Discussion How open ended should the ending of Ep. IX be?

Let's not kid ourselves, Episode IX will not be the last film in the Saga. They'll make another trilogy, sure it'll probably be another 10 years, but it'll happen eventually. So with that in mind, how open ended should the ending of IX be? Should it have a definitive feeling ending, should it be completely open ended, or somewhere inbetween?

 

I hate to shoot you down, but I'm quite sure this will be the last trilogy. I think the main reason they are doing this trilogy is because GL always used to talk about how the story was three trilogies. Even since I was a kid, I always knew there was another trilogy, I just thought we were never gonna get it.

I'm postively we'll get plenty of spin-offs, or maybe even a trilogy set in he KOTOR era or something creative like this. But as far as the saga goes... I think this is it.

So to answer your question, I want the finale to be very final.

 

The Universe should collapse right before the end credits.

 

Or just start a new Saga after that.

 

The series should end with the Republic frigate heading towards the Trade Federation battleship, as the whole saga repeats again forever.

 

The Groundsailor Saga!

 

I've always thought that Lucas did a great job of letting the series feel self-contained and the endings definitive at each major stage - Hope alone, the OT, the PT and OT together - while in reality leaving enough leeway to expand upon the story smoothly from there (no major event jumping out of nowhere, no need to reset the story to a previous point in time) to create an overall richer story. It's worth bearing in mind, however, that three trilogies and a couple of Anthology-like films is all Lucas planned for at the beginning, and he obviously thought a lot about how to tell the story such that the property I mentioned above - "letting the series feel self-contained and the endings definitive at each major stage, while in reality leaving enough leeway to expand upon the story smoothly from there" would hold, just in case he didn't proceed to make the next stage of the saga.

What I'm saying is, I would like this property to continue because it's great, it's really satisfying for the audience. On the other hand, it needs a great deal of advance planning - one needs a fairly good idea of how one can expand upon the entirety of the saga in a meaningful way, even if one isn't going to do it at the moment. I think even for someone with Lucas' level of creativity, three trilogies was approaching the limit of how far he could take the saga so that it doesn't just become tacking on a trilogy to a part of the saga without having it connect deeply with the remaining parts of the saga, and if the situation is similar with other people at the helm, I would rather have the saga end with three trilogies rather than start having open-ended endings for the sake of keeping the saga open to sequels. I think open-ended endings are okay for the Expanded Universe but open-ended endings for the sake of keeping the films in the saga open to sequels would really wreck the trend in Star Wars films so far.

 

What if...

...EpIX ends with Kylo trying to resurrect his grandfather but accidentally releasing the trapped souls of ten thousand Sith Lords instead?

...there's a peaceful resolution to the war but the last thing we learn is that Snoke has secretly cloned himself?

...the Knights of Ren are wiped out and we learn that they, not the Jedi, were right?

...the last piece of dialogue goes:

FINN: What now?
REY: I'm going to find out who my parents are. Will you come with me?
FINN: *smiles*

?

 

I am also of the opinion that there will be a fourth trilogy. I hope they do go ahead and sow some seeds of what can be used beyond the sequel trilogy.

If they decide not to plan ahead then I hope the inevitable 4th trilogy doesn't have a massive time jump, unless the real time between release of IX and X is significant.

 

I'm not opposed to more trilogies being made down the road. GL's two trilogies are a complete work anyway, as far as I'm concerned, so it's not like the third one is really needed either (though I do hope it puts a new spin on the previous movies). The Skywalker Saga can go on indefinitely as a generational story, both IU and OOU, if that's the route they want to take.

I sure would be interested in seeing more experimental stuff, though. Film noir on the streets of Coruscant, a sitcom starring dysfunctional droids, nature documentaries about the indigenous life on the various planets etc.

The less Saga episodes are made, the brighter they will shine, I guess.

 

If there is another trilogy after the ST, hopefully it is based around a different family, with mostly new characters.

Or it could be based on EU/Legends material. Maybe poll us fans as to story arc? Disney could then recanonize it!

In the meantime, I'm excited for Rogue One and the other SW story films, like Han Solo. After the ST, Disney could continue to produce one shots that fill in story gaps around the PT, OT and ST. For example:

A Darth Plagueis prequel to TPM would be awesome.

Obi-Wan (with Ewan McGregor) prequel to ANH would be great. The Kenobi novel was very well done.

A film version of Shadows of the Empire would be cool, although I know that's a crazy longshot.

A rise of the FO political/dark side prequel to TFA or a backstory about the rise of the Resistance could be worth exploring.

It is exciting to be a SW fan. So many possibilities and actualities.
MTFBWY.

 

I'm more or less waiting to see how the upcoming Sequel and Anthology movies go. At least for the next three years, a new Star Wars movie every December? Maybe we'll get tired of it, but I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll demand more.

 

yes, that is what I hope to see more of, in the anthology films. A different take on the star wars universe. "Rogue One" was described in one article by the director as a "war movie"; perhaps another will focus more on the martial arts / the Force / Jedi aspects. Another one may be more comedic, or another one that is a political thriller. There may be many interpretations in each individual standalone anthology or trilogy film, but hopefully encompassing a cohesive whole within the Star Wars universe. My preference would be something like the Marvel movies over the past decade or so, that are part standalone (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy), but also yet part of a larger story (The Avengers, Age of Ultron).

 

I would like to see the main plots wrapped up, but there is bound to be some open ends left no matter how things are finished, so enough loose ends for more stories, but not too open-ended (and definitely no cliffhangers).

 

I would like for the whole saga to be wrapped up, and we feel like it is a complete story.

 

I really hope that IX does not end with a cliffhanger. No "bad guys win," no "someone supposedly is killed but we don't yet know if the'y're really dead yet," no "main characters heading off to do something and then iris out," nothing like that.

I'm all for the idea that things are left open enough so that their adventures could continue but we're just not sure if we'll really see them, or that there's enough of a sense of finality that if we wanted to stop there we could without any questions left unanswered. The ending of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a great example of this IMO. Things were very nicely wrapped up, and we left Sparrow as he was planning to go off to yet another adventure. Perfect. Shows us that this story is done, but Captain Jack Sparrow will always have something he's pursuing. (This was before we knew there'd be another one continuing that story.)

 

Should end with a cliffhanger surrounding the new era of Gungan rule to set up the Binks trilogy. Meesa Toosa....

 

I guess some folks want tradition. They want completed trilogies.

I think that audiences will want more Rey-Finn-Kylo. There's 6 movies, a dozen years, in those guys. It may very well be announced that it's not a trilogy at all.

I guess it also depends on the actors. Whether they are happy to be typecast into their roles. Daisy might decide that she wants more serious roles, for example. John might want to concentrate on his massive success driving giant robots.

 

You can have both a complete trilogy, and continue to explore the adventures of these characters.

 

I think it will have a closed ending, but there will be wiggle room for a future trilogy and anthologies.

 

they're going to merge the Star wars universe with marvel's and have Cosmic Wars. Disney execs force choking all who stand in their way.

Rey helps Wanda Maximoff find the best hair dresser in the galaxy.
Finn re-enlists with the First order after Iron Man convinces him he needs to be put in check.
Spidey starts swinging lightsabers instead of from buildings.