Jester David
Hero
The next few years of Star Wars are going to be interesting given Disney seems set on giving us more Star Wars on an annual basis.
We have Solo in five months, and then nineteen months after that we have Episode IX in 2019. And Johnson's new trilogy is likely going for 2021, 2023, and 2025 (given they have nothing and would need to start filming shortly to be ready for 2020).
That leaves a gap between trilogy films. A still unknown. But a lot of Star War fans don't want prequels (like Rogue One or Solo). And the reaction to The Last Jedi shows that a lot of fans don't want anything new/ different.
It's going to be interesting to see where they go with that. Something super familiar as fan service before the all new all different Johnson trilogy? Something that explores a different era or part of the galaxy? Something in the past? Something in the future? Something set during the events of Episode VII to IX?
However, Abrams is a much more conservative storyteller than Johnson. I expect the conclusion to be very safe, hewing close to the formula, for good or ill. As unhappy as some people are with how Johnson failed to use the threads and seeds Abrams left, I suspect just as many people will be unhappy with Abrams ignoring Johnson's seeds and themes.
I imagine it will tell the story of the Resistance crippling the First Order. The push to break their growing hold on the galaxy. In theory, it should end with the First Order destroyed, but that just resets things to how they were at the end of Return of the Jedi, with the heroes winning and no way to continue without negating the success. So, very likely, the movie will end in a stalemate situation. An armistice that keeps the First Order around but has them opposed by an equal force or two.
(Not that I don't put it beyond Abrams to just retell Return of the Jedi.)
I imagine it start with a reinvigorated Resistance that has more ships and rebels. The First Order will likely have some scheme to destroy the Resistance and thus take control of the galaxy. And the Resistance has to launch a mission to stop it. But, really, the First Order should just be taking control of the Republic and ignoring the Resistance whom they believe have been routed: reduced to a handful of people on a single modified freighter.
If I were writing the movie, I'd focus on the tensions between Kylo Ren and Hux. The conflict between the Force (the supernatural) and the military (the scientific), which was a theme hinted at in A New Hope that was never really addressed. Before, Emperor and Snoke were both unassailablely powerful, so the military unquestioningly obeyed the follower of the "ancient religion". But Kylo Ren has significantly less support.
Honestly, that should be the real conflict of the movie: the growing schism between Kylo Ren and Hux as they both try to maintain control of the First Order. That should be the Act II twist, with the Resistance bloodying the nose of one (likely Kylo Ren) leading to the other's betrayal as they try and seize power. It'd be neat to have the reversal of Return of the Jedi and having Kylo Ren come to Rey for help against Hux. Neither trying to corrupt or redeem, because they both know that time has passed, and just reluctantly working together to end Hux.
Again, were I writing it, I'd have the opening tension be the Knights of Ren hunting down Rey. The fan service of a lightsaber fight.
Meanwhile the Resistance struggles to train new pilots and get the funds for more ships. For a few years, the Resistance was being forced to act less like a military force attacking well armed targets and more an underground rebellion that blows up what they can. Full circle to the pre-Alliance days. Trying to fight the good fight despite now being below underdog status. And they've only just recovered enough to resume old operations. And then they're pushed into mission before they're ready, because Kylo Ren might have left himself vulnerable.
I think at the end it's important to have the Jedi Order reestablished. To have begun to grow. It might be nice to even give Rey some apprentices. So you can have stories with new Jedi at some point.
But there's so many directions it could go. The film could start with Kylo Ren just killing Hux and seizing control. There could be another planet destroying super weapon. Likely spherical in nature. Heck, it could be a chase across the galaxy for the last component of the superweapon. It could go dark and gritty with the Resistance being forced to use suicide bombings to destroy First Order facilities and ships and acting more like the French Resistance in WW2.
We have Solo in five months, and then nineteen months after that we have Episode IX in 2019. And Johnson's new trilogy is likely going for 2021, 2023, and 2025 (given they have nothing and would need to start filming shortly to be ready for 2020).
That leaves a gap between trilogy films. A still unknown. But a lot of Star War fans don't want prequels (like Rogue One or Solo). And the reaction to The Last Jedi shows that a lot of fans don't want anything new/ different.
It's going to be interesting to see where they go with that. Something super familiar as fan service before the all new all different Johnson trilogy? Something that explores a different era or part of the galaxy? Something in the past? Something in the future? Something set during the events of Episode VII to IX?
There's quite a few directions they could go for Episode IX of the "Skywalker Saga". Really, the only thing that needs to happen is for Kylo Ren to die and bring the bloodline to an end. So the series/ franchise can move forward without the "episode" baggage. (Or... for him to live and marry, so they can do an Episode X through XII...)
However, Abrams is a much more conservative storyteller than Johnson. I expect the conclusion to be very safe, hewing close to the formula, for good or ill. As unhappy as some people are with how Johnson failed to use the threads and seeds Abrams left, I suspect just as many people will be unhappy with Abrams ignoring Johnson's seeds and themes.
I imagine it will tell the story of the Resistance crippling the First Order. The push to break their growing hold on the galaxy. In theory, it should end with the First Order destroyed, but that just resets things to how they were at the end of Return of the Jedi, with the heroes winning and no way to continue without negating the success. So, very likely, the movie will end in a stalemate situation. An armistice that keeps the First Order around but has them opposed by an equal force or two.
(Not that I don't put it beyond Abrams to just retell Return of the Jedi.)
I imagine it start with a reinvigorated Resistance that has more ships and rebels. The First Order will likely have some scheme to destroy the Resistance and thus take control of the galaxy. And the Resistance has to launch a mission to stop it. But, really, the First Order should just be taking control of the Republic and ignoring the Resistance whom they believe have been routed: reduced to a handful of people on a single modified freighter.
If I were writing the movie, I'd focus on the tensions between Kylo Ren and Hux. The conflict between the Force (the supernatural) and the military (the scientific), which was a theme hinted at in A New Hope that was never really addressed. Before, Emperor and Snoke were both unassailablely powerful, so the military unquestioningly obeyed the follower of the "ancient religion". But Kylo Ren has significantly less support.
Honestly, that should be the real conflict of the movie: the growing schism between Kylo Ren and Hux as they both try to maintain control of the First Order. That should be the Act II twist, with the Resistance bloodying the nose of one (likely Kylo Ren) leading to the other's betrayal as they try and seize power. It'd be neat to have the reversal of Return of the Jedi and having Kylo Ren come to Rey for help against Hux. Neither trying to corrupt or redeem, because they both know that time has passed, and just reluctantly working together to end Hux.
Again, were I writing it, I'd have the opening tension be the Knights of Ren hunting down Rey. The fan service of a lightsaber fight.
Meanwhile the Resistance struggles to train new pilots and get the funds for more ships. For a few years, the Resistance was being forced to act less like a military force attacking well armed targets and more an underground rebellion that blows up what they can. Full circle to the pre-Alliance days. Trying to fight the good fight despite now being below underdog status. And they've only just recovered enough to resume old operations. And then they're pushed into mission before they're ready, because Kylo Ren might have left himself vulnerable.
I think at the end it's important to have the Jedi Order reestablished. To have begun to grow. It might be nice to even give Rey some apprentices. So you can have stories with new Jedi at some point.
But there's so many directions it could go. The film could start with Kylo Ren just killing Hux and seizing control. There could be another planet destroying super weapon. Likely spherical in nature. Heck, it could be a chase across the galaxy for the last component of the superweapon. It could go dark and gritty with the Resistance being forced to use suicide bombings to destroy First Order facilities and ships and acting more like the French Resistance in WW2.
