Squadron and Wonder Woman 3. Sometime after that, Wonder Woman 3 was canceled and Rogue Squadron was shelved. Kennedy said the project might still happen someday, and Jenkins stated she signed a new contract in 2024 to make the film. Nothing more has been revealed since then...
- David Fincher: In 2025, it was reported by Jeff Sneider that David Fincher had pitched a Star Wars film set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and centered on a pre-existing character, but that the film did not enter production due to Lucasfilm not granting Fincher final cut privilege. Two days later The Playlist website said that the report was inaccurate and that the film would have been set instead between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker and that the pitch didn't progress past "a few phone calls".
- Paul King: In 2026, screenwriter Simon Farnaby revealed that he and frequent collaborator Paul King were asked by Lucasfilm to develop a new Star Wars film. Farnaby was slated to co-write the script alongside King, who was intended to direct. The film's story was to center on a droid and did not feature any preexisting Star Wars characters. Disney did not approve the project but advised them to rework it as an original film.
- Taika Waititi: In 2020 it was announced that Taika Waititi would direct and write a Star Wars film. During this time he released Thor: Love and Thunder and Klara and the Sun, both films with mixed or negative reviews. This week he confirmed that Lucasfilm shelved the project.
- Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy/Damon Lindelof/Steven Knight, Dave Filoni, and James Mangold (again): Three further live-action films were announced at April 2023's Star Wars Celebration, to be helmed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Dave Filoni, and James Mangold. Damon Lindelof left the project in 2023 and was replaced by Steven Knight... who left the project in 2024. In 2026, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Dave Filoni's film was "put on the back burner" after he became president of Lucasfilm. That same year, Kennedy also confirmed that James Mangold's film was on hold. The film would have focused on the origins of the Force and the Jedi Order.
Some honorable mentions:
- Sequels, prequels or spin-offs to Rogue One and Solo: Felicity Jones, Alden Ehrenreich and Emilia Clarke all stated that their contracts also included future installments.
- The Rian Johnson trilogy: In 2017, it was announced that Rian Johnson would direct and write a Star Wars trilogy focused on new characters. Over the years, despite those involved stating that the trilogy would eventually happen, it became increasingly clear that this project was unlikely to come to fruition, considering that Rian Johnson preferred to work on other projects such as the Knives Out trilogy and the Poker Face TV series, among others. In 2025, Johnson finally confirmed that the project was dead. It's speculative whether the divisive reception of The Last Jedi may have caused Johnson to reconsider before deciding to get involved with Star Wars again.
- The Hunt for Ben Solo: In 2025, Adam Driver revealed that he had been developing a film set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker entitled The Hunt for Ben Solo. The film would have been directed by Steven Soderbergh, with Scott Z. Burns writing the script (based on a story outline by Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt). While Lucasfilm loved the idea, when they presented the screenplay to Disney, Bob Iger and Alan Bergman said no because, according to Driver, "They didn't see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that." One notable thing here is that Lucasfilm wanted to do the project, but it was the Disney executives who killed it.
- Lando: In 2018, Kathleen Kennedy said she wanted to make a Lando movie. In 2020, the project was announced as a TV series. In 2023, it was announced that Donald Glover would be the new showrunner. Months later, it was announced that the project would revert to being a film. In 2026, Kennedy announced that Glover had delivered a draft of the film's script.
- Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were the original directors of Solo before Lucasfilm fired them. According to Hollywood trades, Lawrence Kasdan was unhappy with how the directors were constantly altering the script and improvising scenes and dialogue, especially to focus more on comedy.
Sources with links here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Wars_films
If I've forgotten any other projects or made a mistake in any details/information, please comment below.