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
They should make the next three episodes using the old technology from the ’70’s-80’s to make them look like the original 3 movies (no cgi, old school!)
I understand that fans would love to see these new movies filmed as epiosde 4 5 6. I feel that these new movies should be filmed in the up most best technology that the industry have. It will give the films there full potential that the story needs to be told.
@Ron.
No.
make the films using the 1970s filming ways of the force with mupets and models but then improve with special effects thus keeping it real.
The first three movies have been filmed using the best stop motion technology available at their time. It is only natural to stick to using the best technology available for the latest instance of the movies. Thus lots of CGI is a must.
Hmmm. Talk of a female protagonist central character with the last name Skywalker. If it’s 50 years after Return, it’s hard to imagine this being Mara Jade. Do you think they might bring to life Ratha, Mara’s rumored daughter and Ben’s rumored sister?..
Naw man cgi all the way that old 70s crap is boring u would have folks falling asleep
Agreed, it was really weird seeing 4,5,6 look older than 1,2,3 cause it took place earlier so it should look older in CGI quality. on the bright side 7,8,9 will look right.
[...] but it would be cool if they all were back. Mark Hamill claims that Lucas had once told him that he would like Hamill to play an Obi-Wan type character in a future movie. It makes sense to have these older characters involved and pass the torch on to a younger [...]
i totally agree with you. It makes total sense that Luke would take on the Obi-Wan role and teach/train the next “new hope”
Fairly recently in a galaxy rather far away, Ewoks are everywhere due to rapid breeding and no natural enemy… They have never stopped singing… They tell their descendants about how they destroyed the empire with a little bit of help from humans! Super secret agent C3PO have had many adventures since then but they were all classified by Admiral Skywalker, until now… On forest moon of Endor an old bucket named R2D2 is found and he has video of everything that has happened since The Empire fell! Prepare for a six hour clip show followed by a new song for Fantasia 2040! Zombie Mickey Mouse presents Yub Nub 2.0! {Restricted Audiences}
In my humble opinion, episodes VII,VIII and IX, need to complete the storyline. We were given a present, then a past, now we need a future to the original trilogy. Mark, Carrie and Harrison need to reprise their roles. Escpecially Mark. There can be no other Luke. The Heir to the Empire and the Thrawn trilogy would be great except too much time has past since Jedi. Yet Disney pulled it off with TRON Legacy.
Luke could be a now seasoned Jedi who has rebuilt the Jedi academy his father distroyed. Perhaps one of his pupils succumbs to the dark side and begins turning the other Padawans against the new Jedi counsel, headed by Luke. Leia and Han Solos twins from “Heir” could also be a part of this…I have more ideas to this…I’m sure George’s desk is stacked to the roof with scenarios, treatments and scripts. I wish mine were among them.
tenseicoalition@gmail.com
I’m a huge Star Wars fan, but honestly, making Justin Beiber a big character of this saga like Luke, is going to make this saga loose millions of fans and the only reason new people are going to see it, its because of him and not of this glorious saga….. I beg you, please don’t make the movies with him or at least don’t make him Luke Skywalker…. millions of fans are begging for the same thing, don’t make this mistake.
episodes VII VIII & IX? maybe.. Kyle Katarn? the new republic? the new order of jedis?
they should have left well enough alone after the first trilogy
I like that in episodes 7, 8, 9, were longer and desperate battles that tubieran new characters with far more destructive power. among many alien races that have characters capable of carrying out the teleportation and was a plus for the bad giving a new challenge to the force, another serious effect of the fusion of the bodies from the ill to get more power. another would be the transformasion added from 7 elements to produce tools, weapons, ships etc. at last I have much to say but little I can say.
there are parallels between the first and second trilogies, patterns if you will. Droid control ship destroyed in episode one, death star destroyed in episode four for example. i think this is what Mr. Lucas is trying to get across, that history repeats itself. so, if we follow this logic, something huge will be destroyed in episode seven by some “farm boy” , who will either save the galaxy or try to destroy it by episode nine.
I think one of the new episodes should show some of the forgotten characters whom don’t get seen as much like Dexter Jetster, and people like that.
If you starwarsies want Mark back in Episode VII, they’ll need him to train a lot, even if its just a cameo …
I’ve been to the Fantasia’s premiere of “Sushi Girl” where Mark Hamill takes on a gangster’s role .. seen the movie and met him and i can confirm that our Mark needs a fair training to take back Luke’s shoes even if the events of episode 7 could takes place during his 60’s like while the Yuuzhan Vong War. He looses height and took some weight over the years mostly working on voices projects.
IMHO i think that they should find someone who is gonna take the Luke’s roles while they are projecting to do at least 3 more movies .. they should refresh and revive Luke, Han and Leia for a new era of filmmaking as well as finding some who can fairly plays a Mara-Jade who is going to be part of the main casting. For sure i would like to see Mark on episode7 for a cameo where he should lead Jaina, Jacen, Brakiss and Kyp … but that would imply that the trilogy would take place during the events of the jedi academy era meaning that they will skip the meeting of Luke and Mara during Heir, i don’t think so.
I think if new actors were cast in the roles of Luke, Leia, or Han, the outrage from the fan base would be deafening, and Episode VII would be Dead On Arrival at the box office.
(It worked for J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek because we already had 6 films and three TV seasons of the original cast, we actually got to the point where we were glad to see the original cast retire.)
It would actually be better to write the characters out of the films than to attempt replacing them. I wouldn’t be opposed to a sequel trilogy that did not have the Big Three characters in it.
Of course, one that had all three of the original actors would really be something special. You know Harrison Ford is not gonna go on-camera and recite dialogue that he knows is wooden and dead. Hell, Carrie Fisher could re-write it on the spot and make it better.
i cant wait anyway. But o hope its not childish because it is now been taken over by disney. plus i hope its really cool.
My guess is that episodes VII-IX will complete the hero’s journey as described in Joseph Campbell’s “The hero with a thousand faces”, which was a major inspiration for George Lucas.
Luke’s journey is only halfway. He has beaten evil on earth, but he still has to become one with the Force (like Jesus’s Ascension or Buddha’s reaching of Nirvana ). This is a spiritual quest, but it can take the form of a battle, like Parzival’s fight to retrieve the holy grail (which is a symbol of eternal life).
Given the age of Hamill, Fisher and Ford, it is likely that Luke, like king Arthur, will find a proxy (his son), to deliver battle for him. But I’m quite sure the trilogy must end with Luke joining Obi Wan in heaven – where he will also find his father Anakin (after all, the dark side is a part of the Force too).
Who said anything about Justin Beiber?
That would be an EPIC FAIL! Just ask George how well it was received when fans learned that the Backstreet Boys or whoever had cameos in Clones . . .
Can you say “cutting room floor?”
L O L
I would not be able to get any of my family to see new films with Justin Beiber in it. And we are huuuuuuuuuge fans. It’s not even funny as a joke!
I have read 3 books by author Tomothy Zahn and i thought they were fantastic and would make excellent films(i always dreamt that these would be made) They would fit in extremely well with the story lines and has all the old well loved characters in it. make it pleeeaaase!!!
hello guys
I’m soo happy for the new preview episides of star wars
yeeeeeee
I hop that the new trilogie is as weel good as the old two trilogies
I look forward to the films. I wonder if they will be in 3D.
It would be great seeing space battles in 3D with real depth
as for Avatar. The Phantom Menace 3D was disappointing.
I also wonder if rest of the other existing films will be released in
3D as a tie in to Epidode 7. Whatever format they’re filmed in I
believe that a good staring point is to take some of the best
elements of the trilogy from The Empire Strikes Back, A New
Hope and Revenge of the Sith.
There’s a wealth of expanded universe material, but I doubt that the new trilogy will follow any of that. I’m sure that we will see a rebuilding of the Republic and the Jedi Order and there’s bound to be some opposing force to those efforts. No doubt we’ll see the droids and Chewbacca again. I would love to see the Millenium Falcon return. There wasn’t an iconic ship in the prequel trilogy. There’s possibilities. We should also remember that Empire and Jedi weren’t directed by George Lucas. There’s a lot of possibilities, but this new trilogy needs to surpass what we’ve already seen, not so much visually, but it’s got to have a story worth telling, and a story that will keep fans talking for generations to come.
It sounds to me like Mark Hamill is primed for this trilogy. In fact the whole cast is!
If there was an original intent by Lucas to have approx 20 years between trilogies, then a 60 year old Hamill can definitely fit into the story line following his 25yr old self in Jedi.
A New Hope = 18
Empire = 21
Jedi = 24
VII = 50
VIII = 53
IV = 56
What ever they do, don´t care… JUST DONT KILL HAN.
and where is kitster in all this?
LOL
using bieber for this movies it’s a huge mistake, all that we have grown with the movies don’t feel (at least me and my friends) tha he have the caracter and the mind to do this kind of personification….. he’s too far to be Luke, that was error #1 of disney ¬¬
i will be very happy to see Mark in this movies too, he is the jedi legend!!
Is it just me that is filled with horror at the thought of Disney in charge of star wars? I’ve managed to avoid Disney films for 40 years now just to save myself the cloy, over sentimental cheesefest of their awful happy clappy dross. They will have to do something pretty damn special with these sequels to get me on board but they’ll probably hugger it up, and please god never mention bieber again.
Guys is really that Justin F*** Bieber is gonna be the Great Look Skywalker?
In my humble opinion, After Return of the Jedi, George should have started working on Episode I immediately. Forget about special effects or digital rendering. He waited too long and relied on digital technology being “ready”. Instead, he stalled SW and Indiana Jones, while fans were creating their own rebellion and empire. This Disney deal is a great opportunity to do what’s right: Amazing sequels to Return of the Jedi, with lots of drama, focusing on acting more than visual or sound effects. Lucas still can make a difference. But he needs to collaborate and listen, like he did back in 75.
Having the 3 main actors return would be fantastic, but I don’t think Disney can afford them AND make a proper STAR WARS trilogy. Besides that HAN SOLO is too reckless to have survived long into the future. It would take a king’s ransom to get Harrison Ford to return simply based on that, plus Dark Horse killed CHEWBACCA. Not to mention the extensive list of main/secondary characters who have also died. That saga is complete and finished.
I like the fact that George called the 6 existing movies “The Skywalker Saga”. Disney and the fans need to drop the concept of a 7, 8 & 9 and start over with a new saga.
Containing:
1.) the Old Republic and the Sith Wars or
2.) have it run parallel (but at different locations and/or filling in back stories) with the 6 films or
3.) far enough into the future to assure that everyone from the original trilogy has passed (except R2-D2 and C-3PO).
I like what they did with TRON: LEGACY (hopefully that can be done better in 2014) Then the main characters can return for the THRAWN TRILOGY, YUUZHAN VONG or SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE with the main actors providing voice over talent.
Also consider how much of the story (after ROTJ) has already been told. If Disney begins playing in that sandbox it could severely damage or corrupt the entire EXPANDED UNIVERSE. Disney needs to follow the same rules that all the other authors do. Find a place on the existing timeline that has not been explored and open it up.
I know that George has his own opinions about the expanded universe, but I feel that as soon as a Lucas company signed off and allowed publishing of a story, character or event. IT BECAME CANON.
FYI Han, Leia, Luke, Boba Fett and Lando are all alive and well 40 years on in the Fate of the Jedi series.
BOBA FETT (according to George) died in the Sarlac Pit
A 60year old Mark Hamill cannot pull off a 40 year old Luke Skywalker, no way, no how. Considering that the force will keep you alive longer than maybe normal, or at least in better shape, there is no way to youngify Mark enough to pull it off. Perhaps if Lucas had made the postquel when he made the prequel the old cast could have pulled it off, but unless the story takes a HUGE leap into the future they are just too far gone. Sad but true.
Of course, Disney could go the Tron Legacy route and just use some awesome cgi for the main characters. But, short of doing that the big guns are gonna have to be recast. And to you protesters who say “that will ruin it, blah blah blah” GET.OVER.IT. It wont ruin it, it will revitalize it. Phantom of the Opera, one of the most successful shows of all time, has had countless people play Christine and the Phantom since Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford. Not once was the show ruined because the original two were not in the cast anymore.
The actors were excellent, but unfortunately time cannot be stopped and their roles now need reprisal. Instead of bickering about how much you don’t like that, try focusing on who will make the best cast from known existing actors and actresses. Lucas took so long to get to these movies that we are where we are. Short of cgi, that’s just how it is. Deal with it. I love StarWars; I have since I was taken to the theatre as a 3 1/2 year old to see ROTJ. I even still have vague memories of that day. So, to reiterate, a recast wont kill it… unless it is Justin Bieber (Unless he’s in an ewok costume, no thank you).
I would still love to hear (if they do go with a more recent time line) who people think could reprise the roles the best.
Luke… Matthew Gubler
Leia…
Han…
Love to get some feed back from others. Who do you think should/could play the big four? Wha? Four?
…Lando… (forgot about him didn’t you?)
May the Force be ever in your favor,
~adam (did he just mix StarWars with the Hunger Games?)
I hope that VII, VIII, and IX are the original Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn. This trilogy started the expanded universe, and it deserves to be put on the big screen. But if they do create original stories, I hope that they don’t create any inconsistencies with the expanded universe books. That would ruin them for me.
Sounds like Lucas’s original ideas for the prequel was the better one. Luke as a young boy, Anakin and Obi-Wan high-flying Jedi. Also giving the reins to someone else. Yes, that definitely should have been done. Better late than never I guess.
that.would.be.awesome.
There seems to be an expectation that the original cast will return for the sequel trilogy, and that is certainly a possibility. In terms of story, we could see the aftermath of the Empire’s fall, the consequences of the original characters’ actions carrying through into a new era. And that could certainly work…practically speaking, it would also draw an audience based solely upon the nostalgic casting of the original cast members.
But we have to ask ourselves the difficult question, “Is this story THEIR story?” George Lucas has said repeatedly that the Skywalker saga concluded with Return of the Jedi, and I have to agree. RotJ feels like a fitting end to the story of Anakin Skywalker and his children. Revisiting them, even in their later years, feels…dangerous. Not that it couldn’t work (such an assumption is far too cynical), but it would certainly be far more difficult to execute, and we must ask whether the risk would be worth the reward.
Now, I’m no George Lucas or Lawrence Kasdan (or Michael Arndt, if the latest rumors are to be considered), but it seems to me that the best approach to a new iteration of the franchise is to DISPLACE the timeline, entirely. Shift it to a point where one can reference and pay homage to the original trilogy and the history of the prequel trilogy, without being chained to it…both from a storytelling perspective and an artistic design standpoint.
I’m not talking about a Knights of the Old Republic-era story…no, we’ve already experienced a preface to the original trilogy. Rather, the line should be pushed forward, ahead, into the future, inspired by what has gone before. That way, the creative process can flourish without constraint (or terror that something might offend through contradiction or by omission). Make the new trilogy both enjoyably familiar AND entirely new. Something that feels mysterious, something that embraces the ancient, lived-in, worn, and outright interesting social and technological texture of the Star Wars universe. And ultimately, something that allows the audience’s imagination to range beyond what they see on the screen.
A new story for a new generation. Unquestionably Star Wars, not hobbled by what has gone before, only inspired to reach into the limitless potential of the franchise’s future.
Perhaps that sounds a bit pretentious. Maybe it’s entirely off-base, and there is a way to more closely integrate the old and the new. I cannot deny that the possibility exists.
Whatever decisions are ultimately made, Star Wars has returned. The magic continues…
I seriously think that the franchise should take from the storyline of the force unleashed video games. During darth vaders journeys through the galaxy eradicating the Jedi, he came across a child and kept the child as his own, hiding him on a far away planet, training him in the ways of the dark side. After vaders demise the now adult sith hears of his “masters” death becomes more powerful than vader ever was, and hunts Luke. And the story can wind in many directions from there!
I can’t believe some of you actually think Ford, Hammil, or Fisher will be in these new films. There is no way Disney is going to have senior citizens star in 200+ Million dollar films. To spend this much money Disney is going to want Luke/Leia/Han to be the stars of the film, and they will all be played actors at least as young as the original actors were, if not younger.
I pray that this never happens !!! This would means the end Star Wars and the true potential of these films ! I have a strong doubt about Disney’s involvement ! I just hope that were not going to have to wait for another generation of film maker or another company to buy the rights to make some really great movies out of this universe !!!
PLEASE DON’T MAKE THEM LIKE THE CARTOONS! I hope they come up with some amazing story lines but keep the same intensity and originality. But still begin and end with the same respect to the original story line.
Miss Kennedy,
I hope that when you say that you want to pay tribute to the universe created by Georges Lucas, I hope you’ll pay tribute to the “universe” and it’s potential, not what GL did with his “universe” with is 6 movies, special editions, cartoons and what not ?!?!
A script by “Toy Story 3″ Michael Arndt IS NOT what Star Wars universe needs ?!?! The rumored involvement of Ford, Fisher and Hamil IS LIGHT YEARS AWAY FROM WHAT THIS UNIVERSE NEEDS ?!?! Lucas needs to be retired, stay silent and not to stay involved with future Star Wars movies ?!?! He
…His lack of taste and vision did already enough damage to his own universe during the years ?!?! My 4 year old daughter his already a big movie fan, but she’s not waiting for the next JarJar Binks or Baby Padawan scene ?! She already saw Lords Of The Ring trilogy, Jurasic Park trilogy, King Kong, X-Men Trilogy, Twilight movies and many more ! You know what ?! With only 4 and a half years of cinematic experience, she was BORED TO DEATH by the now famous Episode 1 of master Lucas !!!! I sincerely hope that the new Star Wars movies are going to be far as possible from the existing trilogies ! Star Wars is an adult universe, in which childrens can find a lot of pleasure ! Not the other way ! I discovered A New Hope a the age of 8, and it had nothing to do with “kids craps” that Lucas made with is movies during the years ?! PLEASE GIVE FANS WHAT THEY NEED !!! Not what is more profitable for Disney ?! This is the only path to make movies that are going to stand the test of time and becomes cult movies !
I would just like to ask if those who are moaning about Disney’s involvement have seen The Avengers? Were you disappointed by that? I doubt it. It was a fantastic culmination of the Marvel Universe.
And do you really think that Lucas would allow his lifes work to be ruined while he is alive to have a say in the matter?
Now i haven’t read any of the Expanded Universe but for me if you were to have Luke, Han and Leia in a cameo role it could be as a very poignant farewell in Episode VII for one or all 3 of them (though Han could probably carry on further as Mr Ford is in much better shape!!) and then hand over to their children as the next generation.
You’re right ! Avengers and all other spinoff are cool popcorn movies, through out a concept very well managed ! Buts, if well managed, I really think that Star Wars has an even greater potential than Avengers ! I also think that the tone of the movies should be different from what Lucas made with is past attemp at getting money out of our pocket ! More serious I mean… Less “kido”, more “believable” if I Amy say so… For me it’s not about moaning. It’s about what could’ve been the greatest science-fiction universe, that was clouded by money, profits and the personnel evolution
…personnal evolution of someone who became exactly what he fight against at the begining of his career ! Star Wars needs to be less industrialise and more artistic… The profit are going be there anyway ! But in bonus, they’ll get the respect of audience and fans..
I really hope that the next trilogy of Star Wars movies avoids making struggles against remnants of the Galactic Empire, resurrected figures like Darth Sidious, and manipulation by Sith like what Anakin Skywalker experienced their main plotline. Such a plotline would get tediously inbred and repetitious—we’ve already had a trilogy about each of these things, so let that be that and let’s move forward.
Instead, we need new enemies, plotlines, and settings. For example, I think that the new trilogy of Star Wars movies needs to flush out and investigate the Force more through Luke Skywalker and his students’ curiosity. Through this, the Jedi Order needs to officially evolve past practices like institutionalized celibacy, explore and apply different ways of using the Force outside of strict Dark Side and Light Side applications, seek out rare ancient beings who know more about what the Force is, and other such things.
In short, I want more creativity and the evolution of ideas, not simply another Star Wars trilogy which keeps looking backward to the original and prequel Star Wars series as a homage payer.
Plus, I would like to see more live action and less reliance on cheap, cardboard deep CGI—get the Henson Company and other folks who know how to do live action effects onboard.
Of course, many hardcore Star Wars fans want to see the Thrawn Trilogy on the Big Screen, so I am sure that I will get hated on for my viewpoint. /Puts on flame retardant mindset.
Eahaddix, you would probably enjoy reading The New Jedi Order series of the expanded universe, that is about the whole issue of old jedi order rules verses the force not having light or dark side just intent. New enemy in the Yuuzhan Vong aliens from outside the galaxy that are not connected to the force. It’s also about Han and Leia’s kids growing into adulthood. Has the whole galaxy at war trying to stay alive and survive against the enemies “holy war”. Has a pretty dark story with lots of mystery. I believe it would be a good Episode 6 storyline. Though I don’t like the appearance of the Yuuzhan Vong and they would need CGI to do their faces “ugly, self injury inflicting people”.
1) Disney is planning on having Ford, Hamill, and Fisher appear in opening scene cameos
2) Disney has announced that this new trilogy will be something totally new, not in the expanded universe
3) The whole Justin Bieber thing was a picture that was a joke. Quit taking it so seriously.
4) WAIT AND SEE! There’s no point in speculation.
Have a nice day
Lucas mamad la corneta y no tengais miedo de mirad la diuca
Should there be more Star Wars movies? At the end of ‘Return Of The Jedi’ the Republic won. Anikan became good again and was shown at the end of the movie with Obi-Wan and Yoda. I love that part. I just think there is no other way to keep the story going, that pretty much ended it. Reply to me and tell me what you think..thanks
James Cameron should direct the next episode.
James Cameron , really? I guess you never saw “Aliens”. By far with worst film in the Alien franchise. I would not let James Cameron anywhere near the Star Wars franchise, you might as well say “Michael Bay should direct the next Star Wars”, that’s if you want to ruin the franchise.
I think that Episodes VII – IX will deal with the next generation of Jedi, which would probably center on Luke’s own son. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher have all expressed interest in reprising their roles, so it would make sense that they would all at least have cameos. My guess is that Luke Skywalker would be the only one of the three to have a somewhat larger part, probably similar to Obi-Wan in Episode IV (as Lucas talked to Hamill about long ago).
Lucas looks at the expanded universe as a playground where he lets other creative people come and create their own stories, but he has never felt obligated to follow expanded universe cannon when it conflicted with his own stories – especially when dealing with new movies (just ask Boba Fett). So, it is possible – and maybe even likely – that Mara Jade may not be in the film, Chewbacca may be alive, and the characters’ children may not be the characters we already know from the books and comics.
The first two trilogies dealt with the Skywalkers trying to defeat Darth Sidious. Darth Sidious is dead, but is the Sith order truly dead? It seems that for the story to really continue and not be a totally new storyline, the conflict must again deal with the Skywalkers trying to defeat the Sith. It seems likely that the Sith Order will be restored somehow, and Luke’s son will have to ultimately destroy it… unless there is a fourth trilogy, of course.
For those who say that there should not be any more movies, I disagree. Star Wars is largely inspired by 1930s and 1940s serial adventures such as “the Flash Gordon” and “Buck Rogers” serials (all of which starred Buster Crabbe), and these serials were virtually ALWAYS either nine or twelve episodes in length. This is the main reason why Lucas originally planned twelve episodes, and why nine would also be acceptable. Most people just don’t seem to understand that Star Wars is sort of a stylized movie series, meant to invoke the same feel as those old serials. If I could compare another movie that has similar intentions, I would have to say, “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.”
Well, If we clone Mark, Carrie, and Harrison right now, we can get to work on ‘New Jedi Order’ and ‘Legacy’ eras, then in 20 or so years, when the clones are of age, we can get back to the ‘New Republic’ Era
“sigh” only in a perfect world I guess
omg if disney ruins starwars i will kill all the disney creators!
Future of sw part 3…where is it …did they forget to update the site?
Eposide?
I’ve enjoyed reading speculation about the future of Star Wars here, and have given a lot of thought to the direction of the next trilogy(gies). I agree with some of the above posts and disagree with others.
Here’s my two credits…
Lucas has already stated that the expanded universe stuff is out. No Thrawn, no Dark Empire, etc etc. He’s already stated it would be new material. It will certainly be the “next generation”, but it’s also not for certain that it’s Luke’s offspring or the Solo children. One would assume that it would almost have to be, for continuity’s sake – unless the Skywalker legacy is over? (as in, direct descendants)
So what’s it about? Who are the protagonists? Antagonists? Etc etc?
All we can do is speculate about the formulas used in the past, what’s been stated with certainty, and what would work/not work.
It’s assumed that Hammill and Fisher are reprising their roles because of the “lunch date” thing in recent months, where Lucas told them there would be more movies. Okay, so let’s check them off. Ford is on the fence pending a script – we know that for sure. What I’m seeing is a reprisal for the first movie, and then his character is killed in some heroic fashion, freeing him from further obligations.
Who are the bad guys?
Clones? Been done. Standing army of evil? Been done. This is 25-30 years or more after “Jedi”, so the odds that there are still stormtroopers running around out there following some blue Admiral are slim. And the whole secret sith manipulation and growing an army won’t be done again (if they have any sense). So what’s left? An outside force. But who?
Someone said Sith. Does that make sense? Like the actual sith (force users) or the sith from the Old Republic times? Not sure on that one. What about the Mandalorians? Where have they been? Are they a standing people at this time? Could they have been living off the map all this time? I personally would like to see something done with this. Why? Because I’m a Boba Fett geek who wore his underoos around the house and taped a pencil to his forearm (as a rocket)? Nope. I personally didn’t even care for Fett or the Mandos…but I think it would make sense from a continuity point.
Lucas has said 1) we’ll see some old characters from the first six movies, and 2) we’ll be exploring entirely new worlds/places.
And is it coincidence that Fett was so instrumental a piece of the Republic’s downfall as the model for the clone army? If Ford’s character gets killed off in the first movie, who better to do the job than his oldest enemy? What’s that? Fett was “killed” in the stupidest possible way in ROTJ? Or was he? This would give Fett an honorable end (possibly) that he’s always been entitled to as well.
So, could the baddies in 7-9 be the return of Fett, leading his people against the man he hates most, who happens to be at the core – one of the faces of – the “New Republic”? There are so many places a story like that could go. And it would mean a shift from the Skywalker legacy (kind of) to the Solo house (but still a bit of Skywalker- everyone is happy).
For those who want to see a Sith pulling the strings, who says that couldn’t be the case? Maybe a big reveal in episode 8 or 9 that the Sith have been busy on Korriban? Maybe even a return of our favorite Sith lord with the aid of some clone tech? (talking about poppa Palpatine) I’m put to mind of a line from ep 3 about a sith lord so powerful that he could keep people from dying. Does he really know the trick? All these things would keep with some continuity from ep1 all the way through to the end.
Another thing we might see more of is the crime syndicate. What happened after Jabba? Who are the other players? What’s the New Republic’s stance on these organizations in the wake of the Empire? Especially with Han at the helm. I wouldn’t doubt if we saw a possible alliance with “unfavorables” to team up against some force large enough to overwhelm a newly-established Republic. Perhaps this is where a Mara Jade type character could come into play, and Skywalker’s negotiating and desperate need for a companion (after Han took his sister away- haha) come in.
The last question remains: Who are the heroes? What’s this next gen? The Solo-Skywalkers? Someone new? Luke’s paddy? We’ll see…
Again, just my take on what (hopefully) promises to be the next great installment.
[...] info can be found at the blog of The Making of Star Wars author J.W. Rinzler, who notes that in a 2004 interview, Mark Hamill [...]
Thanks Leigh! I really wanted to see the gold vault but I don’t know how my kids will handle a tour here so it’s one of those attractions that needs to be revisited in a couple of years.