Following up on my earlier post about this week’s acquisition of LucasFilm by Disney for $4 Billion, I thought I would put down my thoughts on what the new trilogy, Episodes 7 – 9 could possibly be about. If you are interested in reading my previous post, here is a link: Disney Buys LucasFilm.
First, I have to say, these are all just my ideas. I have absolutely no insider information, so nothing I say here should be taken seriously, I am just one fan putting down what I think would make a cool concluding trilogy. I am sure there are thousands of other people doing the same thing. So here goes:
Episode 7
Darth Vader is dead, Luke and Leia are the last of the Jedi bloodline. The balance of the force is up in the air. Luke knows that the Jedi council needs to be rebuilt and he has to be the one to lead the rebuilding efforts. Episode 7 can start 10 or so years after the end of Episode 6, and hopefully will begin to introduce us to a vast array of new characters. I would love to see Mark Hamill reprise his role as Luke Skywalker. Hamill is 61 now and is quite a bit out of shape. Hamill has stayed loyal to science fiction over the years, most notably with his participation in the Wing Commander series of games, so I think its plausible he would be up for the challenge. Looking at recent pictures of him, he’s gained quite a bit of weight, so he might need to lose that. Even if Hamill doesn’t play Luke Skywalker, I think it would be acceptable to recast the role. I just hope its someone unknown, and not some famous actor that we already know.
I don’t expect to see too many returning characters from the original trilogy. I don’t think Han Solo should have much of a role in the new trilogy, but fans will want to see Harrison Ford reprise his role, so I see an opportunity near the end of Episode 7 for him. In keeping with the character of Han Solo who was a vagabond and a loner, he would want to continue to keep his distance from the world of the Jedi. There is no reason he should have a major role in the new movies.
At some point in the movie, we will see that the Sith realize that they need to stop the Jedi council from reforming. The dark side of the force is in chaos and needs to reorganize. A recurring theme with characters from the Dark Side is that they always have an apprentice in the wings. In the original trilogy, Darth Vader wanted Luke Skywalker to be his apprentice and together they would destroy the Jedi. In the game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, we learn that Darth Vader had a secret apprentice named “Starkiller”. In the novel based on the game, Starkiller’s name was revealed as Galen Marek. I believe that it will be Marek who rises as the primary “evil” figure for which the Dark Side will seek their vengeance on the Jedi.
The character of Galen Marek would be introduced about halfway through Episode 7 and we will begin to see the plot unfolding where he must stop Luke from reforming the Jedi council. Luke is smarter than this and remains in hiding. Unable to locate Skywalker, Marek knows that they must get to him some other way. They decide to go after Leia and her family and try to use her as bait to lure Luke out of hiding. We could be introduced to one or more of Leia children. Nearing the end of Episode 7, there should be an exciting fight/chase sequence involving Jedi fighters desperately trying to save Leia from invading Sith lords and other Dark characters. Unfortunately, Luke is out of reach and unable to reach the battle in time. When it appears that Leia will be taken by the dark side, in an exciting twist, Han Solo and Chewbacca could swoop in on the Millennium Falcon and save the day. Since Han Solo’s appearance should be small, they could even kill off the character, or maybe not. If they do kill him, the death of Han Solo would be a precursor for a much darker 8th film.
It might be hard to get Mark Hamill to play Luke Skywalker, but I think it would be even harder to get Carrie Fisher back. She’s been out of acting so long and has had her issues with substance abuse, so I think her role would need to be recast. Again, I hope this is done with a new actress, and not someone famous.
Episode 7 would end with Luke coming out of hiding to rescue Leia from the Sith, Han Solo would be dead, and we would see that Galen Marek is the new threat to the Jedi.
Episode 8
Similar to how Empire Strikes Back was the middle film and the darkest of the original trilogy, I see Episode 8 being the same way. Episode 8 would take place a couple of years past Episode 7 and we see that the Dark Side has regained its strength. There should be a lot of action and battles in this movie. We should see equal parts of Jedi characters that we were introduced in Episode 7 die, and more new characters introduced. We should see that Galen Marek’s strength is increasing, possibly even more than Darth Vader. It should become a reality that the Jedi have not regained enough strength to completely stop Marek, and even though Vader is dead, his mission to destroy the Jedi may still come to fruition.
At some point in Episode 8, we should see that everyone sees Galen Marek as this purely evil character, everyone except Luke Skywalker. Some small event in Episode 8 will provide a small glimpse for Luke Skywalker that part of Anakin is alive in Galen Marek. Remember, Marek was Vader’s apprentice, and we know there ended up being some part of Vader that was still good. This small piece of goodness in Vader would also be there for Marek too.
At this point, Luke could seek advice from Yoda and/or Obi-Wan in ghost form. This would be a good way to bring those characters back in small roles similar to how Han Solo had a small part in Episode 7. Luke would learn that he must have faith that there is goodness in Galen Marek, and he must find a way to bring it out.
This story line could provide a reversal of the arc in the original trilogy where Vader tried to turn Luke to the Dark side, but this time, its Luke trying to turn Marek to the Light side.
Episode 8 should have a lot more battles and death, but the ending the movie would have some epic battle scene where possibly Galen Marek could wipe out the Jedi, or choose not to. However this plays out, I think the ending of Episode 8 should have a huge cliffhanger and be intentionally vague. Fans will know that Episode 9 will truly conclude the Star Wars saga, so this cliffhanger should setup a bunch of excitement for the final chapter.
Episode 9
The final episode would pick up immediately, or very shortly after Episode 8 where we learn that Galen Marek does have a little bit of Anakin’s goodness in him. Marek would eventually turn his back on the Dark Side and choose to take the side of Luke Skywalker and help him fight back against the Dark Side and other Sith lords.
We learned in Episode 7 that Leia has at least one child and it stands to reason that her offspring would also have strong Jedi characteristics. I’m not sure how the ages would work out here, but there could be some storyline with Leia’s son helping Luke and Galen Marek rise a final rebellion against the Dark Side. They could even possibly kill of Luke Skywalker in the early part of Episode 9 to shift the focus of the Light Side to Marek and possibly another major Jedi character.
Episode 9 would continue many battle scenes with new characters that were started in Episode 8. We would see Marek’s complete 180 to the Light Side as they rebuild an army of Jedi to finally take out the Sith and the Dark Lords once and for all.
I see the ending of Episode 9 being the definition of epic. We’re talking more-so than even Return of the King. Whatever happens at the end of Episode 9, it should be definitive and satisfying. The Dark Side should be eliminated once and for all so that by the time the movie ends, we see that the Jedis have finally won, and that the universe will finally be at peace.
Conclusion
So there ya have it, my take on what I thihk would make a cool final trilogy. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I have a lot of faith that Disney will stick to their track record and do the right thing by getting the right writers and director involved in this project. I don’t anticipate there being any crazy Jar Jar Binks characters in this new trilogy. These movies should be done by someone who is a fan and knows what the fans want.
In my opinion, getting Lucas to finally relinquish his iron fist on Star Wars films, gives me a lot of hope that 2015 and the next couple of years after will be great years for Star Wars fans! 🙂