Speculation Star Wars VII - Your Synopsis

Three words: The Thrawn Trilogy
(Btw, this is my first post XD)

 

Episode VII Smuggler's Revenge 40 years after RotJ Luke Skywalker has established a new, if not somewhat small, jedi order on Coruscant. On the other side of the galaxy on Tatooine a rich smuggler decendant of a maintanence worker on the first Death Star wants revenge on the Skywalker/Solo clan for blowing up the Death Star without thinking of the inocent civilians and killing his grandfather, who raised him and whose death left him orphaned. One day he walks into the same cantina in Mos Eisley we met Han in and (let's call him Fred for now) Fred meets a mysterious cloaked figuer who offers to help him exact revenge. It is revealed the cloaked guy is a Sith (Bob, a Twi'lek)and Fred isn't Force sensitive, so Fred agrees to supply money, ships, and other recorces and in return the Sith agree to battle the Sith. Once news of this growing threat reaches the Jedi, Jaina Solo, only child to the Solos, and Ben Skywalker, Luke and Mara's kid, must find the heart of this threat and remove it. Also Saba Sabatyne is lowered to guard duty. She must protect Cheif of State Organa Solo. Jaina and Ben end up not finding Fred, but killing lots of Sith (but not Bob) trying to find him. They do discover Fred's name, but not his story however.
Funny, right? I couldn't think of a better name.

 

Compared to my last post, this one is realistic. I believe strongly that we should not mess with the already established EU so it should take place after Fate of the Jedi. It should follow the Ten Knights that Luke sends to find the Dagger of Mortis with many obstacles such as remnants of the Sith, smugglers, gangsters, and the like. Very vague, and of course with at least cameos of Luke, Leia, and Han

 

35 years after the death of the Emperor and Darth Vader the newly formed New Republic is still at war with the remains of the Empire, now led by a strategic mastermind. Jedi-Master Luke Skywalker lives the life of an hermit, struggling with himself. He knows that the New Republic does need Jedi-protectors but he is also fully aware that the Dark Side of the Force is strong and can corrupt anyone. When the New Republic faces a terrible defeat, Luke takes the risk and begins to train the twin children of Leia and Han Solo in the ways of the Jedi. But the Dark Side grows on fear and hatred within the heart of one of his apprentices...

In the end Han could die and his son blames Luke, becoming angry and leaving him, throwing away his lightsaber. At the end we see him in Lukes hut on Tattooine, destroying everything in rage. Then he does find the mask and lightsaber of Darth Vader. He ignites the lightsaber, grinning...

 

The Hidden Fortress - great title for ep vii. Wouldn't be surprised in George has had that one up his sleeve since the beginning!

 

Actually last night I was thinking about and I decided it shouldn't be Bob and the Sith it should be Boba Fett and the Mandos! Eventually however, the remmnants of the Sith will hear about Fred and ally themselves with him and begin to manipulate him.

 

Set 30 years after the Battle of Endor.

The New Republic and its leader Leia Organa Solo have enjoyed many years of peace but now face a new threat.
A Dark Warrior trained in the Jedi arts has been assembling the old reminants of the Galactic Empire in hopes of creating a New Empire.
Luke Skywalker - now Jedi Master - has trained his nephew and niece in the ways of the Jedi. The two young warriors are joined by another friend whom has studied with them at the New Republic Academy.
Han Solo and Chewbacca discover many years later that they owe a former crime lord smuggling money. They venture off to a distant planet to pay off this debt only to find a small base inhabited by the Dark Warrior (and many old Stormtroopers and bounty hunters). Solo and Chewie are ambused and captured.

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Basically, I am trying to incorporate the new blood into the cast - so we will see younger versions of 'the big 3' - only that they will be Han and Leia's kids and their "college/academy" friend. I introduce a "dark warrior trained in the Jedi arts" - not necessarily a Sith mind you but one that does try to use the dark side of the force. He will be the main villain and will have a lightsabre duel with Luke (whether Luke survives or dies - I haven't decided).

Also, I am having the roles of the OT reversed. So, for the new trilogy the "rebels" will in fact be this dark warrior and his efforts to create a "new empire" while the people "governing" the galaxy will be the New Republic.

 

Star Wars VII: The Arcane Alignment
First lets establish where the main characters are...
Luke Skywalker is now the head of the New Jedi Order as all would guess with Leia as a second to him and a representative for the Order in the Senate.
Lando is or will be Chancellor of the New Republic by VIII. It only works with him seeing as how he's got a new position politically, militarily whenever Han sees him again.
Han Solo will be retired kickin' it with Chewie still working on the Falcon, either that or he's a commanding officer in the New Republic Army, I'm leaning towards the first.

The movie will open a ship boarding another to have a diplomatic meeting with Leia and her apprentice to discuss the progress of the New Jedi Order and their role in the New Republic. During the discussion which actually does take place, showing that there is actually apparent peace in the New Republic. Midway through the scene there is an attack from a mysterious enemy from with in, during the skirmish the apprentice barely escapes with a crippled ship with locked crashing on to the nearby planet. With the ship fried the apprentice must find a way to contact Master Luke before it's too late. The ship that was under attack from within disappears.

Meanwhile in the meditation chamber you see a grizzled and scarred Master Luke teaching while meditating with a brash slightly apprentice about Obi-Wan's age about and a Bothan apprentice (bothan's haven't really shown up still, its there time end of story). Just as R2-D2 enters the room Luke opens his eyes and says "Leia is in danger..." R2 plays the hologram and the adventure begins.

Edit:Han shows up at some point to help Leia, via Leia calling out to him with the force. He, Chewie and their Son who will become the main protagonist travel across the galaxy to find her. Their son doesn't want to train in the ways of a jedi but eventually finds himself stuck in it. He should be about 16-18, which would have made Leia 41 tops when having a kid, but hey it's a big galaxy lots to do. Better late than never.

 

Just awesome.

 

So there's already much speculation occurring in regards to the potential plots, characters, locations, etc. for this trilogy, and as for myself, I can't even begin to fathom where Lucas, the writers, and upcoming directors may begin to take this sequel trilogy. However, based upon evidence that this will very much be a continuation of the saga we are all familiar with, I'd like to invite speculation as to where the overall thematic arc of this sequel trilogy will unfold.

The largest overreaching arc of the existing saga concerns fathers and sons. Each episode carries a piece of this arc and its especially fascinating when you see how the prequels and classic films compare and contrast with each other. Let's take a look.

I and IV: A paternal figure takes a youngster under his wing, and teaches him for a brief time before losing his life and allowing the youngster to take action himself. In TPM we get this from Qui-Gon and Anakin and ANH has this with Obi-Wan and Luke.

II and V: Because of the loss of the father figure, the young man is now tempted by the dark side and acts recklessly in dangerous situations. In the case of AOTC, Anakin reacts violently by killing Tusken Raiders after his mother's death and risks the lives of himself and others on Geonosis. In ESB, Luke rebels against Yoda and Obi-Wan's wishes and risks his life going to Cloud City. Both Anakin and Luke also lose appendages in the process.

III and VI: This is where there is a remarkable contrast. In ROTS, we have a surrogate father figure, Palpatine, corrupting the surrogate son, Anakin. In ROTJ, we have the true son, Luke, redeeming his true father, Anakin.

This overlapping and occasionally contrasting thematic structure of the existing Star Wars saga is what makes these films so rich in my opinion. I hope that if the sequel saga truly continues the existing narrative, it finds new and exciting ways to explore that father/son dynamic.

For instance, and this could very well be a SPOILER, but if this adherence to the thematic structure of TPM and ANH occurs, could we possibly see Luke take his son under his wing in Episode VII, and in doing so, die in order to see his son continue to lead the Jedi Order? If so, where do we go from there?

Thoughts on this and other thematic threads tying the saga together are more than welcome.

 

Well, since Lucasfilm hired Arndt to write the first script I can say that I expect the overall story to continue with the complex family issues of the Skywalker/Solo family.

That said, however, I expect to see Uncle Luke -- Jedi Master attempting to resurrect the Jedo Order -- training Solo kids (age & sex??? or possibly the EU version.) I would expect that there would be a familiar family issue in that the Solo kids would have absentee parents. Anakin only knew his mother (no father) and Luke and Leia never knew their real parents. The Solo kids will probably have been raised by droids and servants while Han acts as a General putting out fires across the galaxy and Leia is either a senator or Chancellor too busy trying to rebuild the Republic.

I hate to say this next part, but i guess it's a pretty common idea -- I would almost expect to see the Solo kids (perhaps even a Skywalker kid) splinter off from their anger and trun to the Dark Side, which of course, is Luke's fault and failing. It could cause all kinds of conflict and maintain the themes the OP mentioned.

 

This is why using the EU Twins could go a long ways... (and why I dislike the EU's handling of them) The theme of redemption through family is a strong one... one falls, the other doesn't and in IX the fallen one is redeemed by the twin. That'd work great to me.

 

I agree. I'm not an EU fan and I don't like the idea of Luke being married with children. It detracts from the romance IMO of him being a noble Jedi knight -- mariiage and children is for the commoners. But that's just me. I don't like the idea of having a brood of Solo kids. BUT twins would do nicely for the above mentioned theory, as you've stated -- one twin falling to the dark side and the other redeeming. Plus it echoes the Luke and Leia dynamic.

All that ssaid, IF they decide to use some of the EU by having 3 Solo kids etc... then I could live with it. It all depends on how they handle it. Either way I;m excited to see what happens next.

 

I agree with the themetic stuff you're saying, which is why I also thing the ST will look at lot different then many people assume.

In the first one, having a youngster know his father is the Jedi master and know for a long time what he is susposed to do/be, even if its not Luke teaching him. Anakin didn't know he was going to be a Jedi until Qui-Gon showed up, Luke didn't know he could be a Jedi until Obi-wan told him. Part of that story involves the discovery that one is special. The call to adventure and the meeting of a mentor (which are parts of the heroes journey) need to be in there. And a child simply learning from their parent doesn't really fit those elements. Lukes son is going to know what is in his future (generally speaking).

If tehy are going to continue to use the heroes journey as their basic template and have the repeating themes (which Lucas has talked about) you'd have to have Luke act like Obi-wan/Qui-Gon and introduce the new youngest to the idea/concept of being a Jedi and the bring with him the call to adventure. Maybe introduce a main charater with the Starkiller sur-name who Luke trains.

 

I don't particularly like the 'romance' notion of Jedi Knights you're going with... I mean the whole monk thing doesn't sell very well with modern audiences, it's a very old idea and really... the romantic idea of knights requires courtly love too... It's such a mess, I just wish Lucas had stuck with the idea of the Jedi as being akin to Samurai... they married, they had a code, and lets face it a Samurai's wife is a dangerous person alone.

The twin story is pretty logical in my mind, but there are other ways the story could be organized... here's one from a more EU centric perspective.

Episode VII - You have two people being taken under the wing, both of whom loose their parental figures at the same time... Double or triple points if it's family. How do you do this? You use the EU...
- Jaina Solo is taken under the wing of Mara Jade Skywalker as a surrogate mother (since Leia is busy and very different from her daughter, they're Master - Apprentice in the EU). Jaina is older, about the age of Obi-wan in Episode I (25 or so).
- Ben Skywalker is under the wing of his father Luke Skywalker, he's younger... maybe around 15 or so.
- Both Mara and Luke die defending the two younger characters.
- Jaina Solo takes Ben Skywalker under her wing after becoming a Knight.

Episode VIII - Jaina and Ben have become a formidable team, perhaps a third figure has entered the storyline as a romantic interest of Jaina or Ben...
- Jaina looses control trying to defend Ben and begins to fall...

Episode IX - Jaina falls to the dark side for a time and looses control before being brought back to the light by Ben.

 

that sounds good, except allt hat EU stuff that most likely won't be int he movie.

 

The prospect of the twins and overall family scope of the saga is certainly intriguing but it remains to be seen how much EU the sequel trilogy refers to. There are a few references to the EU in the prequels, so I would bet it would be minimal at best.

 

OP: I'm inclined to believe the same as you. I think the new trilogy should be a mirror the the prequel movies. Where the bad guys grew in power, now the good side does. It's like a big ying-yang, with Luke and Palps representing good and bad, and Anakin in the center. The prequel movies focused on Palpy secretly taking control and seducing Anakin to the darkside. The Original Trilogy focuses on Palpy, Anakin and Luke, all vying for Anakin's soul. The Sequel Trilogy could follow a mirror relationship of the Prequel, with Luke secretly getting things back on track.

Without speculating too much about plot lines, my thoughts:

EP VII: Structure similar to TPM. 30/40 years later.
Cameo of Leia and Han. Leia is a top politician trying to restore democracy and rebuild the Old Republic. Remnants of the Empire litter the galaxy. Some systems on the outer rim are still ruled by the local governors. Very much a Cold War kind of experience. An outside brutal / barbarian force, say for example a Mandalorian Army, takes advantage of the weakened governing bodies and invades. Chaos ensues. I wouldn't be opposed to some dark force users. Not dark or fallen Jedi, and definitely not Sith. Force users with no ethical, political or religious system in place. Random chaotic agents.

In the story, a strange figure trained in the ways of the jedi, shows up at various points to help out. He disappears without a word, offering no explanation, seeking no reward. We follow this figure back to a secret temple where we see him meet up with another mysterious person. This person is revealed as Luke, the master. This could mirror EP 1, with Maul disrupting things and reporting back to Sidious.

Luke has been in hiding for the past two decades. The galaxy is distrustful of all force users. He's spent his time studying the force (a Jedi is never truly done learning about the force) and has taken on an apprentice. Perhaps the son of Leia and Han. Perhaps Jedi aren't quite taken from their families any longer. I've thought about it like, the Sith were the unbalancing element to the force. But the Jedi weren't listening either, and needed to be wiped clean as well. With the Jedi gone for the past three decades, most feel the ancient religion is nothing more than hocus pocus. But Luke is out to set the order right again. Simple monks, living simple lives.

EP VIII: Structure similar to ATC.
The Mandarolian Army is gobbling up systems on the outer rim. Think of it like, the Communist Threat in the 60's, or better yet, how Emperial Rome fell to the Barbarian hordes. Panic is taking over the galaxy. Luke and his apprentice are given permission, perhaps by Leia herself, to start a new jedi order. Public opinion is turning. Some are for it. Much like the ordering of clones in the second movie, here we see Luke and his apprentice seeking out new force users, new protectors of peace and justice...not an actual army. The numbers swell to about 12. That's it. Just enough to get things going. Perhaps we even see a short montage of Luke training them on Degobah, Yoda style.. The odds are totally against them.

EP IX: Structure similar to ROTS.
Lukes plan comes to fruition. Various battles are ensuing. The new Jedi Order is established and saves the galaxy, the Jedi Temple goes back up (mirroring the temple burning in EP 3).

Obviously, most of this hasn't been thought out too much. But I think could allow for some interesting potential.

 

To find the thematic structure of the ST, you have to look deeper into the central psychological conflict that underlines the whole thing. In the PT it was about Anakin's desire to save those around him (save his mother, then his wife), in the OT it was essentially about Luke's quest to find his father (which started with him trying to emulate him, then finding out that he was still alive and evil, then trying to redeem him). If you can think of a good, and I mean GOOD central conflict like that for the ST, your guess will be better than most other people. The key is to ignore the surface stuff, like the New Jedi Order/Republic (whatever they might be like), and focus purely on what will motivate the characters on a psychological level.

 

Many good ideas in this thread....some may actually work or may be incorporated.

 

Yes. The OT, in part, was about the father-son conflict; the PT was partially about marrying the mother—i.e., the other half of the Oedipal dynamic. I can't think of a complementary conflict for the ST, except perhaps for sibling rivalry.

 

I imagine the same type of story line will be used in the Sequels. I am sure that Luke is married and had children, and the darkness that resided in Anakin will reside in those children. Perhaps Luke has twins (a deviation from the EU with Jacen and Jaina), and during the first you see Luke training his children. In the second you see the children as they are older, perhaps with the death of Luke one of them turns. In the third you have the good son versus the bad son. It keeps the complex family structure in place, but in places it in the hands of siblings.

 

How are people so sure that Luke will be married. There is just as much a chance that he will be alone.

 

Another structural element is the ending/opening environments. ROTS ended in pretty much the same local as where we pick up 20 years later in ANH. So...I'd almost guess that Ep 7, opens up where ROTJ leaves us. (Ep. 7: Camera opens on forest moon of Endor. Pans up to reveal huge Republic ship cruising forward)

 

It should definitely continue and conclude the saga of the Skywalker family, forming a trilogy of trilogies however, I don't think that it should be overly referential to the other movies or mirror those stories too much. If it just gets into a pattern of telling the same story again with slight variations, then it won't be as interesting, and would become too predictable.