The Star Wars series has grown and evolved over the years, but could we one day see an R-rated entry in the spacefaring franchise? That was the question put to Dave Filoni, the chief creative officer at Lucasfilm. He replied in an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via Discussing Film) that he’s not sure, but it sounds like it hasn’t been totally ruled out.
“I don’t know. I think it’s interesting,” he said when asked specifically if Lucasfilm might one day produce an “edgy” and R-rated Star Wars film. “The bottom line is whatever we do, it has to be really well done.”
As an example, Filoni said the TV series Andor was “so well done,” even with its more mature and adult tone. As an example, main character Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) accidentally kills a person in the first episode and then kills another person who is on his knees pleading for his life so he can’t tattle on him.
Filoni said there is “an audience for that” in regards to more adult-themed storytelling in the Star Wars universe. He observed that, while Star Wars might have started out as a more family friendly series, it’s evolved now (and also still includes family friendly storytelling at the same time).
“It’s almost like your taste for food. Your taste in cinema and visuals changes as you get older,” he said, adding that change is in the DNA of what Star Wars is.
Filoni never says directly one way or another if there will be an R-rated Star Wars movie one day. But he made it clear that he aims to honor the legacy of Star Wars creator George Lucas.
“That’s really what we are shooting for here–this community of, ‘May the Force be with you.’ What a crazy thing? This one guy invented it, George,” he said. “We might expand it but I think we always have to remember the root of it, that we don’t lose our way in the galaxy.”
Andor nearly featured the first-ever utterance of the word “f**k” in Star Wars, but it didn’t make it into the final cut. The line was recorded, though; so somewhere on a tape is a Star Wars character saying “f**k.” Whether or not it ever gets released publicly is another matter, however.
Andor Season 2 is in the works but there is no release date yet. The latest Star Wars TV show is The Acolyte, which premiered in early June. The next Star Wars film is 2026’s The Mandalorian and Grogu.