Speculation Poll: Beyond Episode IX

One thing's for sure. Once we learn how the new protagonists and antagonists are related to Luke, and Leia (i.e. the Skylwalkers) we'll know if the story will continue to be about the Skywakers and if it will be about Anakin's legacy or if the saga will be three distinct trilogies with their own arc.

PT- Anakin's trilogy
OT- Luke's trilogy
ST- Character X trilogy

 

I voted "Episode IX will end the saga that started with The Phantom Menace", but I feel I need to qualify that a little.

Episode IX, I imagine, will be written (and certainly marketed) as the conclusion to the Star Wars Saga (the "Episodes"). All the prominent story threads will be tied up, the bad guys will be defeated, and the main characters will be given closure for their story arcs. I can't say whether it will be a satisfying ending or not, but it will be intended to be definitive.

From that point on, Disney/Lucasfilm will continue with the standalone films. I very strongly doubt, as was posed by the original poll, we will ever see an "Episode I" of a new storyline. Three reasons for this:

1. It sets the filmmakers up for potential embarrassment if the film is a flop. They either have to go ahead with sequels nobody wants, or more likely the title just ends up as a permanent mark of their failure.

2. It confuses the brand. I know fanboys like to sneer and turn their noses up at the "stoopid casuals", but normal people will most likely get the new film mixed up with The Phantom Menace. Lucasfilm removing the "Episode VII" from all the TFA marketing, while for slightly different reasons, does bear out a move in this direction.

3. Speaking of TPM, I very much doubt that the last film to contain "Episode I" is something Disney/Lucasfilm want to conjure in the minds of the audience.

Instead, what I think we will see is this: say they make a Knights of the Old Republic film. It's just called "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic", or whatever. If it's a success, they can make "Knights of the Old Republic II - Force Lightning Boogaloo", and everyone knows it's a continuation. If it's a flop, then it's just a standalone, and doesn't stand out as a failure to launch a sub-franchise.

(Indeed, for all their talk of planning years in advance, I'm sure this is how Marvel Studios plays things. Would Iron Man have got a third film before any of his fellow Avengers got a second if the 2008 movie had been a flop? Would we still only have one Hulk standalone if The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton had been a hit?)

The big caveat to this is Episodes X-XII. I think that, in a few years if/when the box office returns for the standalones start to dip, Disney/Lucasfilm will bring out Episode X as their trump card, their big announcement to draw people back into the cinemas. However, I firmly believe that this won't happen right away - making the "Final Trilogy" too soon after the ST risks Saga fatigue, and would seem like a desperate move given the "once in a generation" feeling of the other trilogies.

If they do make Episodes X-XII, then I do believe that would be the end of the Saga. Higher numbers are just going to sound silly, and they won't have the cachet of the twelve episode plan that has been bandied about for years. The only trick they'll have left up their sleeve will be the dreaded reboot ...

 

I agree with you, Jedi Comedian.

I also think it should end at Episode IX and we should keep getting stand alone movies and TV series and comics.