Star Wars is one of the biggest movie franchises in history. It is the second highest-grossing film franchise behind only the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ever since Disney acquired Star Wars in 2012, the franchise has expanded in massive ways, telling solo stories outside the main saga like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Solo: A Star Wars Story, as well as multiple Disney+ television series to expand the scope of the galaxy.
Since the first movie opened and throughout all the Star Wars movies, there have been a number of different games, comics, and books that could be drawn from, but for the most part, Star Wars has not done adaptations from its own universe. However, the franchise has brought in characters from the various spin-off projects, and it appears that Disney and Lucasfilm are more open to mining the rich and vast catalog of Star Wars adapted media.
While few plot details have been revealed, Patty Jenkins is directing Rogue Squadron, which shares the same name as the Star Wars video game series. Additionally, though not a direct adaptation, Disney appears to be drawing heavily from the Timothy Zahn Thrawn Trilogy as the basis for their Disney+ Star Wars TV series that stretch across The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Rangers of the New Republic.
There are plenty of stories for Star Wars to tell, varying in different genres with unique sets of characters across the timeline ranging from the events of the original trilogy to centuries before. These are some in-universe books and games that would make for great Star Wars movies.
6 Dark Disciple
Star Wars: Dark Disciple was actually intended to be an arc of episodes in Star Wars: The Clone Wars that would have seen one of the series' main villains, Asajj Ventress, team up with Jedi Master Quinlan Vos and eventually find love before their tragic end. The storyline provided closure for the character of Ventress, who had become a fan favorite and a major player during the difficult Clone Wars. Disney could adapt the book, which itself was adapted from eight scripts, into a fully animated film on Disney+ to fit in with the style established in The Clone Wars series and make a great companion piece to that acclaimed title.
5 Battlefront II: Inferno Squadron
Inferno Squadron was a group of elite Imperial soldiers who were led by Iden Versio. The team was the main focus of the story mission in the video game Star Wars: Battlefront II and were also featured in their own book, Battlefront II: Inferno Squad. The book takes place after the events of A New Hope, while the game storyline takes place after the destruction of the Death Star 2 in Return of the Jedi and finds the various members of Inferno Squad becoming disillusioned with the Empire and defecting to the Rebel Alliance, becoming major players in the Battle of Jakku. Basing a film on either the book or video games creates plenty of unique opportunities for a Star Wars movie. The book would allow Star Wars to make an entire film focused on the villains who actually remain villains, akin to something like a crime film. The game's story, though, would allow the film to truly zero in on the idea of redemption, something that has been a major part of Star Wars with Darth Vader, but actually makes it central to the protagonist in Battlefront: II.
4 High Republic
In 2021 Disney launched their new Star Wars publishing initiative, The High Republic, which kicked off with the book Light of the Jedi. The High Republic is about 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace and sees the Republic begin to expand into the Outer Rim, and are threatened by the villainous Nil. In contrast to the main Skywalker Saga, The High Republic shows the Jedi in their true prime, when they were proper keepers of the peace. It is a time of prosperity and new potential for the galaxy. Lucasfilm is already set to explore the High Republic with the upcoming Disney+ series The Acolyte, but taking the High Republic books and turning them into films could usher in a new era for Star Wars. Light of the Jedi essentially acts as a disaster movie, which is something Star Wars has never done before, and could allow the Star Wars movies to play with a different type of genre.
3 Doctor Aphra
Star Wars meets Marvel is an idea made for money-eyed producers' wildest dreams. Originally introduced in the Marvel Darth Vader comic in 2015, Doctor Aphra has become a popular character in her own right, becoming the first original character not from the films or television series to headline her own solo Star Wars Marvel comic, which published from 2016 to 2019 and was relaunched in 2020. Aphra is a criminal archeologist who has special interest in ancient weapons and Jedi artifacts. The character's adventures could lead to a Star Wars film (or series, as was once hypothesized) that has the feel of an Indiana Jones adventure. A galaxy-spanning movie where the lead character uncovers ancient artifacts with bigger ramifications for the Star Wars universe could be an exciting sub-franchise. The character is one of Star Wars' most prominent LGBTQ+ characters and a person of color, which continues the recent Star Wars installments efforts at diversity. Plus, one of her main supporting characters Black Krrsantan, was a breakout character on The Book of Boba Fett, so there is an immediate character (and beloved Wookie) audiences would recognize.
2 Lost Stars
Published in 2015 in the lead up to The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Lost Stars was written by Claudia Gray and was a young adult romance that told the story of Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree, two childhood friends who grow up to take different paths in life, with Thane joining the rebellion and Cienna joining the Galactic Empire. While these two are at opposite ends of the war, their feelings begin to grow into love and the story becomes a tale of literally star-crossed lovers in a galaxy far, far away. The story spans the events of the original trilogy, with the lead characters often being part of or spectators to major events like the destruction of the Death Star, the attack on Hoth, and the Battle of Endor, which would allow the filmmakers to recreate classic Star Wars moments from different points of view. While romance has been present in Star Wars, it has rarely been the central focus of the stories, but here they could craft a grand epic romance set against the backdrop of the Galactic Civil War.
1 Knights of the Old Republic
Since it first hit gaming consoles in 2003, Knights of the Old Republic has been one of the most popular and fan-favorite pieces of Star Wars media, with a new game in development even two decades later. While many in the 2000s were disappointed with the prequel trilogy of movies, Knights of the Old Republic was giving them the Star Wars story they wanted. It spawned a sequel, an online MMO, a remastering, and has been sparking hopes of a TV or movie series for years. Set 4000 years before the events of The Phantom Menace, an adaptation would need to make some major changes due to how The High Republic has rewritten Stars canon, but the main components could remain the same. The iconic characters like Darth Revan, Darth Bane, Bastila Shan, and ships like the Ebony Hawk could allow the franchise to break out of the familiar settings and iconography and introduce a wider audience to a whole new idea of what Star Wars movies can be. It's time for a new Knights of the Old Republic.