Credit: D23What could have been? That is a phrase often used when a massively missed opportunity happens. That typically occurs in the world of pop culture when star directors and creators are attached to massive projects, then sadly exit those projects. Kevin Feige had reportedly been working on a huge project, which would have been his own Star Wars movie. This now-canceled venture would have been even bigger, as it has now been revealed the Avengers directors would have stepped in to helm Feige’s vision.
Related: Joe Russo Doesn’t Believe Marvel Can Make Something Better Than ‘Endgame’
There have been conflicting reports about this rumored Star Wars movie that Marvel boss Kevin Feige had been putting together. According to the MCU leader, he had been developing a movie set in A Galaxy Far, Far, Away. The news of this script came about in 2019 when there had been bigger rumors of Lucasfilm wanting to replace Kathleen Kennedy with Kevin Feige.
Kennedy remained with Lucasfilm despite those huge rumors, as did Feige with Marvel. Despite the apparent issues between those rumors and what factually happened, Feige remained dedicated to his Star Wars script. He even brought Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron to pen the script. Waldron revealed he had been writing it to Variety in March 2022.
By October 2022, Waldron had been hired to write the script for Avengers: Secret Wars, leading many to believe something was amiss with the Star Wars movie Feige announced. This leads us to March 2023, when Lucasfilm officially announced that Feige’s film was being indefinitely shelved.
Kathleen Kennedy Denies Feige Star Wars Movie
Related: New Details Emerge About Drama Surrounding Kevin Feige’s Rejected ‘Star Wars’ Movie
The bigger drama unfolded during Star Wars Celebration 2023 when Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy outright denied that Kevin Feige had been working on a Star Wars film. She stated that the media had received and ran with the wrong information.
According to Kennedy, “Well, Kevin Feige’s project was something announced in the press, or I suppose, fandom. But there was nothing…nothing ever got developed. We never discussed an idea. As everybody knows, Kevin’s a huge Star Wars fan. And if he did come up with something, I would be all ears. But that’s never really happened. So, it’s not an abandoned project. It just never really happened.”
This response was bizarre for a few reasons. Many people were told in the industry about this Kevin Feige-led Star Wars movie. Two, Michael Waldron would not have been writing a script out of the kindness of his heart. Many industry insiders spoke against Kennedy, claiming this project was never mentioned.
Kennedy has had a long-standing reputation for being difficult to work with. It could have been Kevin Feige’s success and her failure, especially with the sequel trilogy, that made her so brazenly state Feige has been lying.
Kevin Feige and the Russo Brothers Tackle’ Star Wars’
While the drama behind Kevin Feige’s canceled Star Wars movie is enough to make everyone wish it had happened, the Russo Brothers have now dropped another massive bombshell in this torrid story.
Speaking to the Smartless Podcast, Joe Russo revealed that Kevin Feige asked him and his brother to direct his Star Wars movie.
According to Russo, “We love ‘Star Wars.’ Kevin Feige is a huge ‘Star Wars’ fan, and there were some early conversations about maybe teaming up with Kevin to do ‘Star Wars.'”
This is huge news and something that will make Marvel and Star Wars fans collectively depressed. Kevin Feige has been instrumental in building the MCU, which has dominated cinema for quite some time. Lucasfilm has been on the outs with fans for quite some time, mainly because of the sequel trilogy.
We could have seen a much different story in the hands of Kevin Feige, especially with the brilliance that the Russo Brothers have brought. They were behind Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. All three are considered the top Marvel movies, so they could have used their expertise to create a Star Wars epic the world had never seen.
Related: Lucasfilm Confirms Kevin Feige’s ‘Star Wars’ Project Wasn’t Abandoned, It Never Existed
Sadly, it does not appear that Kennedy has any plans to allow Feige to make his Star Wars film, so we may never see what could have been between Feige’s vision and the expertise of the Russo Brothers.
Would you have wanted to see the Russo Brothers direct Kevin Feige’s Star Wars movie? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!