Dave Filoni on the idea of an R-rated Star Wars project: “It’s interesting”

Will there ever be an R-rated Star Wars movie? Fans have been asking this question for years, and as franchises such as Marvel and DC have developed their own R-rated fare, some wonder whether Star Wars could be next.

While speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Lucasfilm’s Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni was asked about the possibility of an R-rated Star Wars movie. “Sure, I mean, I don’t know. I think it’s interesting,” Filoni said. “The bottom line is whatever we do it has to be really well done. I think when you look at something that is taken as different like Andor, it’s so well done, and Tony [Gilroy] and his team do such a phenomenal job, that I think that there’s an audience for that. I think also with that audience, I want to still be hitting the imagination of the kids out there, so that they can grow up and appreciate those things.“

Filoni continued: “[Star Wars] encompasses all types of styles, and the creative of the particular story driving it is the most important thing, and they should do something that’s within their comfort zone. Otherwise, we’re to imagine that everyone’s going to come in and pretend they’re George Lucas. I’ve learned from George, but certainly I’m not the same as George when it comes to making movies. He’s a one of a kind generational talent. I like wolves and put them in my ‘Star Wars.’ We’re just different and that’s okay. But there are principles about choices and being a good person and being more selfless and getting over your fears that are timeless no matter what style you’re talking about.“

To date, Andor is probably the most adult-oriented Star Wars story out there, not necessarily from a sex/language/violence perspective but just by the type of story it tells. The franchise does have an incredible range, with stories aimed at all types of audiences, but taking that step into R-rated territory would be something very different. What type of Star Wars story could only exist as an R-rated project?

Some directors have even imagined what they could do with an R-rated Star Wars movie. The Black Phone director Scott Derrickson once said he wanted to make a horror film set on the planet Hoth. “Just asked what kind of Star Wars movie I would make,” Derrickson said in 2020. “I answered that I would make Hoth, an R-rated frozen planet horror film in the vein of The Thing or Lovecraft’s In the Mountains of Madness, with zero connection to any previous characters or storylines.“

Would you like to see an R-rated Star Wars movie or should the franchise not take that step?