7 Star Wars Anthology Movies We’d Rather Have Than A Han Solo Prequel

As you probably well know, production on the latest movie in the Star Wars saga has now ground to a halt due to some major behind-the-scenes problems. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have been fired from the Han Solo spinoff, which only has three weeks left of principal photography, due to "creative differences" with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. The crux of the issue seems to be that the two sides have very different views on what the film should be. While there's no doubt more to the story than just that, it does make you wonder whether this argument stems from the fact that there was a problem with the concept of the movie in the first place. After all, did the origins story of Han Solo really need to be told? To be clear, we do actually have faith that Lucasfilm will be able to turn this situation around and produce another enjoyable outing. In all fairness, they haven't put a wrong foot forth yet with the revived series of films and Rogue One survived a very similar obstacle to this one - the movie was significantly reshot, with Tony Gilroy replacing director Gareth Edwards - and it turned out to be fantastic. Still, that being said, there are a bunch of other movies that we'd rather have seen released under the Star Wars Anthology banner instead of a Han Solo prequel. Even if they aren't in active development now, let's hope that Lucasfilm gets to work on at least one or two of the following seven projects in the near future, as we think that any of them would make for a better film than the upcoming spinoff. 7) Knights Of The Old Republic With Rogue One, the Star Wars franchise has proven that it's possible to jump around the timeline without confusing or putting off casual viewers. For their next movie, Lucasfilm decided to stay in a similar period, the time between the original and prequel trilogies. It would have been amazing, however, if they had dived even further back into Star Wars history to bring us a film based off Knights of the Old Republic. A phenomenally popular video game franchise - plus a comic book tie-in series - KotOR is set in what's essentially the medieval period of the Star Wars world. Taking place 4000 years prior, it differs from the set-up of the saga films as it features the Jedi and the Sith at all-out war, with whole armies on either side. We've never seen the battle between the light and the dark side fought on such a scale on the big screen, and it'd be great to finally get the chance to witness it. As for characters, the villain would be Darth Malak - the apprentice of the legendary Darth Revan - who leads the Sith armada against the Republic. In the original video game, you play as someone suffering from memory loss and you can decide whether you follow the ways of the Jedi or the Sith. Whoever they are, a protagonist with ambiguous allegiances and a mysterious past sounds like a great character to us. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though, as the KotOR games have enough story and world-building in them to create a whole new mini-saga within the franchise. If Lucasfilm were willing to take a trip to the same galaxy far, far away but a much longer time ago, it could open the window to whole new storytelling possibilities. 6) A Movie Featuring Ahsoka Tano Is Ahsoka Tano the most widely popular Star Wars character who isn't from the movies? Probably. The Togruta Jedi - the Padawan of Anakin Skywalker - first appeared in the The Clone Wars TV series and fans have been desperate to see more of her ever since. The campaign to get her in the movies has only grown in notoriety recently, thanks to Rosario Dawson publicly speaking about how much she'd like to play Ahsoka. Come on Lucasfilm, you have a fanbase who want it and an awesome actress who wants to play her. Get Ahsoka on the big screen already! The only issue here is that we can't see the character being given her own standalone outing. For one, previous protagonists have all been humanoid, so having a movie headlined by a woman with head-tentacles could potentially scare away more casual audiences. Plus, dipping back into the time period of the prequel movies could remind fans of things they'd rather forget. Having said all that, it would be amazing to have Ahsoka Tano at the fore of a film. In the wake of Wonder Woman, the world needs more movies headlined by brave-hearted, badass female heroes, and Ahsoka would fit that bill perfectly. 5) Lando Calrissian Goes Solo Every Star Wars fan loves a bit of Lando, but could he really helm his own solo movie? If you've read his self-titled Marvel comic book series then you'll know the answer is hell yes! Lando, set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, sees the character form a team of intergalactic criminals to pull off the most dangerous heist in the universe - stealing a boat full of treasure from under the Empire's nose. The miniseries is one of the most well-received of the House of Ideas' Star Wars comics, so fans would be over the moon to see a movie version. Yes, Rogue One was a kind of heist flick, but a Lando film could really double down on playing with the classic con artist and heist movie tropes. Basically, we're talking Ocean's Eleven in space. How's that for an elevator pitch? While fans would love to see Billy Dee Williams return to the role, it's unlikely that Lucasfilm would give him his own movie. Still, the much more bankable Donald Glover will play a young Lando in the Han Solo prequel, and assuming that movie does well and people like Glover's version of the character, it seems totally possible that young Lando might spin off into his own film. 4) Yoda And The Seven Jedi It's been rumoured for many years now that Yoda could be getting his own standalone movie. While that sounds like a safe bet in some ways, due to the tongue-tied Jedi being one of the most beloved and well-known of Star Wars characters, the idea of a Yoda spinoff has a few of the same drawbacks as the Han Solo prequel. Probably even more so. For one, do we really need to know Yoda's life story? We agree, then, with an idea that has been touted by a few fans before: meld the Yoda movie with another intriguing concept that's also been floating about. Around about the time a Yoda prequel was touted, Zack Snyder was said to be developing a Star Wars film in the style of Seven Samurai, with a bunch of Jedi coming together to protect some innocents from an evil force. But what if Yoda was the Jedi who banded these heroes together? That would allow us more Yoda and make use of the samurai-inspired story idea but avoid the pitfalls of a straight-up prequel. We're thinking that it could feature a slightly younger Yoda, though, before he's become the aged sage of his later life. The movie could see him go from a little green guy that no one thinks much of to one of the greatest Jedi heroes and leaders. What an amazing story arc that would be, right? While they're at it, they could even get Samuel L. Jackson back as Mace Windu, most likely as one of Yoda's seven Jedi. The movie could also then explain how he becomes the wise Jedi Master of the prequels, as well. 3) Boba Fett Standalone Another Star Wars Anthology film that's actually done the rounds at Lucasfilm is the idea of a solo movie for Boba Fett. The flick was to be helmed by Josh Trank but it strangely sunk without a trace a few years back - we later found out that Trank was removed from the project at the last minute after his Fantastic Four reboot was a complete flop. This is obviously a great shame, as Fett has a huge amount of potential still to be mined. We don't mean an origin story - the prequels attempted that and it was terrible - but a solo movie for the character could redeem the original trilogy's treatment of him. The bounty hunter is always seen as one of the most badass Star Wars characters ever, even if he infamously doesn't do all that much in the movies. If he got to star in his own feature, though, it could finally give us the version of the character that the fans have always wanted to see. You know, not the one who gets eaten by a burping hole in the ground. A Boba Fett solo could go one of two ways. Keep him as a villain and cast him as an anti-hero - a morally unscrupulous figure who takes on an exciting dangerous mission - or put him into a position where he has to play the good guy, which would allow him to really grow as a character. Though Fett would be the centrepiece of the movie, we imagine that it could feature the many bounty hunters that populate the galaxy. Not to mention his sometime contractor Jabba the Hutt. Apparently, a Jabba solo film has also been discussed, but it would be far better to make him a supporting character in Boba's story instead. 2) Darth Vader Darth Vader as the protagonist of a movie? Haven't we already had three of those with the prequels? Well, yes, but a modern Darth Vader solo film would be as far from those efforts and their portrayal of whiny old Anakin as possible. Think about it, a Darth Vader standalone could properly nail the character as the tragic anti-villain that he is. If you're still not convinced, and believe that Vader only works in an antagonistic capacity - as in the original trilogy - or in more of a cameo role - like in Rogue One - there's one big piece of evidence that should change your mind. Marvel's Darth Vader comic series from Kieron Gillen is arguably the best Star Wars comic book of the lot. It builds on the movies by exploring Vader's turn from the Emperor. As he attempts to hide his feeling for his son Luke from his master, Vader builds a team of rogues to covertly bring the Emperor down. A Vader movie wouldn't - and probably shouldn't - follow this plot directly, but the Marvel series and his appearance in Rogue One prove that there's a lot of life left in the ol' bucket-head. He can be a terrifying presence or a compelling, somewhat sympathetic one. Or, most interestingly, he could even be both. Vader will always be the greatest Star Wars character of them all, so it just doesn't make sense not to use him. 1) Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Missing Years Here we arrive at what's by far the most requested Star Wars anthology movie - a standalone adventure for Obi-Wan Kenobi, exploring his hermitude on Tatooine as he watches over Luke Skywalker growing up. It's often thought that the Jedi must have been doing something over that period, and fans are convinced that there would be an awesome story to tell there. Plus, it could even lead to a role for Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jin, a character who really needs to be explored beyond The Phantom Menace. Thankfully, Ewan McGregor has said on various occasions that he would love to return to the franchise. He was one of the best things about the prequels and he's now the perfect age to play the mid-way point between his younger portrayal in those films and Alec Guinness' version in A New Hope. There've also been rumours that an Obi-Wan trilogy could be on the cards. That sounds a bit excessive to us, but at least one movie is an absolute necessity. It's a real shame that an Obi-Wan movie isn't the Star Wars standalone that's set to come out next year instead, but we can hope that - due to the constant wishes of both the fans and the actors - it'll materialize eventually.