Star Wars has a rich history of amazing characters. This makes a lot of sense, seeing as how Star Wars takes from many different genres to create something truly unique. When Disney acquired Lucasfilm, they announced a new trilogy and movies subtitled "A Star Wars Story," which would serve to expand the lore of the new canon. The first of these was quite successful— even fans who are divided on the post-Disney buyout Star Wars tend to love Rogue One— but the second, Solo, wasn't nearly as well regarded and can even be considered by some measures to have been a box office flop.
Han Solo is a wonderful character but there are plenty of other characters who should have gotten a solo film before him, characters whose movies might have kept an interesting film concept going.
10 A Darth Vader Movie Would Have Made All The Money
Star Wars is full of fan favorite characters but one of the most popular and iconic is Darth Vader. His heartbreaking story is the foundational text of Star Wars and he's one of the most recognizable characters in pop culture. A Star Wars Story starring Vader would have been huge.
Vader's years serving the Emperor are rife with potential stories. Seeing him battle the earliest iterations of the Rebel Alliance, hunt down Jedi who escaped Order 66, or help Palpatine cement his rule of the galaxy would have made for a great film.
9 Darth Maul Could Have Been Brought Back To General Audiences' Attention With A Movie
Darth Maul made an appearance at the end of Solo and left audiences unfamiliar with The Clone Wars cartoon with loads of questions about him. With the movie's failure, it'll be a long time before fans see Maul on the big screen again. This could have been solved by merely giving him his own movie. Maul was always popular and a movie starring him would do great business.
There was so much potential for a Darth Maul. It could have explained how he became head of the Crimson Dawn, re-acquainted him with fans who hadn't seen him since The Phantom Menace, and generally gave Maul fans the kind of action they love from the fallen Sith Lord.
8 A Mace Windu Movie Could Have Given More Screen Time To Fan-Favorite Jedi Master
Samuel L. Jackson is one of the most beloved actors working today and his role as Mace Windu is one of his most iconic. Star Wars fans have loved the Jedi Master from the beginning and Jackson loves playing him. A movie starring Mace Windu would have been a godsend to fans that wanted more of one of the coolest Jedi Masters of them all.
Of course, Lucasfilm's reticence to remind fans of the Prequels put the kibosh on any hopes of a Mace Windu movie but there's so much that could have been done with it- Windu doubtlessly had many amazing adventures before the Prequels. There's also the Clone Wars era to think about, where Windu doubtlessly served. Not making a Mace Windu Movie was such a missed opportunity.
7 A Yoda Movie Could Have Fleshed Out The Enigmatic Jedi Master
Yoda is one of the most well known characters in the Star Wars mythos. The amount of questions that fans have about the Jedi Master could fill a phonebook and while a Yoda movie didn't need to answer all of them, it still would have been something that fans really wanted to see.
Yoda lived for nine hundred years. The amount of stories that could be told with his life are amazing. The movie could have focused on just about period of his life but the farther back the better. A Yoda movie would have been one of the most amazing theatrical experiences that any Star Wars fan had ever experienced.
6 Finn Potentially Had The Best Story In The Sequels But Needed More Time To Finish It
It's hard to argue about what character was most underused by the Sequels but the argument can be made that Finn deserves that distinction. Fans had never seen a story like his before— a repentant stormtrooper— and this idea was one that had a lot of potential, especially in an origin film. Finn's reticence to kill in The Force Awakens had to come from somewhere and that means there's a story behind it.
Finn deserved better than he got from what would become the Rey and Kylo show and A Star Wars Story could have done just that, telling fans his story before the story and showing the seeds of why he was how he was.
5 Fans Were Begging For A Boba Fett Movie
For someone known as one of the most dangerous bounty hunters in the galaxy, Boba Fett got a raw deal from the Original Trilogy. However, Expanded Universe materials fleshed him out and the Mandalorian bounty hunter netted legions of fans. Fans wanted to see how his story played out in new canon and at the time, no one knew about the Book of Boba Fett.
A Boba Fett movie was rumored since the Disney acquisition and would have been a much better place to start than Solo- fans weren't clamoring to know Han Solo's origin but they wanted to know about Boba Fett.
4 An Obi-Wan Kenobi Movie Had So Much Potential
While Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn't always the greatest Jedi, he had a legion of fans. Ewan McGregor's portrayal of the Jedi Master was one of the most beloved parts of the Prequel Trilogy and there were years of stories that could be told with him- his time on Tatooine was fertile grounds for a movie.
While he's getting a Disney+ show, arguably a better showcase for Kenobi, a movie starring him would have been more well received than Solo. McGregor is enough of a name to draw in all kinds of people who might not otherwise watch a Star Wars movie and it would have made fans very happy.
3 Luke Skywalker Needed A Movie More Than Han Solo
The treatment of Luke Skywalker by Lucasfilm post-Disney buyout has been a bone of contention for fans but a Luke Skywalker A Star Wars Story could have went a long way towards salving that wound. Lucasfilm knew what was going to happen to Luke and could have softened the blow by announcing a Luke film set in the time after Return of the Jedi.
Luke Skywalker is the most beloved Jedi of them all and fans were clamoring to learn more about his time rebuilding the Jedi. While replacing Mark Hamill with a younger actor would have been controversial, fans would have been fine with it if they got the movie they always wanted.
2 Donald Glover As Lando Calrissian Is One Of The Best Recasts Of All Time & Everyone Would Have Loved Him In His Own Movie
It's hard to point at a recast more perfect than Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. Even fans who didn't like Solo love him as the flamboyant smuggler and if Lucasfilm would have given him his own movie, everyone would have been thrilled. Word of mouth alone would have driven the box office receipts up.
Beyond that, there's just so many interesting stories that could be told with Lando. Seeing him gamble, swindle, con, and fight his way across the galaxy would have been a treat and anchored by Glover's charming performance, this movie would have been a triumph.
1 There Was So Much That Could Have Been Done With A Princess Leia Movie
Princess Leia is one of those characters who everyone loves and had a rich life both before and after the Original Trilogy. When A New Hope opened, she was already an Imperial Senator and a leader in the Rebellion, meaning there was so many stories that could have been told. Seeing a young Leia working in the treacherous world of Imperial politics and helping out the Rebellion would have been a treat.
On top of that, there was all the post-Return of the Jedi stories that could have been told as well. Much like with Luke, while it would have been controversial to recast Carrie Fisher, there were so many great stories to be told that fans could overlook it.