Yesterday, Slashfilm reported a new rumor, saying that they had heard a possible plot for the first spinoff film in 2016, directed by Gareth Edwards and written by Gary Whitta. Their report said that they take it with a grain of salt, but I wanted to report on it as well in order to give some analysis. Here is what the report had to say:
- We've heard the 2016 Star Wars spin-off movie is about the group of people out to pull off the ultimate heist in a galaxy far, far away.
- What the group is trying to steal is one of the most important linchpins in Star Wars history — they are out to steal the plans for the first Death Star.
- That's right, the story is set during the A New Hope era. However, it's not the Rebel Alliance as we'd all assumed.
- As rumor has it, the story follows a group of bounty hunters who were hired for the job — think the Seven Samurai or Suicide Squad meets Ocean's Eleven in the world of Star Wars.
Slashfilm goes on to analyze the idea a bit more, saying that the opening crawl of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which states that "Rebel spies" stole the Death Star plans, could plausibly allow for bounty hunters—perhaps Boba Fett?—to steal the Death Star plans. The idea of a heist movie in the Star Wars galaxy is a pretty interesting one as well. However, despite the in-universe importance of the stealing of the Death Star plans, and how it kicked off the journey of Luke, Leia, and Han, I don't see Lucasfilm and Disney basing an entire film around a moment that, in the public eye, probably isn't seen as that significant.
My guess is that the stealing of the Death Star plans will factor into the endgame of Star Wars Rebels, assuming the show ends right before A New Hope. It makes sense that the characters of the show would end up building their importance to the mythos by being involved in the mission that began Luke Skywalker's story. After all, it's the stealing of the Death Star plans and the destruction of the battle station that turned the Rebels from a rag tag group into the full Rebel Alliance we saw later in the original trilogy. The show seems like a more appropriate setting for this storyline, rather than a $150-200 million film.
What do you think? Would this work as a spinoff, or is better in Rebels? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
About the Author
Brandon Rhea is the founder of Star Wars Fanpedia, a contributor on Wookieepedia, and the owner/operator and creative lead of The Star Wars RP. Professionally, he is Senior Community Manager at Wikia, the host of Fanpedia. Follow him on Twitter @brandonprhea.