Rogue One Writers Gary Whitta And Chris Weitz Reveal Their Idea For An Unmade Star Wars TV Show

"Andor" just wrapped up so it's only fitting that "Rogue One" screenwriter Gary Whitta took the opportunity to reveal the rather cool "Star Wars" television show he cooked up with his "Rogue One" co-writer Chris Weitz. His pitch was to set a show between "Return of the Jedi" and "The Force Awakens" that would see the successful Rebel Alliance putting together a Mossad-style team to hunt down Imperial war criminals. Picture "Munich" but in the "Star Wars" Universe.

Years ago my Rogue One co-writer Chris Weitz and I had a cool idea for a TV show about a Mossad-style Rebel team hunting down Imperial war criminals who fled and disappeared after the fall of the Empire. Could have been a cool bookend to R1. We never did anything with it though.

— Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) November 23, 2022

From the wording of the tweet, it sounds like the idea never made it in front of the Lucasfilm brain trust, so don't get all upset about Disney/Lucasfilm shooting down a cool idea. I can already hear the deep chest grumblings of at least a few of you reading this with "Star Wars" YouTube channels whose logo incorporates Kathleen Kennedy's face with an X over it, so calm down, take a breath and instead let your mind turn over this really good idea. 

Imagine this era as the government is rebuilding, the good guys have won, but there are still tens of thousands of Empire officials and sympathizers out there. Some maybe regret what they've done, and some maybe are trying to fight back and form a dark rebellion of their own.

If this hypothetical "Star Wars" show had the tone of "Andor" it could have been an incredibly intense thriller. We know from other tidbits of canon books and comics that the Empire did not go quietly into the night once Death Star II fell and the strength of both "Rogue One" and "Andor" is how they focus on the importance of regular people who can't crush a starship with their mind or deflect blaster fire with a fancy laser sword. If one of these people enters a room with a dozen blasters pointed at them, they're not gonna super jump out of danger. 

Even Mando and Boba Fett have mythically strong armor and weapons, which is why "Andor" was such a breath of fresh air for "Star Wars." It focused on the folks on the ground and the difficult choices they face. Political intrigue and cat-and-mouse tension fit very well in the "Star Wars" universe and the idea of a crew of talented, but non-superpowered folks hunting down other intelligent, cruel, and also non-superpowered folks sounds like a hell of an interesting take.

The original promise of these "Star Wars Story" spin-offs was that we'd get to experience different genres and tones from the regular "Star Wars Saga" films that will, naturally, focus on Jedi and super fun/pulpy entertainment. It'd be nice if Lucasfilm would continue to embrace that variety.