There are reports Disney want to "ramp up" Star Wars, and the best approach would be to tell a story entirely separate from the Skywalker saga. When Disney acquired Lucasfilm back in 2012, they originally planned to get to the point where a new Star Wars film was coming out every year. The box office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story, followed by the poor response to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, have led to a pivot. Lucasfilm has since focused on the streaming side of the Star Wars franchise, although there have been constant decisions about potential new films. According to THR, Disney intend to "ramp up" efforts to get Star Wars back on the big screen.
The original Star Wars trilogy launched one of the biggest media franchises in the world. Understandably the follow-up movies tried to expand the narrative of the Skywalker family. And yet, the prequel trilogy and sequel trilogy both stumbled under the weight of the original Star Wars legacy. Star Wars: The Force Awakens was essentially a retelling of the first film (retroactively titled A New Hope), while Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was maligned for focusing too much on Anakin Skywalker as a boy. These are just a few of the criticisms lobbed at the later Star Wars trilogies, but these criticisms can easily be circumvented if Lucasfilm is brave enough to take its next trilogy in an entirely new direction.
The Next Star Wars Trilogy's Story Would Benefit From A New Era
The next Star Wars trilogy needs to take place in an entirely new era, completely separate from the Skywalker family saga and its impact on the franchise. A new era would provide a clean slate and would give Star Wars the chance to tell a story without being weighed down by canon and audience expectations. Every other era already known to general Star Wars audiences is too familiar, and this makes it too easy for Lucasfilm to rely on fanservice as opposed to telling a bold, new story. There’s already plenty of live-action, animated, and written content set between “The Fall of the Jedi” and “Rise of the First Order.” It’s time for something new.
Focusing on a new Star Wars era would allow the franchise to zero in on the ancient feud between the Jedi and the Sith without the constraints of familiar grudges, prophecies, and a limited number of characters. Alternatively, the next trilogy could even focus on an entirely different conflict, such as the one between the Mandalorians and the Jedi. A more recent option would be for the next Star Wars trilogy to take place during The High Republic, an era well-established with Star Wars audiences through novels and comics but not yet so explored as to be oversaturated. There’s a wealth of opportunity in Star Wars – the galaxy is vast and ancient. There is no limit to the stories that can be told.
Star Wars Needs To Continue To Expand Its Timeline
Though some recent Star Wars projects have decided to focus on new characters and storylines, they are still intrinsically tied to the Skywalker saga era. The Mandalorian offered an entirely new protagonist, but the show itself has still become intertwined with legacy characters like Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano. Even a show like Andor, perhaps Star Wars’ most radical recent project, is still bound to the political events of the Skywalker saga and the Rebel Alliance’s established fate. These projects should not be discounted - they are tremendous and justifiably successful - but if Star Wars wants to succeed well into the future, it needs to start expanding its timeline.
This would also prevent further problems of canonicity and continuity. Star Wars has been on the verge of breaking canon for a while now; Obi-Wan Kenobi explored Obi-Wan’s relationship with a young Leia Organa, but this made their rather emotionless interaction in A New Hope feel uncharacteristic. Star Wars’ animated shows, including Star Wars: The Bad Batch and Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi have already retconned other canon works, such as Greg Weisman’s comic series Kanan: The Last Padawan and E.K. Johnston’s Ahsoka novel, respectively. There’s just too much history for any new projects set during the Skywalker saga to deal with. If Disney and Lucasfilm truly do want to "ramp up" Star Wars, then the best approach is to give the movies a clean slate by setting sights on a new era of galactic history.