So recently it was reported by Deadline that, rather than just one post-Rise of Skywalker film in the Star Wars franchise, we might actually get three, and they might collectively be branded as the next trilogy in the mainline saga, i.e. Episodes X, XI, and XII.
Mind you, other outlets have since followed up on this initial report, stating that Deadline’s claim of these new films being X-XII is inaccurate. A couple of other sources who have proven to be mostly-credible recently though say that Deadline is right on the money. For what it’s worth, Daisy Ridley herself liked a post on social media the other day referring to these new movies as specifically X-XII, so make of that what you will…
Whether or not Deadline’s scoop turns out to be accurate or not, since it dropped a few days ago, I couldn’t help but start thinking what I would do if I were tasked with crafting “Episodes X-XII” specifically. I’ve written before about how I would revisit characters like Rey in a post-Rise timeline, but never before with the notion of her future films actually being branded as “Episodes” of the main saga. That in itself carries a whole lot more weight to it…
As I’ve said before, however, lately I haven’t really been into Star Wars as much as I used to be. I’m not planning to watch Skeleton Crew or the second seasons of Andor and Ahsoka (at least not right away), and I’ve also decided to just wait for streaming for any movie going forward (unless I happen to be home for the holidays and family wants to go see something in theaters). I’ve got nothing better to do today, though, so I might as well write this…
And here… we… go!:
A new Skywalker heir
If this does end up getting branded as part of “the Skywalker saga,” but has Rey in a mentor role rather than as the protagonist again, then I think the new protagonist should either be someone Rey adopted at a young age, or a child she had biologically, who maybe decides to use the name “Skywalker” rather than whatever their father’s last name is. I’d be fine with a “long lost child” angle (i.e. Luke had a kid we never knew about until now or an offspring that was created artificially for evil reasons or something). Rey was almost gonna be a long lost Kenobi, after all. If they go the adoption route, the new lead hero could be someone who doesn’t like using the Skywalker name at first, due to all the baggage it carries, but then learns to embrace it. Or maybe they can flip the script and have it be a Skywalker who decides to take on a different name, for some other noble reason (or cause they’re pissed at Rey for being known as a Skywalker instead or something).
Alternatively, I’m also cool with the idea of these next movies being X-XII, but not necessarily part of the Skywalker saga. People forget now, but the main saga rebrands itself all the time. When the original trilogy was made, the whole thing was just known as “the Star Wars trilogy.” Then the prequel trilogy happened and the whole thing got rebranded as “the complete saga.” Then the sequel trilogy happened and the whole thing got rebranded again as “the Skywalker saga,” which also helped distinguish the main films from the spin-offs. We are probably heading for another rebrand. In the future, Episodes I-XII will probably just be called “the Star Wars Episodic Saga.”
Double down on the Rey Palpatine thing
I suppose another angle would be to do a Bloodline* scenario with Rey, where the galaxy finds out she’s actually related to Palpatine instead of Luke. Perhaps that would helps to make things feel more thematically connected to I-IX. Maybe the new villains want to use her DNA to try to resurrect Palpatine yet again, or maybe they wanna see if they can “possess” her so that his essence can come back through her. Just spitballing here…
*Bloodline is a recent book that takes place before The Force Awakens, and showcases the galaxy finding out that Leia is related to Vader, and how she learns to deal with this.
Plagueis
Regarding what I was saying earlier about them working the “Rey Palpatine” angle, they could also bring Palpatine’s master, Darth Plagueis, back from the dead. It’s implied that he also figured out how to cheat death, after all. Plus, Lucasfilm already introduced him in canon via The Acolyte. I could see his motive being to want to destroy “the last living descendant of Palpatine” as a form of revenge. Maybe he also learns that Rey decided to abandon the whole “Jedi are not allowed to have kids” rule, and therefore wants to prevent that bloodline from continuing, which leads to Rey’s true lineage being exposed publicly. Perhaps they could even establish that Palpatine stole the idea of “corrupting the republic into an empire from the inside out” from Plagueis, to tie things all the way back to Episode I a bit more.
Mortis
For those who don’t know, this is a “realm” introduced in The Clone Wars that serves as the home of three Force-sensitive entities: The Daughter (who represents light), The Son (who represents darkness), and The Father (who represents balance). The first season of Ahsoka seems to imply that Ahsoka, Baylan, and Anakin’s ghost are all slowly turning into the new versions of these deities, but we’ll see if the second season follows through with that. Either way, Lucasfilm almost incorporated Mortis into the plot of Episode IX, so this angle has clearly been on their minds already as is. Even if Mortis itself is never seen in live-action, I think future “mainline” movies will need to start bringing in “bigger” stuff like this. Or else, what’s even the point of continuing the so-called “saga”?
Use some of Lucas’s discarded ideas
Might as well, right? On the subject of “bigger” ideas, Lucas wanted the sequel trilogy to introduce the “creators” of The Force, whom he called The Whills (which some people also speculate might be the “Force Priestesses” whom Yoda met in The Clone Wars). I wouldn’t mind something like that. Maybe they could even do a Wonder Woman scenario where the heroes kill the “creator” of the dark side, but evil (the Sith, etc.) continues. Lucas apparently also wanted the new evil war faction to be a collective of pirates/ crime syndicates. I wouldn’t mind something like that either. He also wanted to bring bag “weirder” worlds like Felucia (the planet with the big flowers briefly seen in Revenge of the Sith), etc. Again, why not?
Use the prequel trilogy as a blueprint
Since VII-IX recycled a bunch of ideas from the original trilogy, this next batch of films might as well recycle some ideas from the prequels now. Maybe another clone wars? Maybe cloning has gotten advanced enough now that Force-sensitives can be cloned too? The old expanded universe novels toyed around with this idea. Make Rey fight a clone of herself, or a CGI Luke clone or something. Screw it! Go nuts! EDIT: Rather than echo the prequel trilogy, I suppose an alternative would also be to try to echo the few unique things that the sequel trilogy did (runaway stormtrooper, etc.).
An outer-galactic threat
I’ve proposed this idea before, and it’s something else the expanded universe explored too. Plus, some of the newer canon novels have hinted at a looming threat coming from another galaxy, and the Ahsoka show has now established that advanced civilizations that speak english do in fact exist in other galaxies, with Force-sensitive factions and all.
The feeling of “delight”
Above all else, the most important thing about the new movies is that they just need to be fun. While I don’t consider The Force Awakens a perfect movie, one thing I do enjoy about it is how “light and airy” it feels when you don’t think too hard about it. JJ Abrams had said that the writing process of that movie started with he and the other creatives asking themselves “what do we want to feel?” And then writing a bunch of emotions on the wall, with “delight” being the primary one. Hopefully future films in the franchise take a similar approach. That said, I understand that sometimes it’s less about “what the audience wants” and more about “what the story needs,” so that balance needs to be taken into account too.
…Well, that was a fun way to waste another day!
Peace!
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