The Future of Star Wars

[Breakdown]

At the moment there's a rumour making the rounds stating that Disney could retcon the sequel trilogy out of Star Wars canon. It would be an alternative timeline or something. Apparently the concept of alternate timelines was established in the Star Wars Rebels TV show.

It seems like a pretty ridiculous idea and I don't think it's at all likely to happen, but the rumour did get me thinking about the future of the Star Wars franchise. Ideally I'd want the next film to be set at least 500 years in the future, providing a clean slate with all new characters, and some actual world building this time.

I had a rough idea of a setting where a new Jedi Council was in full control of the galaxy. Although the Jedi would originally have had noble intentions of bringing peace and justice to the galaxy, they have since become corrupted by the pursuit of political power, becoming ruthless and tyrannical. The heroes of the story would be a new generation of Force users, untrained and disorganised but with an instinctive understanding of the original ideals of the Jedi. It would be a story that could explore the purpose of the Jedi, and I think would be interesting to have bad guys who aren't just evil for the sake of it, but who generally believe they are the good guys.

So that's my idea, for what it's worth. How would you want the Star Wars franchise to move forward?

 

[ObsidianJones]

You don't know what you started.

To start, let me bring up this idea.

As much as I love the Jedi, I want the Jedi tested. Wormhole these people. Make the galaxy and the ideals they treasure to be an impossible Goal for now.

Put them in a situation where they are only a few, no more than 7. Put them in a situation where they could deal with an enemy, of course, but where they do not have the constant vigilance of the Jedi Council behind them. Let them see how their morals would stack up against complete freedom.

I want to watch people gradually break from ideals or strengthen with them. I want that internal conflict that will cause them to fight against pretty much the only family they have for hundreds of thousands of light years.

 

[Gordon_4]

At the moment there's a rumour making the rounds stating that Disney could retcon the sequel trilogy out of Star Wars canon. It would be an alternative timeline or something. Apparently the concept of alternate timelines was established in the Star Wars Rebels TV show.

It seems like a pretty ridiculous idea and I don't think it's at all likely to happen, but the rumour did get me thinking about the future of the Star Wars franchise. Ideally I'd want the next film to be set at least 500 years in the future, providing a clean slate with all new characters, and some actual world building this time.

I had a rough idea of a setting where a new Jedi Council was in full control of the galaxy. Although the Jedi would originally have had noble intentions of bringing peace and justice to the galaxy, they have since become corrupted by the pursuit of political power, becoming ruthless and tyrannical. The heroes of the story would be a new generation of Force users, untrained and disorganised but with an instinctive understanding of the original ideals of the Jedi. It would be a story that could explore the purpose of the Jedi, and I think would be interesting to have bad guys who aren't just evil for the sake of it, but who generally believe they are the good guys.

So that's my idea, for what it's worth. How would you want the Star Wars franchise to move forward?

They’re not going to retcon their old movies out of existence. That’s stupid. The last whispers I heard re: Star Wars before raging shitheads nuked the well was something called The High Republic that was set either 1000 years before or after the current movies. That would suit me fine; jettison the fucking baggage all all three trilogies and start fresh in one of the richest franchise settings known to mankind.

Now whether that rumour was accurate or not I cannot say because while I’ll happily watch just about any Star Wars material available to me (c’mon Mandalorian season 2) I am too fucking tired to engage in any meaningful way with the fucking arseholes who swarm around the franchise like a shit-tornado.

But on the other hand, if they wanna make a show based around the game The Old Republic, I’d be suuuper on board for that.

 

[happyninja42]

You don't know what you started.

To start, let me bring up this idea.

As much as I love the Jedi, I want the Jedi tested. Wormhole these people. Make the galaxy and the ideals they treasure to be an impossible Goal for now.

Put them in a situation where they are only a few, no more than 7. Put them in a situation where they could deal with an enemy, of course, but where they do not have the constant vigilance of the Jedi Council behind them. Let them see how their morals would stack up against complete freedom.

I want to watch people gradually break from ideals or strengthen with them. I want that internal conflict that will cause them to fight against pretty much the only family they have for hundreds of thousands of light years.

I would just like for the Jedi to focus on the mystical threats, instead of constantly being embroiled in the big political war stuff. Like, the two things don't always have to be linked. You don't always have to have a dark sider end up running a space nazi faction intent on galactic destruction and dominance. Maybe the dark sider is just threatening one planet, and you need to stop them, because it's just bad. Their corruptive influence.

I'd honestly just like to see everything get scaled back. And I'd like to see a hard cut in the fanservice. I'm SO tired of how much screen time ends up getting devoted to basically "HEY! REMEMBER THIS THING FROM THAT OTHER STAR WARS THING?!? HERE IT IS!!" Because I frankly don't care. I've become sick of the word Hope in the Star Wars franchise, because people drop that word like crazy now, as if just using that word will somehow tie them back to the quality of New Hope. I just, I hate it.

I don't really have a problem with a varied number of Jedi, I mean, any number of them would still be too little for a galactic society. Given how many species are in the republic, and how many planets, etc. They would forever be too few. Just have them out doing different things in different corners of the universe.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I just want my Rian Johnson trilogy, man.

 

[Chimpzy]

To be blunt, I'd be perfectly fine if Rise of Skywalker was the last Star Wars, at least for like a decade or so. I'm Star Wars'd out.

 

[Wintermute]

I don't like Star Wars, but like I said in the older forum I'd watch a horror movie set in the Star Wars universe. It's never going to happen though because Disney and toys.

 

[Breakdown]

They’re not going to retcon their old movies out of existence. That’s stupid. The last whispers I heard re: Star Wars before raging shitheads nuked the well was something called The High Republic that was set either 1000 years before or after the current movies. That would suit me fine; jettison the fucking baggage all all three trilogies and start fresh in one of the richest franchise settings known to mankind.

Now whether that rumour was accurate or not I cannot say because while I’ll happily watch just about any Star Wars material available to me (c’mon Mandalorian season 2) I am too fucking tired to engage in any meaningful way with the fucking arseholes who swarm around the franchise like a shit-tornado.

But on the other hand, if they wanna make a show based around the game The Old Republic, I’d be suuuper on board for that.

I thought the High Republic was going to be a YA book series?

 

[Ezekiel]

I would just like for the Jedi to focus on the mystical threats, instead of constantly being embroiled in the big political war stuff. Like, the two things don't always have to be linked. You don't always have to have a dark sider end up running a space nazi faction intent on galactic destruction and dominance. Maybe the dark sider is just threatening one planet, and you need to stop them, because it's just bad. Their corruptive influence.

I'd honestly just like to see everything get scaled back. And I'd like to see a hard cut in the fanservice. I'm SO tired of how much screen time ends up getting devoted to basically "HEY! REMEMBER THIS THING FROM THAT OTHER STAR WARS THING?!? HERE IT IS!!" Because I frankly don't care. I've become sick of the word Hope in the Star Wars franchise, because people drop that word like crazy now, as if just using that word will somehow tie them back to the quality of New Hope. I just, I hate it.

I don't really have a problem with a varied number of Jedi, I mean, any number of them would still be too little for a galactic society. Given how many species are in the republic, and how many planets, etc. They would forever be too few. Just have them out doing different things in different corners of the universe.

War is in the title... If you remove the space opera part of it, meaning in part the galactic politics and war, it's not even Star Wars.

I agree with setting the next series of movies in the distant future in some other part of the galaxy. Also, I feel it shouldn't be so much about just good and evil anymore.

 

[BrawlMan]

I honestly don't give a shit about SW anymore, but I do like @happyninja42 and @ObsidianJones ideas.

If you must I want a bonkers crossover with Travis Touchdown and Henry Cooldown from No More Heroes. Throw in Shinobu because she is awesome. Get Suda51 in the director's chair and have a game, animated miniseries, and one shot movie while we're at it. Let's get nuts!

Spoiler: Travis Touchdown

Spoiler: Henry Cooldown

Spoiler: Shinobu

 

[happyninja42]

War is in the title... If you remove the space opera part of it, meaning in part the galactic politics and war, it's not even Star Wars.

I agree with setting the next series of movies in the distant future in some other part of the galaxy. Also, I feel it shouldn't be so much about just good and evil anymore.

Considering the majority of the actual screentime of the films isn't actually showing us a war, and it's mostly about interpersonal drama between characters, finding their place in the galaxy, etc, I would disagree that not having a big scale war makes it not star wars. My issue is they constantly feel the need to up the ante, and it frankly makes the scope so large that you don't care. I mean the size of the rebel fleet in Rise of Skywalker is so large, they literally just blur into each other. They're just noise, there are too many to track, or give a shit about, so I don't care when they are destroyed, because are simply pieces on a board. There is no drama there. But give me a small group of people, dealing with a threat on a planetary scale (which honestly should be big enough of a threat to warrant drama, it's the largest scale problem we can have IRL for example), where I have time to actually empathize with characters, and grow to care about them? Yeah, that's way better. Just making the death star bigger, and the imperial fleet bigger, and rebel fleet bigger, it does nothing narratively.

As to the good and evil part, eh, that's just how the Force has been presented, as a binary positive/negative force. I'm frankly fine with using it as a backdrop for morality tales, I just think they need to actually think about the morality they are presenting, and how it's countered by the other side. Because they often just present a very flimsy, surface level good/bad story, that falls apart with 5 minutes of ethics debate.

 

[Ezekiel]

Considering the majority of the actual screentime of the films isn't actually showing us a war, and it's mostly about interpersonal drama between characters, finding their place in the galaxy, etc, I would disagree that not having a big scale war makes it not star wars. My issue is they constantly feel the need to up the ante, and it frankly makes the scope so large that you don't care. I mean the size of the rebel fleet in Rise of Skywalker is so large, they literally just blur into each other. They're just noise, there are too many to track, or give a shit about, so I don't care when they are destroyed, because are simply pieces on a board. There is no drama there. But give me a small group of people, dealing with a threat on a planetary scale (which honestly should be big enough of a threat to warrant drama, it's the largest scale problem we can have IRL for example), where I have time to actually empathize with characters, and grow to care about them? Yeah, that's way better. Just making the death star bigger, and the imperial fleet bigger, and rebel fleet bigger, it does nothing narratively.

As to the good and evil part, eh, that's just how the Force has been presented, as a binary positive/negative force. I'm frankly fine with using it as a backdrop for morality tales, I just think they need to actually think about the morality they are presenting, and how it's countered by the other side. Because they often just present a very flimsy, surface level good/bad story, that falls apart with 5 minutes of ethics debate.

I know that it's always been about the characters, but war on some scale, whether it's civil war (Phantom Menace and original trilogy) or full war, is required in a main SW series of movies. That's just what Star Wars is (in part). I have no interest in a new saga without space battles. Rise of Skywalker was mediocre. In more capable hands, war can be compelling.

The peaceful High Republic era of Star Wars projects Disney is teasing sounds so lame.

 

[Hawki]

At the moment there's a rumour making the rounds stating that Disney could retcon the sequel trilogy out of Star Wars canon.

...stop this planet, I want to get off.

I mean, seriously? They retcon the old EU so they can get their trilogy, so now want to retcon their own trilogy? And how's that even going to go down with the average filmgoer?

So that's my idea, for what it's worth. How would you want the Star Wars franchise to move forward?

Honestly, stay the course at this point. Cartoons, TV, books, games, etc. If they want films, they need to do better than the sequel trilogy.

 

[Hades]

I doubt it. Disney declaring their own sequels non canon would be an open admission of defeat which is something an overly arrogant corporation would never do. The movies cost millions to make and if the shareholders consider this to have been a mistake then none of the executives that held any power during this time will be safe. For the sake of the reputation of the company as well as their own personal careers no one at Disney has the motive to strive for this outcome.

That and its also just weird. How would Disney go about explaining this to the average movie-goer? Wouldn't they get terrible confused if Disney said that all those big movies with their much hyped releases secretly didn't matter and that the real story will be told in a whole new set of movies or comics the average fan never heard of?

There is precedent of material vanishing from the canon. The old EU was declared its own continuity but that was really easy due to the mainstream viewer likely not even knowing all that material existed. With it being a whole new sequel trilogy on the chopping block this will become a lot harder to pull off.

 

[Gordon_4]

I know that it's always been about the characters, but war on some scale, whether it's civil war (Phantom Menace and original trilogy) or full war, is required in a main SW series of movies. That's just what Star Wars is (in part). I have no interest in a new saga without space battles. Rise of Skywalker was mediocre. In more capable hands, war can be compelling.

The peaceful High Republic era of Star Wars projects Disney is teasing sounds so lame.

Peace is a relative state, even in life. We in the majority of western countries may not be involved in armed conflict but it is still happening around the globe. Just because Coruscant isn’t under the boot heels of a tyrant doesn’t mean everyone in the galaxy has smoked the peace pipe. There’s enough sheer space and population to engender all kinds of conflict a Jedi may find themselves embroiled in.

 

[Ezekiel]

Peace is a relative state, even in life. We in the majority of western countries may not be involved in armed conflict but it is still happening around the globe. Just because Coruscant isn’t under the boot heels of a tyrant doesn’t mean everyone in the galaxy has smoked the peace pipe. There’s enough sheer space and population to engender all kinds of conflict a Jedi may find themselves embroiled in.

What's your point? Disney wasn't implying there'd be major conflicts in other parts of the galaxy. Their writers and producers said in the YouTube teaser that it will be about other types of adventures.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

First and foremost, can we just have good action scenes again? The Originals were known for their groundbreaking visual effects, the Prequels for their insane lightsaber choreography.

What did the Sequels have? Maybe one and a half good lightsaber fights, and I guess the hyperspace ram counts as a space battle?

A whole decade's worth of technological advancements in movie making, and all we get are bog standard action scenes that are completely obliterated by literally every other Star Wars content out there. The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian pushed the boundaries of what TV shows could do.

Rogue One had a pretty boring plot, but people consider it the best of the Disney era movies, and we all know that it's because of the excellent third act. Good storytelling is always nice of course, but frankly when I go watch a Star Wars movie, all I want to see is some great pew pew and magic space wizards swinging glowsticks at each other.

Jesus. Okay, rant over. In terms of story, I'd like to see an actual war in the stars now. Not a lucky as hell rebel movement toppling a cartoonishly evil empire, or a tiny extremist force somehow holding the ENTIRE galaxy hostage. I want an actual war, with no side being a clear "bad guy". There are no longer mindless cannon fodder like stormtroopers, but beings who are fighting for what they believe in. In the middle of it all, the Jedi struggle to remain neutral and keep the peace.

Basically, I want the Clone Wars except on the big screen and without the sense of futility, because Palps is no longer pulling the strings. There is war not because of some evil conspiracy, but because it is inevitable.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

What's your point? Disney wasn't implying there'd be major conflicts in other parts of the galaxy. Their writers and producers said in the YouTube teaser that it will be about other types of adventures.

What?

"In-universe, the initiating event of the subfranchise is "The Great Disaster" involving the antagonistic "space Vikings" known as the Nihil and the subsequent intervention of the Jedi at the height of their power."

 

[Ezekiel]

What?

"In-universe, the initiating event of the subfranchise is "The Great Disaster" involving the antagonistic "space Vikings" known as the Nihil and the subsequent intervention of the Jedi at the height of their power."

".....golden age where there's much more peace and calm in the galaxy." Yuck.

 

[Hawki]

After the High Republic came the Detox Republic. Then the Old Republic, when they realized that they'd wasted their life being high.