‘Kingsman’ Director Matthew Vaughn Clarifies Star Wars Reboot Comments
John F. Trent
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Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn made headlines after he claimed he wanted to do a reboot of Star Wars, but he is now clarifying those comments.
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 06: Matthew Vaughn and Bob Iger Disney CEO attend the World Premiere screening of Twentieth Century Studios’ “The King’s Man” at Cineworld Leicester Square on December 06, 2021 in London, England. (Gavin Bond for Disney 2021)
Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast to promote his upcoming film, Argylle, Vaughn declared he wanted to reboot Star Wars.
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Vaughn was asked, “Would you ever do Star Wars? Would that be tough to say no to?”
He answered, “Yeah. Now, not so much.” Horowitz would then interjected, “It’s been tainted a little bit…”
Vaughn replied, “It’s not been tainted. And I’m not going to go there. I would say for me doing a Star Wars movie is to play with the characters that I loved. So if they said to me, ‘We’ll reboot. Do you want to reboot Star Wars and actually have Luke Skywalker, Solo, and Vader and you do your version of it?’ Everyone would say you’re an idiot to try, but that would excite me.”
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker trains aboard the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), Lucasfilm
When Horowitz asserted Vaughn has a death wish, Vaughn countered, “But that’s fun. Why not? Bond. Do you mind Bond? You know you asked me who’s going to play the next Wolverine.”
“Why are these characters so hallowed that from ’77 you can’t redo it for a new audience. And that’s the story,” he said.
Yoda instructs Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Lucasfilm
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From there Vaughn detailed where Disney went wrong with Star Wars, “Star Wars is the Skywalker family. And that’s where I think they’ve gone wrong ’cause they’ve forgot that.”
He added, “They’ve done brilliantly in the TV, but it needs an epic, new film. And that’s what I would do. I would go, right. Everyone’s going to go batshit crazy, but let’s bring it on. Because if you want a new generation make the movie for them. The old generation can hopefully make it well enough that they go, ‘Okay, I’m enjoying it.’”
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season two, exclusively on Disney+. © 2020 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
Now, in a new interview with ScreenRant, Vaughn claims these original comments were a joke. He said, “But for me now, if someone asked me, what would you do? For me to get back into the world of somebody else’s characters and other franchises, I mean, I was joking. I said this as a joke, and now, yeah, maybe I would do it.”
He then made clear he was talking about his Star Wars comments, “If they wanted to reboot Star Wars, set the story with the Skywalkers. And then I’ll go, Hey, that will be interesting. Because for me, it’s got to be something so bold, so different, and so brave.”
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in Lucasfilm’s THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
He reiterated his previous explanation for why a Star Wars reboot could be made, “They said you can’t do that. I was like, There’ve been three Spider-Mans, Bonds. Like, what are you talking about? Why can’t that happen? ”
Next, he stated, “I don’t control Star Wars, but I would do something big, brave, and with the great characters. I want to see Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewie doing their s–t. Not some distant cousin. Who cares? I need an event for Star Wars.”
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren and Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Rise of Skywalker
While Vaughn is still being a little cryptic about what he means about a reboot, it does appear that he might be interested in telling other Star Wars about the main Star Wars cast in between and after the events of George Lucas’ original trilogy.
It’s possible that he’s referring to rebooting the Disney trilogy and focusing with a direct sequel to Return of the Jedi or doing something similar to the Marvel Comics that chronicled Luke’s adventures while fighting for the Rebellion outside of A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, Harrison Ford as Han Solo, and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca in Star Wars: A New Hope, LucasFilm
And there was clearly an appetite for such tales as the season two finale of The Mandalorian clearly showcases. The finale became the zeitgeist of fandom as it depicted Luke Skywalker rescuing Din Djarin and his allies from Moff Gideon and his droid army of Dark Troopers.
There might still be an appetite for such tales, but interest in Star Wars is clearly on the decline and Vaughn seems to recognize that as even he admits he has no interest in other characters outside of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. He also wants an event film for Star Wars.
And what better way to do an event film than have Luke Skywalker taking on a new menace in the galaxy while also exploring the rich family dynamic that George Lucas created and fostered?
Star Wars #60 (1982), Marvel Comics
What do you make of Vaughn’s clarification about regarding his Star Wars comments?
NEXT: Rumor: Disney CEO Bob Iger Scraps Two Previously Announced Star Wars Films
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