Project Hail Mary author Andy Weir would approach a Star Wars movie by following other people living through the Galactic Civil War, leaving the original heroes’ hard-earned victory intact.
His proposal shares an important ingredient with Andor: exploring the lives and sacrifices of people beyond the franchise’s central heroes. Weir enthusiastically praised that series, although he cautioned that its storytelling would not translate directly into a theatrical film.
For an author whose work combines enormous stakes with humor, friendship, and hope, the approach could offer a way to expand Star Wars without once again undermining its happy ending.
Weir Would Explore Other Lives During The Galactic Civil War
Speaking with SlashFilm, Weir outlined the direction he would take if given the opportunity.
“I feel like the best way, in my opinion, to do another Star Wars movie — and I’m not George Lucas and this might be a terrible idea — but would be to have the story of other people during the Galactic Civil War.”
The appeal is straightforward: Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo helped determine the galaxy’s future, but their adventures hardly account for everyone who lived through the conflict.
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 (1977), Lucasfilm
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Weir compared the possibilities to fiction set during World War II. Knowing the historical outcome does not prevent writers from telling compelling stories about individuals caught up in those events. The Galactic Civil War could provide a similarly established backdrop, allowing new characters and personal struggles to carry the drama.
That approach would also address his concern about repeatedly following one enormous war with another.
“Star Wars is more about massive upheaval. One problem that happens is, if you’re going to have a story about a monumental war, then when it’s over and the good guys win, you want it to stay that way. So it’s very unsatisfying if you roll into a new monumental war.”
His criticism gets at a familiar frustration with the sequel trilogy. Return of the Jedi ended with the Emperor defeated and the galaxy celebrating the prospect of freedom. The sequels returned audiences to another struggle between an overwhelmingly powerful enemy and an outmatched resistance.
For viewers invested in the original characters’ accomplishments, that reset diminished the satisfaction of their victory.
The Similarities To Andor
Weir’s proposal naturally invites comparisons to Andor and Rogue One. Both found dramatic possibilities in the people and sacrifices behind a conflict audiences already understood.
Knowing the Empire eventually falls does not tell viewers which characters will survive, what they will sacrifice, or whether a particular mission will succeed. The larger outcome can remain secure while an individual story retains uncertainty and emotional weight.
That is the strongest connection between Weir’s idea and Andor: shifting attention toward people whose lives matter even when they are not the saga’s central figures.
Cassian Andor in the trailer for Andor Season 1 – YouTube, Star Wars
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Weir was effusive about the series, calling it “very intellectual, extremely clever, extraordinarily well-written.” However, he also argued that television was the appropriate format for its story.
“Andor was amazing and really good, and it was a series and [that was the correct choice]. You’re going to do a movie, you’ve got to tell your whole story in like two hours.”
His proposal therefore should not be mistaken for simply compressing Andor into a feature. A movie could share its interest in other lives under the Empire while building a more concentrated, self-contained adventure.
Project Hail Mary Offers Another Reason For Interest
Weir’s work also suggests the appeal of combining high stakes with optimism.
Project Hail Mary builds its emotional appeal around friendship, cooperation, and ingenuity in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances. Its humor and hopeful outlook offer a reminder that science fiction can acknowledge danger without surrendering its sense of wonder.
Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary – Amazon MGM Studios
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The film adaptation finished with approximately $684.5 million worldwide, including $344.1 million domestically and $340.4 million internationally, according to Box Office Mojo. Those results demonstrated substantial audience interest in a crowd-pleasing science-fiction adventure outside an established movie franchise.
Weir’s remarks describe a hypothetical approach, rather than an announced Star Wars assignment. Still, his interest in preserving earlier victories while finding new stories is encouraging.
An adventure combining that respect for the original trilogy with the human stakes of Andor and the hopeful appeal of Project Hail Mary would be an intriguing prospect. The galaxy has room for more heroes without requiring the previous generation’s accomplishments to unravel.
Would you like to see Andy Weir write a Star Wars movie set during the Galactic Civil War? Sound off and let us know!
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