It was reported late last year that Stranger Things and Free Guy director Shawn Levy was in talks to helm a Star Wars project, and a lot of fans thought he would be perfect for the IP.
For now, Levi is deep at work with Marvel’s Deadpool 3, but he does offer an update on what’s happening with his Star Wars. Talking to Collider, Levi confirms that the project is currently on hold thanks to the WGA and SAG AFTRA strikes. He says, “We were just starting the process of developing my [Star Wars] movie, and the writer strike happened… So we are in that holding pattern that so much of our industry is in.”
We don’t have any details on what kind of story Levy has in mind for Star Wars, but we do know that the IP has been alluded to in several of Levy’s projects like the Millennium Falcon in Stranger Things and Ryan Reynolds wielding a lightsaber/laser weapon in Free Guy and The Adam Project.
Admittedly, Lucasfilm has been announcing several directors whose projects seem to have gone nowhere from Patty Jenkins to Taika Waititi, and even Watchmen series creator Damon Lindelof.
We don’t know exactly what is holding up the SW projects over at Disney, but with the very vocal (and oftentimes toxic) fandom of Star Wars online, it seems that the company is trying to find out a way to release things while disappointing the least amount of people.
Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau seem to be doing well on the fanservice side of things, but there is a chunk of the fandom (who some believe is the actual majority) that believe SW should embrace actual good storytelling first.
With Levy’s penchant for family-friendly films, I’m not surprised Lucasfilm would approach him for a Star Wars picture. Hopefully the strike ends soon, and he can get to work on it ASAP.
No release date has been set for Levy’s Star Wars.
