Star Wars Episode IX marks the end of the Skywalker Saga. If we’re getting no more Skywalker stories, I feel like this last trilogy was a waste. I felt pretty disconnected from Rey, Poe, Finn, and Rose. BB8, Benicio Del Toro’s DJ, and Captain Phasma were pretty cool, though.
I enjoyed the returns of Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3P0, and R2D2. I thought it was neat that Admiral Ackbar and Nien Nunb were in The Force Awakens. My favorite part of The Last Jedi was Yoda’s ghost. And I’m excited Lando, Wedge, and Palpatine will return in The Rise of Skywalker.
These should have been about the next generation. The only character carrying the Skywalker legacy is Kylo Ren. And I hate him!
The Expanded Universe novels were deemed non-cannon. This was to create suspense for long-time readers. But those focused on Luke, Han, and Leia’s children instead of creating brand new characters altogether.
So if I wrote Episodes 7, 8, and 9, I would adapt the following:
- Shadows of The Empire
- Tales From Vader’s Castle
- Jedi Academy
- Specter of the Past
- Thrawn
- The Mandalorian Armor
- Zorba the Hutt’s Revenge
- Sacrifice: Legacy of the Force
In this Article:
Episode VII: Shadows of the Empire
Like the Clone Wars, Shadows of the Empire occured between second and third installments. I would lift elements from the story. But rather, place it after Return of the Jedi.
In the book, Leia and Chewbacca were disguised as famous bounty hunters. So shortly after ROJ ends, respectively as Snoova and Boushh, they sneak into Xizor’s castle. The green-skinned villain would be squatting in the towers after Vader’s death. The current IDW comics feature Vader’s Castle, so I would like to see that adapted in live-action.
As they move through the towers and the cannon fodder, Leia shows a badassery that was never fully realized in the movies. And then in the battle against Xizor, Leia is revealed as pregnant. Much like Spider-Woman, even with-child, she’s a badass. But sadly, Chewie doesn’t make it out alive.
Time Jump: 5 to 7 Years
What I remember from Specter of the Past is a scene with Han, Leia, and their twins. They are in the desert with a landspeeder. Therefore, following a caption presenting this jump, Mister and Misses Solo, Jacen, Jaina, Lando, and C-3P0 are having a picnic in the Tatooine desert.
They receive a hologram call from Luke. And in the background are R2D2 and Luke’s son, Ben. Instead of Han and Leia honoring Obi-Wan, the books had Luke name his son after the old man.
A pack of Tusken Raiders attack. So Han tells C-3PO and Leia to take the kids in the landspeeder. While Lando and Han fight, the vehicle speeds through the desert. Leia frequently glances back, wishing she would have stayed. And as soon as the landspeeder is far enough, Han and Lando are killed.
I know what you’re thinking: f**** this movie! I already killed off Han, Lando, and Chewie. But the trilogy we got killed Han and Luke, did it not?
Time Jump: Another 10 Years
Jacen and Jaina are in their teens. Ben is almost twenty. All three kids are in Jedi Academy. Wedge Antilles is a flight instructor. Chewbacca’s son from the Christmas Special is a classmate (Lowbacca?). And there are several Tridactyl professors.
George Lucas never gave Yoda’s race a name. But the fans named them Tridactyls. I assume because he has three fingers and resembles a dinosaur. Of course, The Mandalorian is currently exploring this race.
Thrawn would be the main antagonist. He was in Star Wars Rebels. That took place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. But he first appeared in the sequel books. I would love to see the blue-skinned politician in live-action.
I also remember a humanoid lion on the cover of Specter of The Past. Evidently, this was a member of the Bothan race. Thrawn would have a Bothan general. It would serve as the secondary antagonist and the more physical of the two.
In the climax, Luke battles Thrawn. He’s wearing the black robe from Return of the Jedi. Ben wants to join, but Luke won’t let him.
Episode VIII: A Family Has Risen
In The Mandalorian Armor, Boba Fett climbs out of the Sarlacc Pit. So upon his revealed survival, he returns to his people. And he becomes the leader of the Mandalorians like in Sacrifice: Legacy of the Force.
The main antagonists would be the Hutt mob family. They bet on the podraces in The Phantom Menace. And were mentioned in Solo: A Star Wars Story. In Zorba the Hutt’s Revenge, my memory told me Jabba Senior was larger and had orange, tiger stripes. But upon Googling, Zorba is tan with a braided beard. Since Leia killed Jabba in Return of the Jedi, she would be Zorba’s revenge. And retcons would be revealed that Zorba called the hit with the Tusken Raiders. Though they killed Han instead.
Zorba tries to negotiate with Boba. But he doesn’t want to work with the Hutts again. Especially since the bounty is from the same family. Besides, his aspirations include more valiant ambitions for his nation. But Boba’s daughter goes behind her father’s back. Ailyn Vel appears to Zorba without a helmet. When Zorba makes mention of this, she tells him that she doesn’t care about her father’s code.
Graduated from Jedi Academy, Jaina, Jacen, and Ben would fight the climax battle. Jaina versus Ailyn. Jacen and Ben against the Gamorreans. These were the orc/pig guards at Jabba’s palace in Return of the Jedi. And they would be the cannon fodder for the Hutts. Then, the Solo/Skywalker kids fight the Hutts together.
But throughout the film, Ben would secretly be meeting with a Sith Witch. Lumiya turned Jacen to the Dark Side in Sacrifice. Also, she appeared in the comics when Marvel first had them. I’m sure Jacen was the inspiration for Kylo Ren. His name is Ben, after all. Ben Skywalker is starting to resent his father. And, he has his own ship.
Meanwhile, Luke has his own agenda. Thrawn tried to take over the Empire. But after Luke killed him, he became the new emperor. And so, Luke will rule with a new Jedi Council.
He wants Leia to join, as she was his Jedi Padawan. George Lucas’s vision was for Luke to train her with the Force. But Leia turns the offer down. She prefers her Jedi Knight missions. And so, there are scenes of these missions on Coruscant.
Episode IX: Fallen Legacy
Luke eventually lets the council go. He’s become arrogant, and constantly reminds everyone who it was that killed Thrawn. The other Jedis are fed up with him. So now, he’s the council.
Ben is now going by Darth Caedus. This was Jacen’s Sith name in the books. In an opening scene, Caedus and Lumiya have their new army of Sith Witches and Dathomirians. The Dathomirians are Darth Maul’s race. Maul and his brother, Savage Opress, were among the other Dathomirians in Clone Wars and Rebels. You can also see one among the bounty hunters in The Mandolorian. Caedus’s army visits the Gungan nation in Naboo. In the underwater globes, the Gungans believe Caedus was negotiating with them. But they’re massacred instead.
Fast-forward to the climax battle, Jacen, Jaina, Lowbacca, Lando’s daughter, and a new protocol/battle droid take on Caedus and his army.
Though, Luke would still be uninvolved until the last minute. Leia tries to talk some sense into him. She tells him he’s turned out just like their father. And after she leaves, his father would actually pay him a visit.
Hayden Christensen would reprise his role as Anakin’s Force ghost. He tells him they’ve become a legacy of villains. Luke didn’t know his son was a Sith until this moment. He’d be reminded of his lessons with Obi-Wan and Yoda. Then Anakin would bring up the prophecy he thought he fulfilled. He was supposed to bring balance to the force. He thought he did this by killing Palpatine/Darth Sidious. But now he realizes what he was actually supposed to do – Convince Luke in stopping his son.
Lando’s daughter would be introduced with a flashback from Episode XII. There’s a new character in Rise of Skywalker named Jannah. She may or may not be Lando’s daughter. In a discussion with her father, she’d tell him not to go on the picnic. Something bad will happen – a disturbance in the Force. But Lando doesn’t believe in the Force.
A full circle would reveal that the Hutt’s were looming in the background of the Tusken Raider battle. Right before Lando and Han’s deaths, Zorba and his family are presented via holograms. And they’re talking to the Dathomirians.
Also, Ben would ask Luke about his mother. In the books, Ben’s mom is Mara Jade. But love is forbidden to the Jedis. That’s why Anakin’s romance with Padme was frowned upon. Luke tells Ben that he never had a mom, much like how Anakin never had a father. Luke created him from the Midichlorians or Whills. George Lucas wanted to evolve the Midichlorians into these Whills. Therefore, Ben is made purely from the Force; Making his dark turn even more daunting.
Let me know in the comments below your thoughts on this version of the sequel trilogy. Or, you can utilize the social medias. This may not be what you had in mind, still. But its gotta be better than what we got. My only regret is that George Lucas never got to fulfill his complete vision.