The Star Wars universe has expanded into LEGOs, animation, The Muppet Show, and even figure skating. Now, the storied franchise might be venturing into a space it’s never officially gone but always been adjacent to: horror. According to Andor creator Tony Gilroy n comments to Business Insider, Lucasfilm and Disney could be working on a horror project.
Gilroy had very little details about the potential Star Wars horror endeavor, including whether it’ll be a film or TV show, and didn’t sound as definitive about the prospect as the rabid Star Wars community would have liked. “They’re doing that. I think they’re doing that. I think that’s in the works.” Jumping from them definitively doing it to a bit of uncertainty likely means he doesn’t really know if it’s actually happening, but there’s also the small chance he realized he might’ve spoiled a Disney surprise and quickly changed course.
Whether it’s definitive or not, the epochal sci-fi franchise has flirted with elements of horror for its entire 48-year history. Darth Vader using the Force to choke someone nearly to death without touching him is what Michael Myers would’ve done if he was a Sith. Although we didn’t see it on screen, Anakin Skywalker killing a bunch of child Jedi-in-training was bone-chilling. There’s also Death Troopers, a 2009 horror novel written by Joe Schreiber set in the Star Wars universe in which a virus outbreak leads to a zombie takeover. To be honest, I don’t know what’s been taking them so long to adapt that novel into a Jordan Peele-directed screamfest.
This news probably excited Star Wars fans who will take whatever they can get from a galaxy far, far away, and enraged Star Wars fans who want to preserve the more sunny space-opera quality of this fictional universe. Either way, Gilroy put the idea out in the world. Let’s just see if it comes to fruition.