Farnaby and King, the creative team behind The Last of Us, once developed a Star Wars film concept for Disney and Lucasfilm. The project failed to launch due to a lack of legacy characters, though the writers are now pivoting the idea toward a different production.

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The robot-centric plot that lacked legacy characters

Farnaby and King approached Disney and Lucasfilm with a narrative that broke from the franchise's traditional casting patterns. According to the report, the proposed movie centered entirely around a robot and intentionally excluded any of the established characters that typically anchor the Star Wars universe.

While droids have always been essential to the series, moving a robot to the absolute center of a feature film without the support of known protagonists was a bold creative choice. This decision to prioritize a new, isolated perspective over the existing lore ultimately became the primary point of contention between the writers and the studio.

Disney and Lucasfilm's demand for a 'Star Wars movie'

The feedback from the studio was direct and focused on brand identity. Farnaby noted that executives at Disney and Lucasfilm expressed a need for the project to feel more like a "Star Wars movie," a critique that Farnaby acknowledged with a laugh,noting that this requirement is likely why the film never materialized.

This tension highlights a recurring struggle within the Star Wars brand: the balance between narrative innovation and "brand safety." By insisting on the inclusion of legacy elements, Disney and Lucasfilm signaled that they were unwilling to risk a high-budget feature on a story that didn't lean on the nostalgia or the established character arcs that drive global box office returns.

The Last of Us writers and the shift toward new leadership

The professional trajectory of Farnaby and King has evolved significantly since this initial pitch.. Having achieved critical and commercial success with The Last of Us, the duo now possesses a level of industry leverage that may not have existed during their first interaction with Lucasfilm. As the report mentions, they are currently reworking the original robot-led concept into a separate project outside of the Disney ecosystem.

This pivot comes at a time when the Star Wars franchise is navigating a period of transition. With new leadership now guiding the movie slate, there is a broader industry conversation about whether the franchise can move past its reliance on the Skywalker saga. The fact that a prestige writing team like Farnaby and King felt the need to take their idea elsewhere suggests that the studio's creative constraints may have been too rigid for high-level auteurs.

Which studio will house the reworked non-Disney project?

Despite the revelation that the project is being reworked, several key details remain unverified. Specifically, the report does not name the studio or production company that will eventually house this new venture, nor does it clarify if the project will remain in the science fiction genre or be adapted into a different format entirely.

Furthermore, it is unclear exactly when the original pitch to Disney and Lucasfilm occurred. Without a specific timeline, it is difficult to determine if this rejection happened during the height of the Sequel Trilogy's production or during the more recent era of Disney+ expansion. The source provides the writers' perspective but does not include a response from Lucasfilm regarding the failed collaboration.