Discussions It's 2012 and Disney puts you in charge of Lucasfilm. What do you do?

Disney just bought Lucasfilm and you're put in charge. You have supreme control. What do you do?

This, on my part, Is what I would have done:

I would have created a new Canon, like Disney did. But unlike Disney, I would have allowed the continuation of the Legends universe, thus having two separate universes that expand in parallel. Furthermore, I would have firmly established the belonging of The Clone Wars (and related material) to the new continuity, thus leaving the Clone Wars Multimedia Project as the only Legends version of the Clone Wars, and restoring some consistency to the old universe.

After creating a new continuity, restoring consistency by eliminating The Clone Wars from the old continuity, and allowing the Legends universe to continue to expand in parallel to the new continuity, I would have created a Sequel Trilogy set in the new Canon. I don't think I would have followed Lucas' ideas for the Sequels, but I would have made sure that the story was consistent with itself and with the previous movies. This means: no character assassination of Luke, no return of Palpatine, and if there is a conflict between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant, then make sure to develop it in an interesting way, thus avoiding to create a bad copy of the Original Trilogy. Furthermore, I would have also developed spin-off movies like Rogue One and Solo, as well as a movie trilogy set during the Old Republic era.

In parallel to the development of the Sequel Trilogy and the spin-offs, I would have also authorized the continuation of The Clone Wars without cancelling it in the first place, and thus allowing it to have the two additional seasons that George Lucas and Dave Filoni planned for the show. Furthermore, I would have also created a TV series set during the Dark Times and focused on the birth of the Rebellion, like Rebels but with a far more mature tone. I would have pushed for this TV show to be alive action show. And after completing the Sequel Trilogy, I would have created a TV show to explore the gap between Return of the Jedi and the beginning of the Sequel Trilogy itself. In general, I would have tried to avoid the modern Lucasfilm formula, so I would have focused on quality rather than quantity. Fewer TV shows with great quality, rather than a lot of TV shows with poor quality.

As far as the old Expanded Universe goes, I would have obviously authorized the continuation of the post-Crucible time period with the Sword of the Jedi trilogy and other small scale stories set between Crucible and the Legacy comics. I would have also authorized the continuation of the Legacy era, by allowing the publication of Legacy Volume III and other adventures set in that era. Furthermore, I would have authorized the continuation of Down of the Jedi. In fact, I would have allowed Down of the Jedi to become a proper multimedia project full of comics and books, to explore in the best possible way the Force Wars and everything related to them. I would have also granted the EU authors with the task of exploring the Hundred Year Darkness and the First Great Schism with several comics and novels, as well as exploring the New Sith Wars by creating an entire multimedia project, similar to the one that was created around the Clone Wars.

Also, I would have reprinted Darth Plagueis and Kenobi by eliminating every reference to The Clone Wars in them, and I would have also commissioned the publication of some of the cancelled novels, like Escape from Dagu. And finally, I would have commission the creation of a Padmé-centric novel set during the Clone Wars, as I think she deserves at least one novel set during that period. This would have given the Expanded Universe authors the opportunity to explore her character and to tell us more about her private life, as well as exploring a bit of her relationship with her handmaidens, since there is practically nothing about this stuff in the old EU.

And that's pretty much it.

I'm really curious to see what all of you would have done if Disney put you in charge of Lucasfilm in 2012. How would have you handled the franchise? What creative decisions would you have made? I'm really curious to read your opinions.

 

I would do the same as you, only i would make a different Sequel Trilogy more coherent than what Disney did. the Emperor would not have returned, the Skywalkers would never be extinct and Luke Jedi Order would never be destroyed

 

Continue the Clone Wars up to season 8.

Instead of Rebels make a show following the OT3 set between ANH and TESB.

make the sequel trilogy as described in Star Wars Archives 1999-2005.

make a Han Solo origin movie that’s more faithful to George’s ideas from both 1977 and RotS production

Make Guillermo Del Toro’s Jabba the Hutt movie

I do not say anything about rebooting the canon, but cease publishing new books that mention the solo twins and other characters that don’t fit the sequel trilogy. Let the fans argue it out continuity is for wimps.

 

No EU reboot. Make a new prequel trilogy set around the time of the Great Hyperspace War, or before.

 

Preserving the single Canon would be difficult because TCW season 3 (where the contradictions between old and new Canons started) had already aired, but still possible. There were two major Canon issues after Season 3 - Even Piell's death at the Citadel and changes in Ventress' backstory and fate. The first one can be fixed saying that Piell killed at the Citadel was not real Piell but a doppleganger of some kind (just like Star Wars: The New Droid Army where Anakin killed Dooku during the Clone Wars). Second is more difficult but it's still possible to write a plausible story of Ventress somehow returning to Dooku.

Some arcs from future seasons can be kept intact (such as the astromechs arc), others need to be rewritten to avoid contradictions to the Expanded Universe. It's also possible to make The Clone Wars less Skywalker-centered.

Then, I would make a live-action series set before TPM, something like Jedi Apprentice book series. Prequel era (at least before AotC) is a perfect place for political detectives (just like Luceno's Cloak of Deception) so I would make more stories in this genre.

I would not make any Sequel trilogy. Skywalker saga has its ending in RotJ and any attempts to continue in make no sense. There is still very much uncharted territory in the Star Wars universe. Galaxy is huge, so there's always enough place for new stories without any contradictions.

 

Cast Shannon Mcrandle as Mara Jade for the Sequel Trilogy adapt the NJO in 3 movies

 

Can the NJO be done in three movies? I think you'd probably need 6 or 7.

 

Hire Joe Hisaishi to start writing a score for the next film and negotiate with Neil Gaiman to write a new series of books about the foundation of the Jedi Order. Also, get Maurice Sendak to illustrate a book for children.

 

I will use just the concept but not a copy of the NJO adapt the NJO in movies is impossible a TV Show could fit better for the NJO EU story

 

Exactly this. I'd steer very far from the era surrounding the Skywalker saga movies, leave that era to the EU, and make a new batch of movies separated by it from thousands of years. Allows the EU to continue unharmed and avoids a good chunk of the controversy that came from continuing the OT.

 

I like your ideas OP, though i would go to a completely opposite direction.

I would allow for the Episodes VII, VIII and IX we do have now (or Duel of the Fates as IX, whatever comes out), Rebels, High Republic, etc. but keeping the Expanded Universe going, having the continuity of the books and comics work around the new movies rather than being erased, once the trilogy is done, no more movies after the last Skywalker Saga film, have the main movies be about the father, the children, and grandchildren, as Lucas explained it, allow the EU to fill in the blanks and lead into Legacy, yes this would mean that we would have stories with Jacen, Jaina, Anakin and Ben Solo interacting eventually.

Once TCW ends with Season 8, retcon away the silly notion that the show starts 2 months after Geonosis, and establish my timeline that has Anakin becoming a knight a year and a half into the war, shorten the ammount of time occupied by the show, which was never necessary, and basically leave Leland to do his job with fixing the timeline, but in a way that respects the entirety of the material, not diminishing what came before 2008, merely tightening the blank spots in the timeline (i mean come on, just look at months 20-30 of the original multimedia project, Anakin and Obi-Wan have almost nothing to do for 10 months!).

I would have Stackpole's Horn family lineage novel published, also tell Zahn to stop being pissy about it and make his Luke, Mara and Ben camping trip adventure set a year before LOTF.

Have a Disney + show adapting the Jedi Prince series, and a sequel called Jedi King, featuring an adult Jedi Master Ken Palpatine.

After Rebels finishes, instead of Resistance, make a TCW style show with the OT heroes, and later the same for the Sequel Trilogy heroes (Rey, Finn, Poe) set in the year between TLJ and TROS, resucitate the idea of an animated YJK show that was cancelled in the 90's.

Allow Luceno to do whatever he wants.

...But i would be a miserable man, having to work to get this stuff done instead of enjoying it as a viewer... I would rather get all of this from a genie or something.

 

Put Patty Jenkins to work on Rogue Squadron.

 

The only thing I would really do is let the sequels cook a few more years. Other than that I am pretty happy with how things turned out

 

I would probably spent the first year with a series of sweeping purges of all the stuff I really can't stand in SW. Including but not limited to:
1. Moving pretty much all the Comics into the Infinites, especially Legacy and anything related to Quinlan Vos
2. Forcing heavy resturcturings in TOR to make it less fanservicey and more coherent with the lore.
3. Erasing everything post NJO in the post Endor timeline.
4- Throw out all the Travis Mando worship
5. Decanonize The Clone Wars as a failed experiment.
6. Move away from all the kid/family friendly stuff to return to the seriousness of the EU.

With the mid therm plan being a high budget adaptation of NJO as a TV Show, possibly preceded by an animate YJK adaptation. If NJO suceeds then continue with a new post NJO storyline, if not attempt a fresh start in another time period of the GFFA with a fresh cast and setting.

 

Let the EU keep going, and release new movies but base them on the EU

 

Probably the most far fetched idea form this thread

 

You don't believe in The Rogues, do you?

 

This is heresy!

 

There will be a few assumptions that I want to make before we continue with my plans.

1. George Lucas is already in talks to sell to Disney. I don't want to change history that much, so many of the things that Disney has done will still happen, hopefully with better support.
   
2. The idea would be to create a smooth transition between the end of EU and the beginning of the new Canon.
   
3. It would be clear that just because the stories change, it doesn't mean that the characters no longer exist.

2012- *cue the Imperial March*

I would contact all the authors currently working on a project to let them know of the change of plans. Then we would come up with a timeline that keeps most of the authors happy. For something like Fate of the Jedi, it wouldn't work, but I would tell them to keep thinking about the concept as we could look at the concept again in the future.

I would then give those that can alter their story to do so and move their release date back.

2013-2014

With quick planning done the rest of 2012 through 2014 would focus on which projects to do and in what form to do them.

Comics: Focus on a singular character or a relatively obscure conflict (Nagai vs Tof) Or some area that is not an immediate priority.

Books: More expansive in scope, relatively closer to where the focus is at the moment.

TV: Short runs that could focus on one person in a singular event (Fall of Ben Solo)

Miniseries could focus on a squadron or a campaign (Rogue Squadron or Wraith Squadron, Alphabet Squadron)

Seasonal shows could introduce people to a new aspect of Star Wars (The Mandalorian, Mandalorians from Jaster Mereel to Satine Kryze, Kotor/TOR ‘canon’ storyline)

Video games: Same sort of standards as a TV miniseries (Say Rogue Squadron from Endor to Jakku, continued expansions for TOR, Perhaps bringing back Rebellion) either way, I would like to bring back LucasArts, whether to develop games or be the people to say, "This is Star Wars."

What to expect:

Movies: Rogue One

Live action shows: The Mandalorian (multiple seasons), Rogue Squadron, Wraith Squadron, Cinder (Miniseries on Disney+) Andor, Rise of the Rebellion

Animated: Clone Wars, Rebels, Resistance

No genuine changes to books

Comics: CorSec, Cracken, Rise of the New Republic

Sequel Trilogy
There would be either one director or one producer (maybe more) who would keep track for the Sequels and their Disney+ shows, books, comics.

Along with Ep VII there would be a Miniseries shot at the same time called The Fall of Ben Solo. It would detail what exactly happened at Ossus and the Jedi Academy there.

Ideally there would be a show to accompany the movies along with books and comics to further fill things out.


High Republic

Movie: Fall of Starlight (directed by Jordan Peele?)

Show: Naboo-Gungan War,

It would be a full multimedia project with books, comics, movies, and shows. With 400 years there should plenty of options. The books that read like scripts would be either live action or animated shows.

Prequels

Given that we are running into the 25th Anniversaries of the Prequels releases there should celebrate those. This is where you would expect something like a Plagueis show, along with Obi-Wan. Something showing the Sith plan to take down the Jedi Order would be of particular interest.

Dawn of the Jedi/KotOR

Revan (animated as the same style as the TOR trailer cut-scenes)

KotOR I and II (animated)

Outlander (animated)

Sunrider (live action)

Tython (live action)

 

^ Liked for 3 mentions of Rogue Squadron.

 

It's a bit of a Beetlejuice technique, but I could defend both spots I'd put the Rogues. Since Star Wars flight sims aren't as popular as they used to be, attaching it to a well known squadron such as Rogue Squadron, 181st, Zsinj's Raptors, Wraiths could be something like a Battlefront campaign.

That and I've said that a miniseries would be perfect for something like Rogue Squadron, Wraith Squadron, Soontir Fel, Maarek Steele, etc.

There probably would be a Thrawn movie trilogy.

 

In addition to some of the things mentioned above

- I would ask James Luceno to write a novel about Dooku and the beginning of the Separatist crisis.
- I would make a movie set on Coruscant during ANH that shows the end of the Imperial Senate.
- I would make a show about the Imperial Senate in between ROTS and ANH.

 

Basically with the show leading up to the movie?

 

Yes.