The long conjectured third Star Wars trilogy has kept fans guessing for decades, and may even have a few numerologists working on their mysteries. George Lucas’ shifting feelings about future Star Wars trilogies have consistently clouded the picture. Given the difficulties associated with the birth of Star Wars in 1977, it’s no wonder that Lucas’s ideas kaleidoscoped. When trying to get such a big undertaking up and running and out the door, visions of the future are understandably hazy. But, as of October 30, 2012, Episodes VII, VIII and IX have been announced as real and soon to be tangible — but they’ve existed as gossamer spirits for nearly 40 years.
On December 29, 1975, in conversation with Alan Dean Foster per the novelization of Star Wars, Lucas mentioned the prequel trilogy along with what would become Episodes V and VI: “I want to have Luke kiss the Princess in the second book. In the third book, I want the story just about the soap opera of the Skywalker family, which ends with the destruction of the Empire. Then someday I want to do the back story of Kenobi as a young man – a story of the Jedi and how the Emperor eventually takes over and turns the whole thing from a Republic into an Empire, and tricks all the Jedi and kills them. The whole battle where Luke’s father gets killed. That would be impossible to do, but it’s great to dream about.”
As Lucas came to terms with Twentieth Century-Fox during the making of Star Wars, he secured the legal rights to his sequels, though they remained undefined at the time. On location for the first phase of principal photography in Tunisia in March 1976, Lucas began a long tradition of talking with close collaborators, voicing his ideas for these other episodes and trilogies, much as Walt Disney would do of his projects.
“You know, when I first did this, it was four trilogies,” Mark Hamill recalled in 2004, speaking of their conversation in 1976. “Twelve movies! Out on the desert, any time between setups… lots of free time. And George was talking about this whole thing… ‘Um, how’d you like to be in Episode IX?’ ‘When is that going to be?’ ‘2011.’ […] I said, ‘Well, what do you want me to do?’ He said, ‘You’ll just be like a cameo. You’ll be like Obi-Wan handing the lightsaber down to the next new hope.’”
In 1978, a Time magazine article reported that the Star Wars Corporation (a subsidiary Lucas had formed for Star Wars) would be producing “Star Wars II [Empire], and then, count them, 10 other planned sequels.” At that time Lucas consistently mentioned 12 films and even created a barebones outline to that effect.
In it, the original trilogy occupied Episodes VI, VII, and VIII; a Clone Wars trilogy took up Episodes II, III, and IV, while Episode I was a “prelude,” Episodes IX through XI were simply left blank – and Episode XII was the “conclusion.”
In 1979, however, Lucas said in an interview on the set of Empire, “The first script was one of six original stories I had written in the form of two trilogies. After the success of Star Wars, I added another trilogy. So now there are nine stories. The original two trilogies were conceived of as six films of which the first film was number four.”
While in postproduction in early 1980, Lucas used to kick back from time to time with ILM manager Jim Bloom and muse about the bigger story. “The first trilogy is about the young Ben Kenobi and the early life of Luke’s father when Luke is a little boy,” Lucas said. “This trilogy takes place some 20 years before the second trilogy, which includes Star Wars and Empire. About a year or two passes between each story of the trilogy and about 20 years between the trilogies. The entire saga spans about 55 years. I’m still left with three trilogies of nine films. At two hours each, that’s about eighteen hours of film!”
While Empire was originally part of a 12-film plan, by the time it was released, the number had clearly been reduced to nine. “The prequel stories exist — where Darth Vader came from, the whole story about Darth and Ben Kenobi — and it all takes place before Luke was born,” Lucas explained at the time. “The other one — what happens to Luke afterward — is much more ethereal. I have a tiny notebook full of notes on that. If I’m really ambitious, I could proceed to figure out what would have happened to Luke.”
Lucas mentioned these notebooks — or one big book — to me, a few years ago. I asked if I could see it, but he declined. My feeling is that this big book or these notebooks are private, though Lucas has occasionally sent me via an assistant miscellaneous handwritten notes from the period 1976-1983 to help in the writing of the making-of books.
But two years later while filming Jedi, for many reasons, Lucas was burning out, tired of the whole enterprise: “I’m only doing this because I started it and now I have to finish it,” he adds. “The next trilogy will be all someone else’s vision.”
As of today, Lucas has given his new co-chairman Kathleen Kennedy several ideas and is really going into semi-retirement. Now, in a relatively short time, compared to the decades of speculation, fans will learn the secrets of Episodes VII, VIII and IX. Star Wars has risen again!
Lucasfilm executive editor J. W. Rinzler is the author of The Making of Star Wars and The Complete Making of Indiana Jones. He is now writing The Making of Return of the Jedi (and really looking forward to finishing it) for a fall 2013 release. You can visit jwrinzler.com for more info.
Tags: episode vii, future of star wars
In response to the Zack Snyder idea… Yes that would be cool. But what would be even more badass is if you got CHRISTOPHER NOLAN to direct one. Yes. The man behind The Dark Knight Trilogy and producer of the upcoming Man of Steel (which Zack Snyder directs) That would be the best Star Wars movie yet
ITS A TRAP!
that would suck tbh. think about it.
I think the moves should be Legacy era because that would allow the original cast to do it based on their ages. And even if they can’t do the physicality, we now have the the tech to pull it off! Also, Abeloth would be an awesome villain on-screen and could actually be very terrifying. Then the fact that it directly ties into the prophecy of the chosen one and the Mortis monolith would bring all three trilogies full circle.
Couldn’t agree more. I would love the original cast to return (disregarding Peter Mayhew, since the poor man is reaching his later years). Other exciting aspects on-screen would be such things as Kyle Katarn making a cameo or possibly Allana Solo and her nexu Anji. That, as well as Luke’s wife Mara Jade. All I would be estatic to see on the big screen.
It would totally be cool to have Luke and Mara Jade’s wedding in it
WAIT!!! DAVE, DON”T LET ASHOKA DIE SHE SHOULD POP UP IN ONE OF THE NEW STAR WARS!!!!
I reckon that these movies should be either an Old Republic movie, a pre-Episode IV movie, or a Legacy Era Movie.
i think an old republic sw will be great
Fully agree! When I read about Abeloth in the Legacy books, I thought right away she would be great onscreen…
This is where I’m coming from – “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope,” and “Empire of Dreams,” have it, the sequels and prequels are ok but they don’t quite have it.
I have a feeling that characters from the existing films will be limited to the Droids. I know that Chewy dies in the books, but since Wookies life span is very long, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him show up. Also, we could see some of the clones show up, or their offspring. Who knows, maybe we will get some original cast members back besides Tony Daniels, but I’m not holding my breath.
i am very excited. this is the logical step, would be nice to see Mark Hamill step back into the role being that the planned part 7 takes place many years after rtoj, he is age appropriate, maybe even han.as far as the njo books and others, i would look for more of a reboot from rtoj on….
They should just take the first 3 Zahn books. It’d be nice and simple, assuming Harrison Ford is willing. Getting Hammil and Fisher back should be easier, I think, but Ford with all he’s done since…
It’s just great news, my dad took me to see the original trilogy back in the day and my new son will be just old enough to go to movies when Episode VII is released. I for one cannot wait, one way or the other!
I agree – the Thrawn Trilogy would be great to see in action. keeps true to the original characters/personalities as well as introducing some cool new ones. TZ really took care in preserving the integrity of GL’s vision.
Im a big star wars fan and hearing this news is great they would really need to bring the original cast back to do them because there age is about right…. if they recast it wont work and you would lose the fans and a Reboot is out of the question that would be horrible unless its not about the skywalker family… what we really need is a star wars three and a half it would be a dark movie so having the director that did the dark knight trilogy wouldnt be a bad idea.
BUT I REALLY THINK DEEP DOWN IS….LEAVE IT ALONG AND WORK ON MORE TRON MOVIES DISNEY
NO.
Ok the first thing they need to do is hire a good writer, then the best choice for director would be JJ Abrams, he did a wonderful job bringing star trek back to life.
But imagine all the lens flares he would put in the lightsaber fights.
Wow! I am super excited, I always knew there’d be a 7-8-9! I remember when Ep 1 came out and the old Star Wars website had numbers 1-9 listed and only released movies would let you click to read the story… then when everyone got pissed about Jar Jar and George said no more movies, the numbers disappeared… and it’s funny because I’ve even tried looking up internet archives and the same Star Wars webpage from that time has 7-9 missing! Lucasfim even wiped the memory of the internet droids!!
I’ve imagined what a new trilogy would be like. I consider myself a big star wars fan, but don’t know much about the EU… and honestly for the sake of the mainstream I hope they stick to whatever stories Lucas wrote treatments for, even if they contradict “cannon” from the EU.
I should still write up my own Ep. 7 story I’ve been dreaming of before the movies come out! I hope they get the original cast back in the game, but not exactly as key players (except Luke, who has to be the new master). It’d even be cool in my opinion to not have any Han or Lea until Ep 8!
Oh, and if you create a villian as bad-ass as Darth Maul again, please don’t kill him in the first movie… and no bringing him back in a cartoon… that still doesn’t make up for it!!!
Considering the success of the Avengers, Disney would be a fool to not at least approach Joss Whedon on directing and writing the new Star Wars movies, maybe Indiana Jones as well and I’ll throw in Tron for good measure.
This was The Maker’s decision he did not have to do it, even with no new movies planned(before the news broke of course)Star Wars was still doing fine with the Blu-rays,the novels,comics and Star Wars:The Clone Wars were keeping Star Wars popular,so it was not about the money,its about the love for his creation and it living and thriving well into his golden years and beyond,this news shocked the heck out of me initially but now that its settling in and acceptance washes all over us Star Wars fans we can all agree that if George Lucas wanted this to preserve his Legacy who are we to question his decision,the decision of one of the greatest and most successful self made filmmakers and storytellers of all times. Lets all look and hope for a bright and exciting future. May The Force Be With Us. All.
I’m with you 100%.
Amen Lando’s Son. Well said. My reaction exactly. I am looking forward to this. And I was 20 when I saw “New Hope” in 1977 before I even knew it was part of a triple trilogy.
We’ll definitely need at least some of the original cast, Mark Hamill for sure as the master jedi with some new blood to kick start us. Solo as head of the republic, some imperial star destroyers hanging around and Hayden as the ghost mentor.
Dear god, please not Hayden. Every Star Wars fan I know agrees he was a huge part of the why I II and III were not nearly as good as IV V and VI. I would be hugely disappointed if he were in it, and I think it would do a lot to encourage the “I am afraid this will end poorly” that a lot of fans are feeling.
Star wars has been something very important in my life for the last 32 years i am now 43 years old. It feels weird to be so excited about this new trilogy, i have two children 5 and 7 years old, and i know we will watch thew new movies with the same wonderful point of view of a small boy. Its really great that George Lucas is willing to continue his legacy and new generations will be able to be amazed by his universe.
Thank you very much George.
I wonder if the new films will follow along the lines of this old entry in the Star Wars.com Databank for Luke:
The day after his ordeal at the Battle of Endor, while still recovering from the wounds inflicted by Palpatine’s Force lightning, Luke commanded an Alliance mission to the Bakura system. The outlying Imperial world had been besieged by a strange alien force, the Ssi-ruuk, and Skywalker and Organa negotiated a truce between the Alliance and Imperial forces to help fight off this menace.
The discovery of a Force-sensitive named Dev Sibwarra during the Bakura incident galvanized Luke’s conviction for finding others like him in the galaxy. Palpatine and Vader’s scourge was not absolute. Surely there were Force-users that had escaped the dark times.
Luke spent the next several years following every lead he could to locate lost and hidden Force-sensitives. This led him to Dathomir, a world of mysterious and powerful Force-wielding witches. On this distant planet, he discovered the ruins of the Chu’unthor, an ancient Jedi training vessel.
As Luke’s search intensified, he was once again visited by the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Five years after the Emperor’s death at Endor, Obi-Wan said his final farewell to Luke. His spirit would no longer remain with him. Skywalker, feeling alone, realized he was not the last of the Jedi, but rather, the first of the new.
It was at this time that rumors surfaced of a Jedi Master hidden on the remote world of Wayland. Luke investigated, finding the insane Dark Jedi clone, Joruus C’baoth. Luke’s compassion defeated his safety instincts, as he studied with C’baoth, and tried to draw him from the madness and grip of the dark side. C’baoth’s insanity and evil was too deeply rooted to undo, and in his bid to mold Skywalker into his new dark side pupil, C’baoth did the unthinkable. Using Luke’s severed hand recovered from Bespin by Imperial agents, C’baoth grew a clone of the young Jedi — Luuke Skywalker — and sent the mindless duplicate to kill Luke. Skywalker eventually defeated C’baoth and the clone.
During this crisis, which played out while the Republic was besieged by the depredations of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Skywalker also met Mara Jade. A fiercely determined and highly skilled Force-sensitive warrior, Mara was once a trusted agent of Palpatine. She was one of Palpatine’s “Hands,” an elite assassin and agent who could hear the Emperor’s call from across the galaxy. Jade held Skywalker responsible for the ruination of her career and purpose, and longed to kill him. Despite repeated opportunities, Jade did not kill Luke, and the two worked together to undo Thrawn and C’baoth’s plans. Blunting her hatred for him, Mara developed a begrudging respect for the Jedi and his skills.
Although Thrawn was defeated, his string of victories rallied the remaining Imperial warlords to stage a daring and violent stab at the Republic-held capital of Coruscant. Whereas Thrawn wanted to capture the capital intact, these Imperials attacked without restraint and ravaged the once gleaming metropolis-covered planet. The Republic retreated and Skywalker commanded a number of missions into the Imperial-held world.
Stranded on Coruscant, Luke began to discover strange clues in newly opened secret chambers throughout the former Imperial Palace, clues to the Emperor’s power. Before he could piece together their significance, a raging Force storm appeared in the sky. The swirling vortex of dimension-altering energy consumed Luke, and deposited him far away on the Deep Core world of Byss. There, in an ornate citadel, Luke faced an enemy he had not ever expected to see again: Emperor Palpatine.
Palpatine had long been staving death away by using arcane Sith knowledge and cloning technology. Palpatine would grow clone duplicates of his bodies to act as receptacles for his evil life force should his body die. With this technique, Palpatine had escaped death time and again. He called for Skywalker to kneel before him and become his apprentice. Skywalker, realizing that the Emperor was almost invincible, knelt before him, and agreed to join the dark side.
Like a few others in recorded history, Luke believed he could defeat the dark side from within by learning its secrets. He had neglected one of Yoda’s key teachings — never underestimate the power of the dark side. Skywalker, consumed by the darkness, found himself unable to break away from its pall. Though he succeeded in covertly sabotaging a number of Palpatine’s plans, he could not bring himself back to the light. With the help of his sister, however, Skywalker was able to turn against his master. Together, the Jedi twins were eventually able to defeat Palpatine once and for all.
Given the growing dangers in the galaxy, Skywalker felt that the New Republic needed a new order of Jedi serving and protecting the populace. He proposed to the government that a new Jedi academy be started with himself as its head instructor. The Republic agreed, and Luke began searching for Jedi candidates in earnest for training in the Great Massassi Temple on Yavin 4.
There, Skywalker returned the Jedi order to the galaxy, and undid the damage done by Palpatine and his father decades ago. His students in turn became masters, and a new generation of Jedi Knights arose.
Luke’s alliance with Mara Jade grew into admiration, then affection — emotions that were reciprocated. About a decade after their initial hostile encounter, Luke and Mara Jade were married on Coruscant.
Now, Luke’s new Jedi order is facing its greatest challenge. Without the sage governance of a Jedi Council, the new Jedi Knights lacked unity and focus. Many were accused of reckless vigilantism, and the Republic citizenry began to grow leery of their protectors.
Into these uncertain times rampaged the Yuuzhan Vong, alien invaders that breached New Republic space, bent on conquest. The Jedi became the first line of defense for the Republic, but their failure to repulse the brutal aliens was widely reported. Inexplicably, the Yuuzhan Vong do not exist in the Force, thus the Jedi were robbed of their most powerful abilities against this new foe.
The Yuuzhan Vong took specific interest in the Jedi, proclaiming them the worst of a galaxy full of infidels. Many in the New Republic began to turn against the Jedi in an effort to appease the Yuuzhan Vong and blunt their destructive incursions. Organizations such as the Peace Brigade betrayed the order, and began rounding up Jedi captives for the invaders. The Jedi academy on Yavin 4 was destroyed by the Yuuzhan Vong. It was as if the dark times of Palpatine’s ascent had returned.
Throughout it all, Skywalker maintained a veneer of carefully measured action, sparking criticisms of being distant, aloof and too passive. Dissension in the Jedi ranks spread as the more proactive Knights — like Kyp Durron — urged direct confrontation against the enemy.
Luke was resistant to such action, for fear that too aggressive a path would lead his Jedi to the dark side. Skywalker engineered an underground fugitive network, dubbed the Great River, and a secret haven called Eclipse, to protect the beleaguered Jedi Knights.
With his beloved wife temporarily afflicted by a Yuuzhan Vong-engineered disease, and his closest friends forever scarred by the violence, Skywalker found that not even a Jedi Master could keep galactic events from striking close to his heart. During these war-ravaged years, Mara became pregnant and gave birth to their son, Ben Skywalker. Keeping his newborn child safe became a paramount concern.
A chilling vision of the dark side brought Luke to the heart of the Yuuzhan Vong-held Coruscant. In the depths of the altered city planet, Luke face off against Lord Nyax, the deranged mutated Dark Jedi that once was Irek Ismeren.
Surviving a tremendous Force battle at the site of the old Jedi Temple, Skywalker concentrated his efforts on restarting the Jedi Council. To do so, he had to enter the nebulous world of politics. Backing a pro-Jedi candidate, Luke saw Cal Omas elected Chief of State of the newly formed Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. Together, they resurrected the Jedi Council, which now included both Jedi representatives and members of the New Republic government.
Armed with important information from Vergere, a Jedi of the Old Republic who had spent decades among the Yuuzhan Vong, Skywalker now journeys the depths of uncharted space, seeking to find the key to victory against the alien invasion.
Wow, that’s a whole lotta DUMB. No chance they go with these 9th-grade-creative-writing-class-caliber stories.
[...] behind A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and soon Return of the Jedi wrote (in a must read essay) on StarWars.com that he wasn’t privy to these writings: Lucas mentioned these notebooks – or one big book [...]
I love the fact we will get new movies, but I do not see them working unless we have some of the original case to lead us to the future. The biggest issue is maintaining continuity with the expanded universe from the comics and books that fans have grown to love. Please do it right Disney.
They should make an old republic movie instead of continuing with the episodes.
Have Hamill(Luke) play like Guiness(Ben) did in E4. Fisher(Leia) has small part in trilogy. Ford(Han) was killed off inbetween trilogies, Chewie protects Leias/Hans kids now. New trilogy focuses on new generation of Skywalkers/Solos. Easy. Hire me!
Also, I hope Lucas isnt ill. Hence, why he finally sold Star Wars.
I am 45 years old and always loved Star Wars. My wife and our 13 Year old son are extremely excited and CAN NOT wait until the movies come out. I just hope that the stories stay true to the books and Disney chooses directors with a good vision. May the Force be with us all….
I realy hope they don’t neglect the books like Lucas did with the new triology.
Best choice of director:
- Kevin Smith
- Josh Whedon
Only a true fan like them can make the magic we are all especting
I never read Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy, but from what i’ve heard it only takes place about 5 years after ROTJ – the original cast would be too old to take part in that story as written, but maybe they could come up with a modified version that would allow them to come back and reprise their roles. It would be pretty great to get the original cast involved, but I think i would be fine with a whole new cast as long as the writers and director were talented. And, yes, based on his track record, Joss Whedon would be an awesome choice for this, but he’s tied up with the avengers, so that’s not going to happen (at least for the first movie). I don’t think JJ Abrams would be a good pick for this for some reason. I just don’t think his aesthetic is right for it. Anyway, here’s hoping Disney picks some good people and lets them make the awesome star wars movies that should have been made long ago.
I know I will be flamed to death, but I would like to see Michael Bay take on one.
I really hope that all involved with these new movies will respect the continuity of the expanded universe. The EU is what kept and grew the loyal fan base between the first two trilogies. It is a HUGE part of the universe that has been created and exists in our imaginations. As far as I am concerned the expanded universe is inseparable from the movies. While Lucasfilm, Disney, the new director, etc have the legal right to trample all over the EU if they want, to do so is a slap in the face of the fans that have grown to love it (and spend $ on it) as well as a slap in the face of all the talented people who contributed to it. The Star Wars brand wouldn’t be what it is without the EU.
I agree,if the EU is respected then we have some hope.Now the ball is in Disneys hands to see what exactly they will do.
The EU blows. Glad it’s being dumped. What Disney should do is redo the whole damn thing from scratch…
While I agree EU has some importance I disagree all of it has to be preserved. The EU is so overcrowded that its a wonder Luke just doesn’t walk away from the whole mess. I mean Chewbacca dies, his wife dies, he has to kill his nephew, battle constant reemergences of the darkside, the empire remnant… oh yeah and an alien race who is not affected by the Force. If you keep all that stuff you’re going to have to pigeon hole the new trilogy unless Lucas places it some 200 years later.
I’m not really sure that an “Episode 7″ will be that interesting. What I really want to see is the story of Han and Lando preceding episode IV. Not “Han as a kid”, not “Han as a teenager”, but the Han Solo who shoots first. The Lando who sells him out. Interstellar pilots/mercenaries/pirates at the fringes of the law, fighting, stealing, escaping, getting caught… of all the characters in the Star Wars universe, don’t you think their stories would be the most interesting?
Of course, Harrison Ford is no longer able to play that character, so it would be somewhat of a reboot with a younger actor to fill his shoes.
Alternatively, if they can’t actually do Han Solo, I’d like to see new characters like him. Free traders, scoundrels, pirates, bounty hunters, etc. In that universe, a side story that does not involve the rebellion, but is set against the backdrop of those events could be really intriguing.
From the free trader’s point of view, is there really much difference between the Empire and the Republic? Are the Jedi not just mystical nutballs who get you into trouble? And in deep space, who is really the law, anyway?
Yes, you could pretty much make those forever…
Sounds a lot like “Firefly”. The backstory for Han could be a lot like Malcolm Reynolds. And, yes, its an entirely different universe, but everyone knows Firefly was killed way to early.
But I like the idea of Han and Lando the scoundrals trying to get by and get rich on the fringes of the Empire. Perhaps they too are veterans of the final stages of the Clone wars, their home worlds conquered and subgigated by the Empire. Fortunetly Lucas left them out of the prequals. They meet and team up with Chewie. Think of the scrapes with Jabba the Hutt, Jail breaks, Love tringles , winning the Milleneum Falcon, and the myriad encounters with the fabric of the Star Wars Universe you could write tales about. This idea has me excited, and you don’t have to mess with any of the EU cannon.
And yes, Joss Whedon would be a good guy to start with.
Steven Spielberg wants to do a Star Wars for years. He is THE man for the job. He can make the most amazing drama movies and the best action stories.
I respect Nolan, but I think Spielbergs carreer spans a lot further than a few good movies. (Dark knight rises was good, but very flawed). Spielberg is an allround director and I’ve, better we’ve enjoyed his movies for decades now. I’d like to see other other directors to be able to that. Cameron and Copolla sticked around, but where will Nolan be in 30 years?
Spielbergggg!!!!
Ps. and while we’re at it, mr. Lucas….two more indy movies please
If Spiels had directed episode 1, with his proven track record of getting memorable performances from child actors, not to mention a much better handling of dialogue, emotional acting and the Jar Jar fiasco, (say he made him a tortued outcast soul that we cared about instead of a clown), and it would have been a much better film.
The fact that “G” (that’s how we refer to him, round here) is handing all the operations to Kathleen K. (of SKG), truly hints at the FACT that Steven Speilberg will most Definitely be involved in the next Star Wars Films. Steven has always expressed an interest in directing a Star Wars film, and now it seems he has his opportunity handed to him. It was, in fact, Steven who helped George create General Greivous, and came very close to directing a removed sequence from Revenge of the Sith. I would be amazed if Steven does not have a hand in the next episode. Oh, and by the way, I can dispell the rumour about James Cameron being involved….He has already commited himself to the next 2 Avatar Films, and will not have any time to spare.
Yeah nice try Evan.
SKG is/was Spielberg, Katzenburg, Geffen as in SKG Dreamworks. Not Kennedy, although she worked a lot with Spiels.
Oh great here we go they better not mess this one up or I’m steaming mad like a tea pot arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg!
Having read all the sw books of what happens after and before the sw films that i could get, I’ve got to say that to make a sensible storyline which does not clash with what has been written so far will be quite a challenge. The best option would veto acknowledge existing material with side references and surprise all the jewels with an entirely new and interesting enemy.
The challenge
or do you try to bend that what you have into something good (this option i dislike- how do you explain that terrible scenario, first, then develop it in an appealing manner, plus, then put a Disney happy ending to it? Skip the yuuzan vong I beg you- the moment they turned up everything sw went down hill…)
The sw books which have so freely been written ever since a new hope already do a good job of contradicting each other in details, especially chronology. Further, you’ve got to make the content accessible to a wider audience (not just swarriors who went ahead and bought the sw Encyclopedia…). If the twenty year gap between vi and vii is kept to, then essentially we’re in the middle of yuuzan vong land…with chewie dead, Han insane, anakin depressed, leia trying to hold the republic together, Luke trying to knock some sense into jacen and the small number of Jedi trained by Luke on yavin 4 being useless to combat the new (highly disgusting) enemy which makes Jedi yet again enemies of the state….will that appeal? shall the authors change what already been written (cheating a bit in a clever way like they did for star trek – why not, yes please
The best option…
…could be to leave Luke’s “force-related” adventures, dathomir and co included, aside as side-stories (as done with the clone wars) and recycle them into a few spin-off Disney-series as Disney announced having the intention if doing. Then one could start off where the yuuzhan vong story-line ends (like after the appearance of zonama sekot), having the new republic be somewhat established under leia’s command, and Han getting over chewie’s death with a positive memory of him (just like when we saw Henry senior’s picture on indy’s desk in Indiana jones 4). The new heroes could be, to echoe the patterns from the first two trilogies, the next generation of the known characters: Jacen, Jaina, Anakin and Ben. These teens can start off their adventures in a post-war world and get to know the galaxy alongside the viewer with uncle Luke’s help and advice, a character who, being known to the viewers, leads you into the new age and makes the story of mentors and apprentices come full circle (there is so much potential for that…). We can have episode vii to get used to the new Star Wars age, and the makers can do a nice job of dropping in nice recognisable details here and there, and make some references to the yuuzahn vong projects going on in other places, far, far away (as done in episode II about clone war details)
Please!
Finally: please hit our heroes with an entirely new threat! A nice, tangible and defeatable one. Not empire remnants- you dont need that…. Not the vong, unless you want 100% slaughter all the way through. Maybe Sith if you can wrap it nice and new (the rule of there only ever being two at once never really was respected anyways…) or (the best option) come up with someone like them who does something with the force which we haven’t seen yet (for surprise and interests sake) and who does some thing we do recognise, to satisfy and promote the insiders’ knowledge.
However, please dont bring back dead people by making their clones appear again, I think even the greatest fans would then groan…Instead, why not use some of our own history (e.g. post world war 2, or even war on terror-related experiences ) as inspiration. that was a huge and terrorifc long war which the galaxy suffered between II and vi- and children were born into that time (!) who are teenagers (!) by the time come episode vii—- come on Disney, that’s your target audience I’m talking about!!!!!
Ps. It would of course be nice to use the timothy zhan trilogy which was really good content-wise, but as mentioned, that’s five years after rotj, and not twenty…
Pps. *viewers, not jewels!! X) tho the difference isn’t great haha
Hi, i´m fron Argentina. Please, forgive my english. I have to say that the news about Disney sounds great for me. I also think that if the new movies vill not have the olders characters, I really believe that Thrawn or the Vong deserve a movie, and of course, Mara. Thanks.
wish that there were some films to establish the truth of sith origins about 7000BBY
It should use the original actors, Hamill, Fisher and Ford, but they would sort of “pass the baton” to the next generation of Jedi. My idea sort of goes like this: Luke rebuilds the Jedi Order, not yet thousands of Jedi, but some 80-100. Not enough to cover the entire galaxy. He becomes the old mentor, like Obi-Wan, but he tries to improve on some of the things that led to the Jedi’s downfall in the first place. Lets say he has two sons (maybe a Deak Skywalker), one who is good but not particularly ambitious of becoming a Jedi, the other who becomes evil and kills his Luke, his father. He turns because he falls in love with a strikingly beautiful but manipulative Sith Witch, who, of course, doesn’t tell him that she has dark side powers. Ep8: After Lukes death, Leia tries to take over the order, and because of her great organizational skill is somewhat successful, but being a better wife and mother than a Jedi Knight, is somewhat limited in her role as a mentor but keeps Lukes memory alive enough for the other Jedi to keep expanding and give them a stronger resolve. Meanwhile, they do not realize that the evil son is still in their midst, being manipulated by the Sith Witch he is in love with. She sees the weakness in the order and tries to take over Leia’s role at that time, but ultimately Deak’s love for his aunt takes over and he talks Leia into giving the Sith Witch a limited role into the leadership of the order, which ultimately saves Leia’s life but weakens her role. She wreaks havoc in the order, which the other Jedi are skeptical of, but go along with because she is affiliated with a Skywalker offspring. Ep 9 the Sith Witch takes control of the order, and ends up pitting the good and evil brothers against each other. Meanwhile, the Solo children, the cousins of the Skywalker brothers, devise a plan to isolate the Sith Witch from the evil brother, and try to make him see the error of his ways. Ulitmately, in the end, the youngest Solo child, named, ironically, Anakin, will end up saving them all by realizing his powers from within which he didn’t know he had.
Rather than obvious pop culture guys like Spielberg, Kevin Smith or Josh Whedon, I would like to see an original voice run wild in the universe like:
Guillermo del Toro
Peter Jackson
David Lynch
David Cronenberg
Guy Maddin
Julie Taymor
Spike Jonze
I would love to see The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis.
Somehow I feel that Disney is going to over simplify the brand,and only cater to the masses and not the long time fans.
I think Disney will work hard to please the fans–they’d be dumb not to. Plus, with Kathleen Kennedy in charge, I have no doubt that the Sequels will stay true to the tone and spirit of the rest of the films. And having Hamill, Fisher, and Ford making cameo appearances, with Hamill perhaps in a more central role as the reigning Jedi Master, would be excellent.
My Director’s choice:
Joss Whedon = Ep 7
Kevin Smith = Ep 8
Christopher Nolan = Ep 9
My Story choice:
An reimagining of the New Jedi Order series featuring the original cast and whoever plays the next generation could concievably front a NEW triology of Episodes 10, 11, 12!
I have a strong feeling it’ll go like this, so who knows…
[...] behind A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and soon Return of the Jedi wrote (in a must read essay) on StarWars.com that he wasn’t privy to these writings: Lucas mentioned these notebooks – or one big book – [...]
so long as it is no longer pandering toward children like the clone wars and the prequels, think i’ll be alright. but i want to see some yuuzhan vong. vector prime, star by star, unifying force. its done for them. or even the rise of darth caedus would be cool
I’m excited ! I hope they start out with Mark Hammil as Luke. He is now the master teaching new Jedi . They need to keep R2D2 and C3PO . Han and the princess should be gone. (keep their memory you and fun) Now I can put being in a Star Wars movie back on my bucket list ! LOL
Mesa thinks mesa will die in thosa movies
I felt that the star wars movies were way too good for disney to screw up so i sold my company to them.
Lol at this man.
As a life long fan of the star wars legacy.. its like a dream come true that Episode 7 is finally finally going to happen.. I just hope that they bring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher back.. bring back the real Magic.. I think they should get Steven Speilberg to Direct, Episode 7, Sam Raimi to Direct Episode 8 and Peter Jackson to Direct Episode 9.. also.. I think they should bring back the screenwriters from Episode 4, 5 on to write Episode 7.. Lawrence Kasdan etc.. Star wars has inspired me to become an indi screenwriter/filmmaker, which I am now doing.. because of that, I have my own movie, Storyteller of terror, out on amazon.. I know HOW IMPORTANT a GREAT STORY HAS TO BE.. so I just hope.. with great hope.. that if their new writers on episode 7, that they dont massacre the story.. Erik Herrera
Forget Ep. 7.8 and 9 ! What I really want to see is Episode 3.5
- Vader hunting down and destroying the remaining Jedi; Leia growing up and becoming a senator and an enemy of the Empire; Luke growing up on the farm and getting his ears boxedby Uncle Owen for shirking his chores while Kenopbi watches over.
Two words… PETER JACKSON
He is the only man that has the freedom to take his time with a tale to make the most of the story.
Hamill has to feature as does Chewie & the Droids but use the Expanded Universe as a guide but make your own future… We all want new stories rather than a rework of I’d material.
Thank you George for releasing it… I thought it wouldn’t happen in mine/your lifetime but now I get to take my kids to a Star Wars Trilogy and for that I am forever grateful.
Those close your eyes moments and dreams before you sleep are about to come true.
Thank you
I can only hope that Disney will realize that to do any sort of follow up on Lucas’s vision of a continued ” Star Wars” event , that they respect how it was created in the first place.
I worry that with Disney’s large scale movie making reputation they will overlook the passion of the original trilogy and create something of their own. This could be good or bad.
I cannot forget the success of “The Avengers”, with all honesty, but this is “Star Wars” we are talking about.
It has and always shall be sacred.
I have been a fan since the first movie and this news is the best 50th birthday present I could possibly recieve. I hope the new movies are original and have no tie-in to the books or the cartoon series. There are only two Jedi left Luke and Leia lets leave it at that and take the series in a new direction.
First, thanks to Mr. Lucas for creating an incredible universe and now having the wisdom to spread the creative efforts to further built upon that vision.
Second, please bring back some of the old cast to pass the torch to new characters in a compelling story line.
Thank you.
Give us the Thrawn Trilogy please!!!
Dear god. Now, if I was a kid who loved attack of the clones was the best episode ever, I would say, yay! But the fact that i hate episode 1,2,&3, this sounds worse than the clone wars spinn off. Comon. The fact that han shoots 2nd now proves lukus is an idiot who just got lucky. What makes this even worse, disny is doing it! $10 says luke skywalkers grandson is going to jump up on futuristic unch tables and start singing! I lerned this on haloween wich completly killed my favorite holiday. If there is a single gungun in this moive I will burn my blue ray box set i got for christmas. Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggg! Please exuse my spelling.
I have been a Star Wars fan ever since I saw Episode IV new in theaters at age 7. I have been drawn to it all my life and have enjoyed experiencing the story lines as expressed in each of the various media (EU books, comics, video games etc). One of the great strengths of the franchise is the way George has opened up his vision for interpretation by others. JK Rowling has a death grip on Harry Potter, Star Trek roundly sucks but Star Wars has endured because it is awesome and George has never hesitated to let others bring new ideas and energy to his vision. I have great faith in the new leadership in the company and am happy that Disney is taking stewardship of the films. The effort they put into The Muppets was astonishing…it perfectly tied the old shows and movies to a story and treatment for the current generation to enjoy. We have to accept the fact that Star Wars is going to change and this new effort will not make everyone happy, but the very fact that we will have new work to love, pick apart and criticize makes me giddy. I am convinced of one thing key to the success of the next film…the bar will be raised by the new talent brought into the new project. I am convinced that the stories will be tighter, the characters brilliantly cast and directed and the cinematography will be gorgeous. I kind of hope the director does not just pander to the fans. I want to be surprised. My faith in this new direction has given me a new hope to enjoy Star Wars for years to come.
This is gonna be epic!