Disney Cancels Droid-Centric Star Wars Pitch From Paddington Duo

Disney and Lucasfilm have scrapped a Star Wars feature that screenwriter Simon Farnaby and director Paul King were developing together.

They opted instead to retool the concept as an original sci-fi film outside the franchise. The cancellation, confirmed by Farnaby in a recent interview, marks the latest development casualty at a studio already navigating theatrical underperformance and a leadership transition.

The project, which the duo began developing before pivoting to other work, was built around a robot protagonist rather than any established character from the Star Wars mythos.

That creative choice, Farnaby explained, was ultimately the project’s undoing.

“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! But we never really nailed it.”

King, who directed the Paddington films and 2023’s Wonka, and Farnaby — who co-wrote Paddington 2 — pitched the droid-centered story to Disney and Lucasfilm.

Executives ultimately concluded the material didn’t fit the franchise. Farnaby said the studio offered the pair a chance to salvage the concept elsewhere.

“[Disney] 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.”

Farnaby did not specify when exactly the Star Wars version was shelved, but noted that he and King moved on to Wonka after the project stalled.

The pivot to Wonka effectively ended the Star Wars collaboration before it could be re-pitched or reworked internally.

Franchise Struggles and Leadership Change

The cancellation lands at a difficult moment for Lucasfilm. The Mandalorian and Grogu, the franchise’s most recent theatrical release, posted the lowest domestic opening weekend in modern Star Wars history.

It earned approximately $82 million over its first three days. The film arrived after a stretch of delayed projects, critically divisive television series, and high-profile executive turnover.

Kathleen Kennedy, who served as president of Lucasfilm, exited the studio earlier this year. Her successor is Dave Filoni, the studio’s former chief creative officer and a key architect of Lucasfilm’s recent live-action television slate.

Filoni’s elevation signals continuity in the franchise’s storytelling approach, even as the studio works to stabilize its theatrical pipeline.

Lucasfilm’s upcoming theatrical calendar now centers on Ahsoka’s second season, expected in early 2027, and Shawn Levy’s Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling, scheduled for May 2027.

The studio did not immediately return requests for comment on the scrapped Farnaby-King project.

Sci-Fi Rebirth for the Abandoned Pitch

The decision to convert the rejected pitch into a standalone sci-fi property suggests Disney saw genuine commercial potential in the core idea.

Even if its Star Wars framing didn’t land, the studio redirected it rather than abandoning it entirely. For Farnaby and King, the retooled film offers a chance to develop a science-fiction universe of their own.

It is unconstrained by the expectations that come with a four-decade-old franchise. The move also reflects a pragmatic pattern at Disney and Lucasfilm.

Concepts developed for Star Wars that don’t clear the franchise bar are increasingly being redirected rather than discarded. The standalone sci-fi version remains in active development, though no release timeline or distributor details have been disclosed.

Sources

• Collider