9 More Star Wars Subplots That Went Literally Nowhere

These Star Wars subplots hit a brick wall, never to be spoken of again.

Star Wars Mace Windu
Disney

As one of the biggest media franchises on the planet, it's little surprise that Star Wars has left dozens of subplots hanging since its inception, because all great world-building leaves the audience desperate to know more about the wider universe.

That said, sometimes subplots are introduced and then slam swiftly into a brick wall to the point that you have to wonder what happened behind the scenes and why said thread hasn't ever been picked back up.

Given the enormous storytelling canvas that Star Wars has - across movies, TV shows, video games, comics, books, and so on - there's not much of a real excuse for those in charge to introduce concepts and then leaving them flailing in the wind.

Obviously, nothing should be decided hastily and internal consistency is extremely important - hence the development of the lore-keepers known as the Lucasfilm Story Group - but to the same token, you can't blame fans for being frustrated when interesting ideas aren't paid off for years, even decades.

These nine subplots were all gamely teed up one way or another, and yet to date we've seen precious little follow-through...

9. Jabba The Hutt's Son, Rotta

Star Wars Mace Windu
Disney

2008's animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars introduced fans to Jabba the Hutt's son Rotta, who is kidnapped in an attempt to turn Jabba against the Republic.

By film's end Rotta is indeed rescued and returned to his father, but in the 15+ years since its release, he's basically vanished into the ether. Bar a few fleeting mentions in The Clone Wars series and some short stories, Rotta has had no presence whatsoever in the Star Wars universe.

It's an odd omission given that, following Jabba's death, it'd certainly make sense for Rotta to step out of the shadows, even accepting that a Hutt's long lifespan would've still left him incredibly young.

Despite many fans hoping he'd show up in the recent Disney+ series The Book of Boba Fett, it came and went without even a passing reference to Rotta, leaving them to ponder whether he's even still alive.

At least there's hope that the franchise could return to his story at some point, most likely in a more small-scale anthology series like Tales of the Jedi.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.