Star Wars Sequel Trilogy - Story

Story

The specifics of the story content of Episodes VII to IX have repeatedly been referred to as vague (particularly when compared to the stories for both the classic trilogy of Episodes IV to VI and the prequel trilogy of Episodes I to III, which were relatively better defined). However, hints that George Lucas gave over the years about the content of the sequel trilogy included the following (sometimes contradictory) possibilities:

• Episode VII would begin roughly 20 (or perhaps 30-40) years after the end of Return of the Jedi (according to Lucas in 1980 and 1982).
• R2-D2 and C-3PO would be the only characters who might continue through all nine films (Lucas in 1980, 1981 and 1983).
• The trilogy would deal with the rebuilding of the Republic (Lucas in 1980).
• "It's like a saga, the story of a group of people, a family" (Lucas in 1980).
• The focus would be on Luke Skywalker's journey to becoming the premier Jedi knight, with Luke's sister (who was not Leia) appearing in Episode VIII, and the first appearance of the Emperor, and Luke's ultimate confrontation with him, in Episode IX (a storyline as planned pre-1980, according to A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back producer Gary Kurtz).
• Luke would have a romantic relationship with a female love interest (Lucas in 1988).
• The main theme of the trilogy would be moral and philosophical problems, such as the necessity for moral choices and the wisdom needed to distinguish right from wrong, justice, confrontation, and passing on what you have learned (Lucas in 1983 and 1989).
• The key actors, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford as Han Solo, and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, would appear, in their 60s or 70s (Lucas in 1983).
• In Episode IX, Hamill would cameo, "like Obi-Wan handing the lightsaber down to the next new hope" (according to Hamill, in 2004).

Lucas biographer Dale Pollock, who had read the original twelve stories written by Lucas, noted that the new episodes would involve character Luke Skywalker in his 30s or 40s. In an interview, Pollock stated that "the three most exciting stories were 7, 8 and 9. They had propulsive action, really interesting new worlds, new characters. I remember thinking, 'I want to see these 3 movies.'" Pollock expects the screenplays to follow the treatments written by Lucas.

Star Wars Thrawn Trilogy author Timothy Zahn had been briefed by Lucas on his plans for the various Star Wars trilogies during discussions of the Thrawn trilogy writing. After the Disney announcement, Zahn's trilogy had been speculated as the basis for the new trilogies, but Zahn stated that the Thrawn trilogy would fall into the gap between Episode VI and Episode VII. The third film trilogy would involve Luke's children, as each of the three trilogies would involve different generations of the Skywalkers. Zahn also discussed the speculation about any conflict between the films and the Expanded Universe, stating that the “The books were always just the books.” The Thrawn trilogy did introduce things that were used in later Star Wars books and the later Lucas Star Wars movies, such as the name of the planet Coruscant, indicating Lucas “has been keeping a close eye on what has been done”.