Star Wars: A New Hope…Again?

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker is the 9th film in the Skywalker saga, officially wrapping up a storyline that began in 1977 with A New Hope. Rise of Skywalker hit theaters in 2019 and reactions were mixed. To be honest, reactions have been mixed about Star Wars ever since Disney bought out Lucasfilm, and things have been a little rocky.

Recently, the Disney Plus show The Acolyte was canceled, and do you all remember when the guys behind Game of Thrones were supposed to have a Star Wars trilogy? Yeah, they kind of messed that up with that infamous season 8 of GoT.

A New… Era?

Well, apparently, we are getting a new trilogy after all, and they’ve tapped the man who will be in charge of it. According to Deadline, Simon Kinberg has been tapped to write and produce episodes 10-12. We don’t have much more news on it yet, but this doesn’t appear to be related to the Rey movie they’ve been discussing off and on for the last four years.

Opinion Time

So, what could episodes 10-12 be about? Here’s my take. If you enjoyed the Sequel Trilogy, that’s great! We all have unique tastes. However, if it were up to me, I’d honestly put the Sequel Trilogy aside and keep only Kylo Ren and Finn from it. Disney missed an opportunity to recreate Heir to the Empire and follow that trilogy closely, which could have had broader appeal.

Since the Sequel Trilogy is now canon, where does that leave us? Last we saw Rey, she returned to Jakku, claiming the Skywalker name despite being a Palpatine. What if they took a daring route and had Rey as a villain? Imagine her tarnishing the Skywalker legacy, with Ben Solo (or perhaps another Solo) returning to stop her. And let’s bring in some fresh Sith villains while we’re at it!

Lightsabers are a must, so I’d like to see some actual Jedi action. And please, let’s finally have Finn fully discover his Force abilities, something the Sequel Trilogy hinted at but never fully explored. Should the Jedi Order be revived? Lots of possibilities.

Is There Hope?

It’s hard to feel completely optimistic. The Sequel Trilogy’s choices with legacy characters were controversial, and we’ve lost the chance to see the original trio together again after Carrie Fisher’s passing. Rey isn’t a strong enough lead to carry a new trilogy alone, and they’ve likely lost Adam Driver and John Boyega.

So, maybe a different direction is needed. What if episodes 10-12 adapted the Thrawn Trilogy? Though it would be a second prequel trilogy, it could bring back younger actors in legacy roles. Or, better yet, introduce new characters entirely. Fun fact: Kinberg co-created Rebels with Dave Filoni, and that show introduced fan-favorite Jedi like Kanan Jarrus.

How to Get Fans Back

To win back fans (myself included), they should adapt from the books. Show us that they’re invested in Star Wars lore. And please, no more Palpatine – we don’t need another “somehow Palpatine returned” plot. Bring in fresh villains, like Darth Krayt from the Rule of One era.

Am I skeptical? Yes. But Disney’s animated projects like Bad Batch and Tales of the Jedi have been excellent. Maybe they should stick to animation, but live-action does draw more interest and revenue. All I ask is they make it meaningful and respect the fans.