Typically, the more you look into a character's backstory, the greater the chance you have of turning them into a total disappointment. Star Wars fans know this greater than anyone, as the dominating and powerful Darth Vader was turned into the ridiculous Anakin Skywalker in George Lucas' prequel trilogy. Yet somehow the lure of a more fleshed-out history to enigmatic icons such as Boba Fett or Han Solo is too irresistible a lure for the storytellers behind the Star Wars universe. Just ask Guillermo del Toro, who slyly pitched an unofficial Star Wars Anthology picture we'd love to see.
Yahoo was lucky enough to sit down with the man himself during this weekend's festivities at San Diego Comic Con. During that fruitful conversation, del Toro pitched an anthology story that fleshed out the story of Jabba The Hutt's rise throughout the criminal underworld of the Star Wars saga. While he went out of his way to label the following pitch as an unofficial pitch from his own geeky heart, we can't help but feel that what you're about to read would make for some great canon. Said the director,
I would do the sort of Godfather saga that Jabba the Hutt had to go through to gain control. One, because it’s the character that looks the most like me, and I like him. I love the idea of a Hutt type of mafia, a very complex coup. I just love the character.
Not only was Guillermo del Toro's Jabba The Hutt pitch filled with the usual self-deprecation we've come to know and love from the director, but it actually sounds like a solid piece of story. Jabba The Hutt's story is one that has been explored in other properties, as Yahoo was eager to point out, but with the canon of Star Wars being an open canvas, there's plenty of room for re-invention. With the story of The Godfather inspiring Guillermo Del Toro's narrative hand, we can at least be assured that he'll be using an already sound story as his compass. Provided, of course, he stays away from The Godfather: Part III.
With Boba Fett and Han Solo already being prime candidates for Star Wars Anthology pictures, it would make complete sense to link the two stories together through their common link. Considering Han Solo would owe Jabba The Hutt a debt so great that Boba Fett would collect his frozen body as a trophy for the underworld kingpin, the story of that debt's origin could be touched upon through the three standalone films. Then again, even a storyteller as skilled as del Toro would have to be wary of falling into the same traps that once renowned storytellers like George Lucas have fallen into in the past.
You can next see Guillermo del Toro's storytelling skills at work in Crimson Peak, opening on October 16th.
