Disney and Lucasfilm have recently said that they are planning the next 10 years of Star Wars stories and they were not joking. The studio has now announced that Rian Johnson, director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, is writing and directing Star Wars 10 and is currently developing it as the first movie in a new Star Wars trilogy.
But a question remains, what is the new Star Wars trilogy about?
As one may expect, Lucasfilm is quiet on the details as of now. We know that Rian Johnson will be developing this new trilogy with producer, Ram Bergman, with whom he has collaborated in the past. And we as fans, know for sure that the new trilogy will be “separate from the episodic Skywalker saga,” which is very telling. It had been said that this new trilogy will “introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.”
With this in place, the door is open for Rian Johnson on this one. What this means for sure is that characters like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader are off the table. The new Star Wars trilogy will be something very different, which is what many fans have been aching for since Disney had purchased Lucasfilm. Kathleen Kennedy had recently said that the next 10 years of Star Wars was being planned and her statement might give us an idea of what to expect.
“We’re sitting down now, we’re talking about the next 10 years of Star Wars stories, and we’re looking at, narratively, where that might go. Future stories beyond Episode IX with these new characters: Rey, Poe, Finn, BB-8, but we’re also looking at working with people that are interested in coming into the Star Wars world and taking us places we haven’t been yet. That’s exciting, too, because it’s a vast galaxy far, far away.”
While characters like Rey, Poe, Finn, and BB-8 are not off the table, as they have not been revealed to be Skywalkers (at least not yet adn we wouldn’t know until The Last Jedi resleases), itdoes not sound like tehy will be the subject of the new Star Wars trilogy. The announcement states that the movies will look at a corner of the Star Wars galaxy that the lore has not explored, but that is where things may get a little muddy.
In this expanded universe, which was reset when Disney had purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, many points in time and characters have been explored in the Star Wars galaxy. Does this mean that it will explore the new lore within the movie universe? Or the Star Wars universe including its expanded universe? If we are to assume this statement is limited to the movies, then there is one great area for Rian Johnson to explore: The Old Republic.
For those who are not familiar, The Old Republic refers to a period in the Star Wars universe years before the events of the movies. It has been explored in video games, novels, and comic books, but has not been brought into the new canon by Disney and Lucasfilm. The Old Republic is what fans have been dying to see on the big screen, and it meets the requirement of not having to do with the Skywalker saga. If Rian Johnson’s trilogy is related to anything Star Wars fans are familiar with, The Old Republic is the safest bet. Granted, that is a huge area to explore and leaves many questions to be answered, even if that is the direction in which the new trilogy goes.
But at the moment, it is hard to know where the new Star Wars trilogy will take us. There is a high chance it will be something new that we cannot even imagine what it may cover. And we are not likely to hear much about it, not regarding firm details, until Star Wars: Episode IX wraps up. This is exciting news for Star Wars fans and may mean that we are going to get some original stories in the Star Wars universe. It bodes very well for the quality of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will hit theaters on December 15.
