Will Episodes 7, 8 and 9 be made after all?

I've never understood all of the hate Michael Bay receives (people bash on him more than the Prequel Trilogy gets bashed on these forums). Transformers and Armageddon are both in my top 10 favorite movies of all time, and they owe their quality to Bay's directing. And while The Dark Knight is easily my second favorite movie, its cinematography was sub-par.

 

Akin to the groundwork that GL has presented thus far, I have always been intrigued by the potential of future storylines (and villans that arise) through the Sith's use of darkside force possession.

Much like Biblical stories where bright claddened angels would appear to impart wisdom and guidance to a choice few, demon possession would also appear in those chosen to forward a motive or dark purpose.

In SW terms, we have already seen the angelic force ghosts - the presence of which would only be enhanced in future episodes. What we have not seen is the tools by which the Sith would utilize to propel its future, namely a dead Sith Lord (or Lords) possessing the body (or bodies) of the living (ie, a darkside Adept for instance). Like their force ghost counterparts, there would be strict limitations placed upon what a possessed lifeform could and could not do however Sith teachings and strategy would most certaintly continue.

 

An excellent point. Just as "Adventures of Luke Skywalker" (IV-VI) was worked into the larger "Tragedy of Darth Vader" (I-VI), a sequel trilogy could likewise introduce a new frame to the story: "Saga of the Skywalkers" (I-IX) by telling the story of one of Luke's decedents (likely his son, but not necessarily.

 

Hey, I would love to see more Star Wars movies as much as the next farmboy! I definitely think it is a possibility, but the EU does do quite a decent job of detailing what happens beyond the movies. If there was ever going to be an Episode 7, 8, and 9, then I really think basing those off of the Grand Admiral Thrawn (Heir to the Empire) storyline would be the best way to go. It is mainly due to the success of the Heir To The Empire saga that Star Wars even developed an Expanded Universe in the first place, and I know many Star Wars fans who consider the three novels that make up that trilogy to be the unofficial Episodes 7, 8, and 9. I don't know 100% if I agree with that myself, but I certainly can understand their logic.

Personally, I think it is more realistic to expect ONE last Star Wars movie. I just do not think that George Lucas would want to tackle an entire trilogy again, as cool as that would be. I wholeheartedly believe that the Force Unleashed would be great material to make into a movie form--positioned as the official chapter between Episodes III and IV. It would be the movie that truly bridges the PT and OT together. You would see the formation of the Alliance, Vader's secret apprentice, as well as all kinds of revelations that would change the way people view the saga. George Lucas himself has stated that The Force Unleashed is the next official chapter of the Star Wars saga. The problem and sad reality about that fact is that a lot of Star Wars fans will never get to experience that storyline, because they are either not video game fans or strictly adhere to the Star Wars movies. It is the lost chapter of the Star Wars saga that NEEDS to be told more efficiently than it has been.

 

I agree on using the the Thrawn trilogy as a basis for episodes 7,8, and 9. There are some elements of it that could be re-worked or trimmed down/out but for the most part that set of novels are very much in the Star Wars "nature" of things and will be accessible for almost anyone. You have our main characters in it, some cool new villians, some new interesting characters(Jade, Thrawn, Talon Karde) and plenty of cool stuff going on, like the Katana fleet subplot. The hard part of course is deciding whos gonna play who since Hamil, Fisher, and Ford are prolly poor choioces due to their aging issues. Billy Dee Williams is also getting up there so he would also have to be replaced. Thats the quandry. You'd only have ONE shot at getting the right people to play in the film and if they didnt do a good job at portraying their respective characters and didnt "sell it" 100%...you'd have anarchy in the SW world. VERY tough decisions on who plays who! They would have to look as much like the originals as possible and carry their demeanor too.

 

Or, you can disregard the Thrawn trilogy (notwithstanding the Grand Admiral being an excellent villain) and make the trilogy one generation later, when Leia's and Han's kids (and possibly Luke&Mara's) would have grown up to adventurer age. The star wars novels have been ignored before, in terms of how binding they have been for the movies...Personally, I'd think it would be kinda cool to see an aging Luke Skywalker precide over the New Jedi Order.

 

Agree.

That was a swift kick in the balls and has taken alot of hope out of me as to the possibility of 7-8-9 being made.

 

Why though? cant 7,8, and 9 be based on something else or use elements from a few different sources of EU material? I dont get it.

 

It sure could be based on something else, as Lucas had plans/outlines/ideas that had nothing to do with "the other" as evidenced by his post Jedi interviews that give clues to the ST. Examples of post 1983 Lucas ideas for a ST:

 

Sure, was just pointing out that the 'Other' line is the only thing that appeared in the OT which hinted at anything else happening past ROTJ, & having resolved this issue by making Leia the 'Other', there was no need to go further. Didn't mean that they couldn't be made, but tying up a loose end with such a clumsy twist as making Leia the sister of Luke was a good indication that Lucas really didn't want to.

Although it's been pointed out that Gary Kurtz's recollections of the ST are most likely inaccurate, I do believe that at least some of the material GL had for eps VII-IX did make it into ROTJ (& probably the PT). Not to the same extent that Kurtz implies, i.e. compressing three episodes worth of Rebels vs Empire into one film, but whatever way GL originally wanted to wrap up the whole saga in Ep IX, he most likely absorbed that into ROTJ, simply because he could, & it was a way of using the material. Maybe the image of the three Jedi ghosts (or 4, if Luke died somewhere along the way) was something he originally wanted for the very end (probably not, I'm just using it as an example).

Without knowing how much material GL did develop for the ST, or what it comprised, it's all just random, virtually unfounded speculation anyway. I'd like to think he had something more interesting & ambitious in mind than just the sort of 'New Republic comes under threat from a new, even more powerful enemy' story that's been repeated ad nauseam in the EU.

The philosophical issues he mentioned in relation to the ST could have involved Luke deciding not to rebuild the Jedi Order becuase he realised that they contributed to their own downfall, & that for the Republic to survive, it'd have to rely on normal beings, not an elitist peacekeeping force. As Yoda did say in ROTJ, "Luke, when gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be." He does then say, "Pass on what you have learned", but what Luke might have learned was that too much power is a bad thing. Just an idea.

 

But the "other" line isn't the only thing hinted at post Jedi. In fact, it hints to an altenative to Luke, which would take place within the OT if Luke failed. I say this because Lucas always said there is a 20-25 year gap between trilogies, and there wouldn't be a way to end Jedi with the emperor in power and jump 20 years ahead to E7. As you point out, Luke passing on what he learned is an open end that would need a ST. The characters survivng indicates something happens post Jedi.

Lucas said that E9 ends with a flash forward to the droids telling the story to kids. That's how he said it ends.

It would be interesting to see what the moral choices are. I hope we find out

 

Well, it hints that something could happen, but it doesn't have to, i.e. there's no specific questions that need to be answered, just audience curiosity about, "well, what happened next?"

Certainly there's nothing stopping eps VII-IX being made, but there's no pressing need to do them, & as I said, I do believe whatever original outlines existed have been made redundant by ROTJ & the PT, simply due to the fact that they have already altered a great deal of what was established in ANH & ESB (characters' ages, Leia remembering her mother, Obi-Wan being the one to discover Anakin etc). GL could come up with new stories from scratch (& would probably claim that, yes, these were originally dreamed up in 1973), but it wouldn't be the same.

FWIW, there probably will be further live action features, but most likely they won't be titled Eps VII & on. I'd still rather get my hands on whatever barely legible scribbles still exist about the original PT & ST than see a new 50 episode saga charting the entire history of the SW galaxy, to be perfectly honest.

Incidentally, what's the source of GL saying that Ep IX flashes forward to the droids reading to kids? It doesn't even get a mention in The Secret History Of Star Wars.

 

I read the droid storytelling thing somewhere too.

 

It was in an interview from 1983 (pretty sure the Time review of RotJ). I found it at the library on microfilm when I searched for Lucas interviews from 1976-1986.

As for TSHoSW, it is a fan written book right? I'm sure if I wrote a book I would miss something another fan thought should be included.

 

This is probably confusing 2 seperate, but similar, ideas Lucas had to frame the film(s). One is that the original Star Wars would be a standalone film bookended by scenes of a mother wookie reading a storybook (the film itself) to her baby. Another idea, also communicated verbally, is that R2D2 is the one that recounts the story of Star Wars to the keepers of the journal of the whills some decades after the saga.

 

I don't think the interviewer confused the ideas for several reasons. One, there were other ideas such as the Whills telling the stories themselves that weren't confused. Two, and most importantly, the interview told details about the PT and ST.

 

This might be a departure from the above discussions.
So some random thoughts:

For me the Saga should really be the rise and fall of the empire with the fall and rise of the Skywalker clan and the Jedi Order. That story is effectively over by the victory ceremonies on Endor. Rather than push the franchise forward into an Episode 7 (which in my imagination would at its best be a Thrawn trilogy with absurd video game special effects--and likely far worse.) I'd rather see a revival of the franchise.

What do I mean?

Decades from now, when George Lucas is out of the way, I'd like to see another director adopt the SW mantle and remake the series. Based on Abrams' Star Trek or Nolan's Batman--these have been widely and critically successful. Basically a revamped and reinterpreted prequel trilogy and perhaps original series as well. This is not an argument saying that the existing six films are flawed or bad. I'm merely saying that from an entertainment standpoint--this would be an interesting project to undertake.

For me the continuation of the story past ROTJ is pointless. It would merely be pandering to fans and would be even more lackluster than the prequels.

-Seldon

 

EDIT: Double Post.

 

If there were to be Episodes 7, 8, & 9, I hope it's something completely different. I am done with the Skywalkers. Their story is told. It's over, let's move on.

 

Would that really be Star Wars?
Essentially it is their story. It boils down to a human drama--the tale of a struggling family at the center of galactic politics & power. Without them it really isn't Star Wars anymore.

-Seldon

 

There had to have been a more delicate way of putting that. I've got this image of thousands of disgruntled fans, twiddling their fingers and grinning puckishly, as they watch the CNN broadcast of Lucas's funeral.

 

I agree with this. Without the Skywalkers, there really is no "Star Wars".

 

What on Earth are you guys talking about? Star Wars doesn't revolve around the Skywalkers. They're not the center of the universe. Their story is just a small part of a huge expansive universe. I consider KOTOR to be as much a part of Star Wars as Episodes I-VI. Besides, GL said it himself, he's done with the Skywalkers.

 

This all depends on divergent views of the saga...and a debate that we should probably avoid. For me personally Star Wars is more or less limited to the six films. I respect the books/comics etc--but for me they don't really represent the universe. So for me the story is of the Skywalkers. When you've developed a film saga of six films based around a single family--it would be odd to make a seventh film that's totally divorced from that story-line.

-Seldon

 

When I hear the title Star Wars, I think of four characters: Anakin, Padme, Luke, and Leia. If someone were to remake these films down the line, I'd actually hope s/he would tether these four characters closer together, rather than retreat from the family entire.