By David Wharton | 6 years ago

UPDATE: Easy come, easy go. Moffat’s wife has popped on Twitter to shoot down the Star Wars rumors. Original story below.

Just in case you've seen rumours that #stevenmoffat is doing Star Wars – that's news to him! — sue vertue (@suevertue) July 10, 2014

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Well, this ought to get people riled up. Doctor Who is set to return next month for another season and with a new Doctor (Peter Capaldi), and showrunner Steven Moffat has hinted that he plans to stick with the show for a while yet. But if a new rumor is to be believed, he just might make a voyage into an entirely different iconic science fiction universe: that of George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise.

The rumor — and we do stress that word — comes via Jedi News, who claim that they’re “hearing rumblings in the Force that Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has been linked to a future Star Wars movie.” Now, even assuming this is true, “linked to” could mean a lot of things. If Lucasfilm/Disney is courting him to write or direct a future Star Wars film, there are several possible contenders. We know Looper’s Rian Johnson is writing and directing Episode VIII. Reports are conflicting, with some suggesting Johnson would finish out the new trilogy by also writing and directing Episode IX, whereas others claim he’ll only be writing a story treatment for IX. If that latter possibility is the case, then perhaps Moffat could be in line to direct Episode IX, and/or write the full screenplay from Johnson’s treatment.

But if not one of the Episode films, there’s also the possibility of the three standalone Star Wars spinoff movies. The first one is being directed by Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards, and another by Chronicle’s Josh Trank. That leaves one up for grabs, although Empire Strikes Back writer Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote the final Episode VII screenplay with Abrams, has also been rumored to helm one of the standalone films.

We know Boba Fett is the focus of one of the standalones — presumed to be the Edwards flick — with Temura Morrison, who played Jango Fett in the prequels, returning to play his son, the bounty hunter Boba Fett. A “young Han Solo” film has also been heavily rumored but not officially confirmed. Back in May a purported lineup of the currently planned Star Wars films leaked from a Hasbro event in Germany. In addition to the Boba Fett and Han Solo movies, that information claimed the third Star Wars standalone film would be a “Red Five” movie. The assumption is that it would focus on a squadron of X-wing pilots. Could that be what Moffat is being targeted for? Anything is possible, but a movie about space fighter pilots doesn’t really scream “Steven Moffat” to me.

Of course, Disney is clearly in the Star Wars business for the long haul, so if they are indeed talking to Moffat, it could very well be for a project we haven’t even heard about yet. Eventually Moffat is going to pass the Doctor Who torch to somebody else, so he may just be lining up his next gig. For that matter, although Jedi News says the rumor is about Moffat and a Star Wars movie, I would not at all be surprised to learn that he was actually in talks for a TV series of some sort. Disney is clearly giving Star Wars the same multi-platform approach as their Marvel Cinematic Universe, so while the only currently confirmed Star Wars shows is Rebels, you know there will be more to come on down the line.

Nor is the prospect of Star Wars recruiting out of the Doctor Who talent pool unprecedented. Former Who showrunner Russell T Davies turned down an offer to work on the ill-fated Star Wars: Underworld TV project back in 2006, so why not try to recruit Moffat? Jedi News says Moffat’s name was thrown in the Star Wars mix thanks to his work on The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, which he co-wrote with Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. Tintin was directed by longtime George Lucas buddy Steven Spielberg, and current Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy was a producer. So Moffat certainly has an “in” to Star Wars. Whether that means this rumor is true, and whether anything will actually come of it, remains to be seen.