Star Wars What would your sequel trilogy have been?

[Captain X]

So, I've been doing some thinking as far as how to approach the sequel trilogy had I been in charge of making it. The main obvious difference would be that I would have made a plan that encompassed all three as far as points they all had to hit in order to all fit together as one cohesive story. Beyond that, there are two main directions I would have gone.

1) First and foremost would have been to attempt an adaptation of the Thrawn Trilogy, perhaps with some elements of the Hand of Thrawn Duology. This would be a bit more complicated because it took place so soon after The Return of the Jedi, but I think it could have been reworked as a competent commander taking charge of an imperial remnant that was either quite large already, or gathering other factions to himself, and then largely played out as in the books.

2) The more I think of it, the more I think I could have worked with the basic elements of The Force Awakens but done more/better than what the actual movie and its sequels did. For example, I would have expanded on Rey, Finn, Poe, and Ren much more in the beginning than what was actually done. Also, I would not have done the stormtroopers as they were described, but rather had them as conscripts to better explain why Finn turned. I would have had Rey raised by a mentor figure who either died or had gone missing a short while before the movie to explain many of her skills, such as her ability to fix things and to fly at more than just a baseline competence. Or, I might have put her piloting skills as very basic and had her work to get better. I would have also done that with her fighting skills, to show that while she might be able to best some basic thug, she'd be outclassed by stormtroopers and Ren and have to train and work at getting better to face him. So basically the upshot here is that I could go either way as far as how I would have approached the sequels.

Which of those two ideas do you like better? Is there another direction you would have gone had you been in charge?

 

[Darth Robbhi]

It needs more character development.

One of the most appealing aspects of the Thrawn Trilogy is that Thrawn, Pellaeon, Karrde, etc are fully-fleshed out characters. Especially the Pellaeon-Thrawn dynamic, where the reader very much emphasizes with Pellaeon. He is as much a protagonist as he is antagonist.

Compare them to Hux, or Phasma. Even more than Rey or Finn, they are cardboard cutout bad guys. Especially Phasma. Or Snoke. Who is he, and why do we care? That's just flat out bad writing. At least with Hux, there is some attempt at a bro but competition and pseudohomoerotic tension between Hux and Ben Solo.

Of all the new characters, only Poe Damaron is really fleshed out, and even then that's rushed. The writers couldn't really decide who was the main protagonist in Force Awakens, Finn or Rey, just like they can't decide if Finn is supposed to bone Rey, Poe or Rose.

I almost prefer Rey as a savant, especially had they stuck with the intended she's a nobody line. Keep it. Have her adapt to the lightsaber as no different than her staff.

A lot of the Thrawn trilogy could have worked, just set later. Especially if lifespans are longer. Sure, they key bit about Leia being pregnant would need revision, but it could open major major character possibilities with Kylo being jealous of the newfound Jedi master and him not being super special any more.

 

[Captain X]

Huh, I was kind of expecting this thread to be the one that took off and the one over at the SF Debris forum to be the one that was dead, but it's actually turned out the other way around.

 

[Deleted member]

It’s just been a busy time. To be honest, I would just outright adapt Dark Empire. Rey could easily be worked into the plot and Ben Solo replaces Luke, who serves as a mysterious guide for Rey who takes Leia’s place in the force plot while Leia replaces the leadership of the New Republic.

 

[prinCZess]

I'd agree with an attempt at doing a suitably tweaked for actors-ages interpretation of the Thrawn Trilogy. Dark Empire would be my second choice...But both of those do have something of a cliche, expected nature to them, and going 'different' in the storyline has a certain level of appeal. Some creativity and imagination should be possible in Star Wars, right? And interpretations, no matter how adjusted or tweaked, lack a certain bit of that.

So, as a more haring-off idea...I think it'd be neat to have gone for another dynamic entirely from that the sequels trilogy ran with in its return to 'neo-Rebellion versus neo-Empire' as a supposed 'neo-Republic' exists in the background as a thing to be destroyed in the opening crawl. So, adjusting for that, since the prequels are a 'fall of the Republic via corruption' type of story, and the original trilogy a 'Revolution against unjust Empire by plucky rebels' story, make the sequels into a story about a 'Righteous Republic fighting extremist holdouts'. The Republic can be shown as flawed, and divided within itself (perhaps a more heroic style of Borsk Fey'lya showing up as an antagonist) as to how to proceed or what the best course of action was to face those holdouts (or convince them to surrender), but having the dynamic be a conventionally superior/advantaged Republic versus the Imperials who are willing to do whatever it takes or already have seems like it'd offer a new 'theme' overlay to explore in general.

Then you could perhaps pull some plots from the Legends timeline and adapt them--the big alien-focused disease I forget the name of, Ysanne Isard, Thrawn and/or Admiral Daala or expies of them as potential characters, maybe even the Hapan...You could jump forward in time a ways and have Luke's new generation of Jedi serving as actual neutral arbiters and thus conflicting with the Republic and any role Leia might play in it, as the new Republic and the Empire's leftovers that coalesced under someone struggle with each other.

 

[bullethead]

Here's my idea for the sequel trilogy:

TFA - Kinda the same. We get our introduction to the new guys, although with Poe planned out to be a main character from the start. Differences consist of
-Less Rey wank
-Han Solo & Chewie (who actually has aged) are hanging out on Jakku incognito because Han is looking for his son Ben, who disappeared years earlier when the First Order attacked Luke's Jedi academy and killed most of the people there
-The Resistance is instead called the Ghost Legion, as most of their ships are older units that officially have been struck from the New Republic rolls and scrapped for deniability
-Starkiller Base is instead a hollowed out asteroid where the First Order's main factories are
-The First Order destroys the New Republic capital by sending automated ships through hyperspace that emerge in orbit and bombard the planet with missiles
-Han dies when he encounters Kylo and discovers that its a brainwashed Ben, whose programming begins destabilizing

TLJ - rewrite the whole thing, but keeping the fleet on the run aspect.
-Keep Poe's attack on the dreadnought, but with less stupid BS and the majority of casualties coming from heavy TIE fighter screening of the ship
-Leia and Holdo are pissed at Poe not because he's reckless, but he's now the commander of the fleet air wing, and they can't afford to lose him or any more pilots until they can hook up with the now scattered and confused New Republic forces
-Leia, Holdo, and Poe form a plan once they realize the First Order can track them through hyperspace: Finn and Poe will take a team and split off from the fleet in the hopes of finding someone who knows anything about this tech or how to defeat it, while trying to contact Rey and Luke
-Luke is super annoyed that this rando has appeared, when he sent out that map with the intent that it'd arrive in Han or Leia's hands, so he could tell them what he's found
-Luke explains that when the First Order attacked his academy, he got knocked out while fighting a ton of dudes when the facilities point defenses blew up a fighter and its debris almost landed on him. By the time he woke up, the place was razed and the First Order was gone. Searching the ruins, he discovered that they took all the info he had on places with Force users and how to find them.
-Luke started traveling around to various Jedi and Sith sites, trying to figure out if there was some clue to unravel the First Order's plan. He agrees to train Rey, while mentioning things he discovered in his travels, including the writings of someone named Kreia.
-Finn and Poe discover that there is someone who can help them, but this person is on the run and being hunted by the Knights of Ren. Finn and Poe rescue the person who designed the tracker, who was hired by a shell company for the First Order, but losing many of their team in the process.
-Holdo receives a message from a New Republic politician who managed to survive the destruction of the capital and has rallied a small fleet. They agree to rendezvous, but not until the tracker is found and destroyed.
-Rey and Luke link up with Finn and Poe, catching New Republic reports on a major attack on Dathomir that seems to aim at rendering the planet lifeless. Luke deduces that the FO considers Force users to be a threat, but beyond that, he's clueless.
-Everybody gets together, and the scientist explains they can't turn off the hyperspace trackers due to anti-tamper gear they don't have the tools to crack, but they can be moved. The trackers are shoved into a hyperspace capable shuttle that's programed with a randomized course, then launched when they next drop out of hyperspace.
-Having lost the FO tail, Holdo arranges to met the NR politician's fleet. Luke and Leia catch up with each other, with Luke learning that Ben is alive and fighting for the FO. He proposes a rescue mission, but Leia says to wait until they meet with the fleet.
-The fleets meet up with each other, and at first, everything seems fine, but then the FO fleet drops in and attacks the Ghost Legion, while the NR fleet joins in. Holdo fights to the last, covering the escape of the fleet, while Luke, Leia, Rey, Finn, and Poe fight their way aboard the Supremacy with as many soldiers they can get to rescue Ben and damage the ship from the inside.
-Rey, Luke, and Leia find themselves in Snoke's throne room because he hijacks an elevator they're riding in. They're surrounded by his guards and Kylo, who talks shit at them and spouts that "Destroy the past" line. Luke just ignores him and asks Snoke what the hell is up.
-Snoke explains that he was one of Palpatine's disciples and was so loyal, he got put in charge of the First Order and got Palpatine's archives of dark side info. While exploring that stuff, he stumbled upon the writings of Kreia, and realized that the galaxy is trapped in a cycle of war due to the conflict between the Light and Dark side. So he intends to end the cycle by destroying the Force, convincing even people in the New Republic to support him.
-Luke and Leia think this is insane, and tell him so. Snoke goes, "Well, then you have to die" and tells Kylo to do it. Rey steps in and fights Kylo, who's losing his shit, to the point that he flips out and starts killing Snoke's guards and fighting everyone.
-Snoke peaces the fuck out, telling his dudes to kill them all. Leia takes a mortal wound while defending Ben, who's so fucked up at the end that they have to drag him out of the room. They reconnect with the survivors of Finn and Poe's group, who's been planting bombs and sabotaging systems as best they can, then escape as the bombs go off.
-Leia and Ben have a moment before she dies, which helps snap him out what little remains of the brainwashing. Poe receives a message from Admiral Ackbar for all Ghost Legion and New Republic forces to rally in a new location. As they head there, Luke tells Ben and Rey that the only way to defeat Snoke is to move past the ideas of Jedi and Sith and create a new kind of Force user.

Last movie (may not have the same title) - not really sure where to go with this, so here's some ideas:
-Luke provides Rey and Ben with info and training to help them figure out what new Force philosophy could be.
-Ackbar asks Lando to go around recruiting people who think the New Republic has betrayed them (may help if in the last movie, a droid records Snoke saying he's got peeps in the NR)
-Snoke reveals some MacGuffin to his generals that he says can destroy the Force throughout the galaxy. Some of them aren't entirely sold on the idea that it'll only destroy the Force.
-Ackbar and Lando lead a huge fleet on a strike on the First Order homeworld, with the FO generals on the fence turning on Snoke when he powers his weapon up, before he has even tested it.
-Luke, Rey, and Ben fight Snoke, with Luke sacrificing himself to help turn the tide of the battle.
-Dunno if the way to end it is to have them stop Snoke, or to fail to stop Snoke without killing Rey and Ben (and by extension, all the other Force users/sensitives in the galaxy). If you go with the latter, this allows for a sequel called The Force Returns, but it may not be worth it for the PR hit.

 

[Emperor Tippy]

First up, I would reshoot the original trilogy using modern CGI and new actors.

You know, going in, the story and that you already have all six movies (the OT and the Sequels), plus tie in tv shows, already contracted/funded.

You also know that those movies are all going to be blockbuster successes. More importantly, it lets you use a cast that isn't thirty plus years older than the originals.

I would have made the sequels pretty much a direct sequel. Bring in Mara Jade as Luke's love interest (into her in the first movie as a baddy, have her turn in the second, have the third end with her and Luke getting married/her giving birth).

For the baddies, I would actually be inclined to go with a Palpatine clone. Have Leia take a political role, with some tension with Han as the smuggler is forced into being the First Man of the galaxy, and the competing interests of trying to rebuild the Republic at the same time as reforming it into something not shit. Have a number of Imperial Remnant warlords.

Perhaps start the first movie with an assassination attempt on Leia, maybe involving the kidnapping of her and Hans son. Luke goes to rescue his nephew and ends the movie with the knowledge that someone is orchestrating the Imperial Remnants. Perhaps he manages to rescue his nephew but gets captured and Palpatine attempts to turn him. Lots of political tension for Leia as Luke is seen to have betrayed the New Republic and nominally unifying the Imperials under him as Vader's son.

Have the movie end with a climatic space battle where it turns out that Luke never really fell and has orchestrated the whole thing to wipe out the Imperial's heavy forces. The third movie is Luke and Mara hunting down Palpatine to make sure that he is properly dead while Leia and Han act on Luke's information to lead the Republic fleet in decisively defeating the Imperials.

Have it end on a high note with the Jedi being reborn under Luke, the New Republic having become a revitalized galactic government ruling over a relatively stable and secure galaxy, and Han having matured via fatherhood/life experiences into a more stable individual.

 

[Floridaman]

Here's my idea for the sequel trilogy:

TFA - Kinda the same. We get our introduction to the new guys, although with Poe planned out to be a main character from the start. Differences consist of
-Less Rey wank
-Han Solo & Chewie (who actually has aged) are hanging out on Jakku incognito because Han is looking for his son Ben, who disappeared years earlier when the First Order attacked Luke's Jedi academy and killed most of the people there
-The Resistance is instead called the Ghost Legion, as most of their ships are older units that officially have been struck from the New Republic rolls and scrapped for deniability
-Starkiller Base is instead a hollowed out asteroid where the First Order's main factories are
-The First Order destroys the New Republic capital by sending automated ships through hyperspace that emerge in orbit and bombard the planet with missiles
-Han dies when he encounters Kylo and discovers that its a brainwashed Ben, whose programming begins destabilizing

TLJ - rewrite the whole thing, but keeping the fleet on the run aspect.
-Keep Poe's attack on the dreadnought, but with less stupid BS and the majority of casualties coming from heavy TIE fighter screening of the ship
-Leia and Holdo are pissed at Poe not because he's reckless, but he's now the commander of the fleet air wing, and they can't afford to lose him or any more pilots until they can hook up with the now scattered and confused New Republic forces
-Leia, Holdo, and Poe form a plan once they realize the First Order can track them through hyperspace: Finn and Poe will take a team and split off from the fleet in the hopes of finding someone who knows anything about this tech or how to defeat it, while trying to contact Rey and Luke
-Luke is super annoyed that this rando has appeared, when he sent out that map with the intent that it'd arrive in Han or Leia's hands, so he could tell them what he's found
-Luke explains that when the First Order attacked his academy, he got knocked out while fighting a ton of dudes when the facilities point defenses blew up a fighter and its debris almost landed on him. By the time he woke up, the place was razed and the First Order was gone. Searching the ruins, he discovered that they took all the info he had on places with Force users and how to find them.
-Luke started traveling around to various Jedi and Sith sites, trying to figure out if there was some clue to unravel the First Order's plan. He agrees to train Rey, while mentioning things he discovered in his travels, including the writings of someone named Kreia.
-Finn and Poe discover that there is someone who can help them, but this person is on the run and being hunted by the Knights of Ren. Finn and Poe rescue the person who designed the tracker, who was hired by a shell company for the First Order, but losing many of their team in the process.
-Holdo receives a message from a New Republic politician who managed to survive the destruction of the capital and has rallied a small fleet. They agree to rendezvous, but not until the tracker is found and destroyed.
-Rey and Luke link up with Finn and Poe, catching New Republic reports on a major attack on Dathomir that seems to aim at rendering the planet lifeless. Luke deduces that the FO considers Force users to be a threat, but beyond that, he's clueless.
-Everybody gets together, and the scientist explains they can't turn off the hyperspace trackers due to anti-tamper gear they don't have the tools to crack, but they can be moved. The trackers are shoved into a hyperspace capable shuttle that's programed with a randomized course, then launched when they next drop out of hyperspace.
-Having lost the FO tail, Holdo arranges to met the NR politician's fleet. Luke and Leia catch up with each other, with Luke learning that Ben is alive and fighting for the FO. He proposes a rescue mission, but Leia says to wait until they meet with the fleet.
-The fleets meet up with each other, and at first, everything seems fine, but then the FO fleet drops in and attacks the Ghost Legion, while the NR fleet joins in. Holdo fights to the last, covering the escape of the fleet, while Luke, Leia, Rey, Finn, and Poe fight their way aboard the Supremacy with as many soldiers they can get to rescue Ben and damage the ship from the inside.
-Rey, Luke, and Leia find themselves in Snoke's throne room because he hijacks an elevator they're riding in. They're surrounded by his guards and Kylo, who talks shit at them and spouts that "Destroy the past" line. Luke just ignores him and asks Snoke what the hell is up.
-Snoke explains that he was one of Palpatine's disciples and was so loyal, he got put in charge of the First Order and got Palpatine's archives of dark side info. While exploring that stuff, he stumbled upon the writings of Kreia, and realized that the galaxy is trapped in a cycle of war due to the conflict between the Light and Dark side. So he intends to end the cycle by destroying the Force, convincing even people in the New Republic to support him.
-Luke and Leia think this is insane, and tell him so. Snoke goes, "Well, then you have to die" and tells Kylo to do it. Rey steps in and fights Kylo, who's losing his shit, to the point that he flips out and starts killing Snoke's guards and fighting everyone.
-Snoke peaces the fuck out, telling his dudes to kill them all. Leia takes a mortal wound while defending Ben, who's so fucked up at the end that they have to drag him out of the room. They reconnect with the survivors of Finn and Poe's group, who's been planting bombs and sabotaging systems as best they can, then escape as the bombs go off.
-Leia and Ben have a moment before she dies, which helps snap him out what little remains of the brainwashing. Poe receives a message from Admiral Ackbar for all Ghost Legion and New Republic forces to rally in a new location. As they head there, Luke tells Ben and Rey that the only way to defeat Snoke is to move past the ideas of Jedi and Sith and create a new kind of Force user.

Last movie (may not have the same title) - not really sure where to go with this, so here's some ideas:
-Luke provides Rey and Ben with info and training to help them figure out what new Force philosophy could be.
-Ackbar asks Lando to go around recruiting people who think the New Republic has betrayed them (may help if in the last movie, a droid records Snoke saying he's got peeps in the NR)
-Snoke reveals some MacGuffin to his generals that he says can destroy the Force throughout the galaxy. Some of them aren't entirely sold on the idea that it'll only destroy the Force.
-Ackbar and Lando lead a huge fleet on a strike on the First Order homeworld, with the FO generals on the fence turning on Snoke when he powers his weapon up, before he has even tested it.
-Luke, Rey, and Ben fight Snoke, with Luke sacrificing himself to help turn the tide of the battle.
-Dunno if the way to end it is to have them stop Snoke, or to fail to stop Snoke without killing Rey and Ben (and by extension, all the other Force users/sensitives in the galaxy). If you go with the latter, this allows for a sequel called The Force Returns, but it may not be worth it for the PR hit.

I like it, that would have actually been a good story unlike what we got.

 

[Bear Ribs]

1: Build a massive salt-powered device for world conquest.
2: Announce that Uwe Boll will be directing the sequel trilogy.
3: Profit. No space required.

Okay more seriously.

The first step is determining what can be legally done via rights. I suspect at least some characters are tied up via the years of various publishers making Star Wars media and having a piece of the copyright. Imma just assume I have them all though for this thought exercise.

Second step is visuals. The rules will be: Only 1 X-Wing (Lukes). The Millennium Falcon stays. We can keep a few of the iconic capital ships like the Nebulon-B Frigate, a Star Destroyer or 2, and Mon Cal Cruiser. Everything else is original new designs, though I'm not afraid of drawing inspiration from other parts of Star Wars. The important fighters, "main character" ships, and everything that isn't basically owned by a legacy character will be new, iconic designs to the new movies, much as we saw new iconic ships in the prequels. Luke, Han, Ackbar, and the like get to bring their ships along because those are a part of their character. Leia would get something new, though, because a ship isn't a part of who she is.

Decide on our Iconic Planets at this stage. My general thoughts:

Desert planet is overdone though I'll admit I loved the visual of the crashed Star Destroyer in The Force Awakens. Instead come up with some original visuals. Desert planet can be visited but frankly we've already hit

Ocean planet doesn't offer enough options visually. I don't think it would rip off Kamino or that it's overdone, I just think it'd take too much of a stretcher to come up with action scenes that are all water based. So while a water planet visit might happen, it won't be a major world.

Forest planet was done in one movie so there's room for another, especially if we can get something different from conifers. Look into visiting somewhere like Tennessee during the fall when the leaves are striking reds and golds to get good visuals.

Mushroom planet hasn't been done much. I'm thinking straight up mold-forest planet with psychadelic glowing 'shrooms everywhere. Provided an effort at avoiding the Mushroom Kingdom is made, the mold forest can provide an exciting, 3D environment with heroes having fights amidst giant mushrooms, action scenes jumping off colossal fungus, and mushrooms that explode because of course they do.

The vertical city could be another good iconic location. Something where the entire civilization is build into the side of a Grand Canyon sized pit with heroic speeder chases and chase scenes both across the cliff faces and into massive tunnels dug into the wall. Throwaway line to explain why, perhaps the planet has horrific storms so the canyons provide civilization with shelter.

Corrupt Casino world can stay. It's a good concept even if it was wasn't used to it's full potential before.

Crystal planet's another potential winner. Christophsis was a bit overused in the Clone Wars cartoon, mostly due (I think) to the anachronic order of the episodes making it seem like they attacked Christophsis about 627 times. However visually it's good and a callback to the Clone Wars wouldn't hurt.

Next is our Iconic characters.

Now honestly I don't think the characters in the sequels were bad. I think the biggest flaw of both the prequels and the sequels was that they lacked Han Solo. I don't mean him literally of course, but rather there's no lovable rogue as a main character in either one. Hondo actually managed to be this in Rebels though he was always a bit too malevolent, he was more magnificent than lovable.

Daisy Ridley did a good job with what she was given but she's entirely the wrong actress for the character she played. Rey should be lowbrow, dirty, unkempt, an almost-literally dirt poor scavenger. Daisy Ridley is clean, precise, mannered, and cultured. Recast her as our rogue. No really, she's the scoundrel. She's now Rey Solo, daughter of Leia and Han solo. She was born without the slightest trace of force potential to the bitter disappointment of her uncle, mother, and the Republic that's counting on as many Jedi as it can get to keep the peace.

Rey was raised with a silver spoon in her mouth but estranged from her mother over being constantly compared to her brother Ben who is a force prodigy. She eventually broke with the family and became a bounty hunter, which she's terrible at. She's constantly insisting that she looks out only for number one while unable to resist helping the downtrodden. Think Rick from Casablanca with boobs and a gunship instead of a casino. Cultured, urbane, sophisticated, and insists sticks out her neck for nobody though it's remarkable how when the chips are down, she always happens to choose to shoot the Nazis/fascists even when they'd pay more.

Her father is now a retired general and successful shipping magnate who constantly complains that he should never have gotten more than one ship. He doesn't care about that force nonsense anyway, so he is closest to her and made sure to use his Republic contacts and some of his own cash to get her the best equipment money can buy (off the books of course). She's got awesome armor, a fast ship, and more gadgets than Batman at her disposal. She is actually badass normal enough that with a little luck she can fight a Jedi and have a reasonable chance of winning. She's respected among bounty hunters for her skills but loses points for the fact that she keeps letting sympathetic bounties go. The only thing she wants that he wouldn't give her is the Millennium Falcon, because it's his ship.
She's also close to her brother Ben, who she feels supplanted her in Leia and Luke's hearts, bit Ben himself is a good kid she she's got that strange love-hate feeling most siblings have when rivalry goes too far.

The theme of the first movie will be about home and where you find it. Rey finds hers in space like her dad did. A fast ship, a full belly, and she's happy.

The story starts after the iconic crawl with Rey's fighter in a battle against half a dozen ships that absolutely don't look like TIE fighters but some original design. She wipes the floor with them, taking serious damage along the way and is forced to crash land. Then she just basically phones home for a tow and it works.

She's got a line on Snoke, the madman Sith wannabe who's be challenging Luke's teachings. He's apparently got his own students in a dark mirror to Luke's academy. The first act will be an odd-man couple as she's forced to work with Ben Solo, teeth-clenched all the way while trying to find Snoke and uncover his crimes. Which is a problem since Snoke claims he's not a sith but a worshipper of the dark side and uses a loophole in the Republic constitution guaranteeing religious freedom to protect himself. Where the Jedi failed to find a crime, Han thinks his girl might pull it off and has given her a bounty to find dirt on Snoke.

Kylo Ren is probably the best thing in the sequels so keep him as is, just do a little more showing and less telling. His fall is tragic and should be part of the first movie, in which he starts out on the side of heroes and is lured away at the climax. Show him guiltily hiding his Vader fetish. Show him having temper tantrums while Luke sagely tells him anger is of the dark side and let go, with no appreciable results because that's not what he needs and Luke really doesn't understand him. Ben sees true, major injustices happening every day and he can't do anything about it because he has to respect the law (that says the rich get away with every thing), that violence is not the Jedi way (Ben points out Luke's hypocrisy by asking how he planned to deal with the emperor on the death star. Towards the end of the movie have him choose to join Snoke willingly. Really show that he's torn between staying with his family or following this new teacher who, it seems understands him.

The actual climax will come with the other Jedi coming to stop Snoke, who has every legal right to worship as he wishes and is smugly immune to charges, his beliefs are protected rights and he's no kidnapping but allowing Kylo to make his own decision. He's also deliberately riling the Jedi up and has recording droids ready to see them snap and publish his smear piece. Perhaps have an earlier quite conversation where he notes that he'll never actually get Ben Solo but if he can get some angry jedi to break the law on camera it would be a huge coup.

Into this seething mess of rage and hate, where even the Jedi and running on anger and rage, the first couple of Jedi draw their lightsabers and advance on Ben and Snoke. Snoke insists he's unarmed while Kylo locks swords with the two Jedi. And just as blood was about to be spilled, we get a low angle of two boots striding up to them, Iconic rebel uniform boots.

"Put those down." Luke commands and every lightsaber goes off like a like. The Jedi look a little ashamed as look glowers at them before giving Ben a more heartfelt smile.
"You're sure you want to do this?" he asks, and Ben's practically spazzing out here, twitchy and has to restart his sentence three times because he's so conflicted (and a little scared) but Luke puts a comforting hand on Ben's shoulder, and tells him to remember that he loves him, he'll always be Ben's uncle, and he'll always be there for him, even if he makes mistakes. Snoke counters with how these weak words only draw Ben's strength away and he'll show him true power that Luke is afraid of, something better than mere hugs.

Newly minted Kylo Ren puts on the mask for the first time and goes with Snoke, though he looks back at the last second, and Luke reminds him that whatever happens, he has a place to come back to. Snoke sneers and the ship leaves.

Luke sags a bit and walks past his disciples, who ask why he didn't stop Ben. He tells them, looking strong and wise, that it was Ben's decision to go and they had to respect that. Then he decides he's going to go flying and climbs into his X-Wing. Once's he's sealed in the cockpit, he breaks down and cries.

Man, that ran way longer than I planned, and I'm tired now and it's getting disjointed, maybe write more tomorrow.

 

[LordSunhawk]

I wouldn't have done a 'sequel' at all, instead I'd have done a movie trilogy of Knights of the Old Republic.

First movie would chronicle the prequel events to the game, ending with the jedi strike team capturing Revan.

Second movie would be a movie treatment of KOTOR 1 up to the point of Revan learning their identity.

Third movie would be the rest of KOTOR 1

 

[Spartan303]

My focus wo have been on a Magnificent 7 and the growth of a New Jedi Order during the Vong invasion. The story would have strongly been Legends compliant.

 

[Captain X]

Bear Ribs, you put way more thought into that than the actual powers that be ever did on their movies.

I suppose that brings up an interesting question to ask the crowd - would it be better to show Ben Solo's fall, or to have had him go missing some time prior to the first movie and show up already turned, to the shock and horror of all who knew him? I think both ideas have potential.

 

[Bacle]

I would simply throw all the money used to make the sequels behind The Mandalorian, and actually give the long-time fans what they wanted.

 

[Spartan303]

The bitch of it is, Disney Could Easily fix the mess they made with Star Wars. Just declare the 'Canon universe' different from Legends and make Legends it's own category.

 

[DarthOne]

Huh, I was kind of expecting this thread to be the one that took off and the one over at the SF Debris forum to be the one that was dead, but it's actually turned out the other way around.

SfDevris has a FORUM?!?

 

[Captain X]

Yeah, for a while now.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Cribbed from my earlier thread but this would've been my rough idea for a sequel trilogy.

Sequel Trilogy: I'd probably base it off of the Thrawn Trilogy, but like with say ST: DS9, the weakest part of the Thrawn trilogy was the lack of a strong mystical element or in this case a foil in regards to the Dark Jedi. Jorus C'boath had some moments but it never really came out. I'd probably keep the idea of Thrawn marshalling resources but perhaps instead of Wayland and the Katana Fleet, there can be intimations of tucked away Imperial resources in something suitably epic in Star Wars like the Deep Core or the Maw Installation and he can encounter the Dark Jedi. Thrawn never seemed to have a high opinion of Force Users... more seeing the Force as another highly effective weapon to utilize and didn't seem to care much for the underlying philosophy which hamstrung the Jedi in his humble opinion. So in that case I wouldn't see him dealing with Jerec all that well but would want to utilize his abilities (and vice versa of course).

Luke Skywalker meanwhile would be trying to create his New Jedi Order but would be struggling with that and his obligations to helping form the New Republic as well. Jerec would make an interesting foil because according to Legends he was an archivist/archaeologist and thus would have a great deal of knowledge of the old Jedi Order and its traditions. He could use his apprentice, Sariss, who was quite the perfectionist and intelligent herself as an infiltrator into the New Jedi Order's training and she could lead Luke Skywalker, who is intrigued by her knowledge of Jedi practices, into some sort of trap.

So while Thrawn is doing his stuff, Jerec is doing his manipulations as well. Jerec could either try and present himself as a 'Jedi Master' in an attempt to corrupt or subvert Luke Skywalker... or come right out as a Sith. Regardless we could have a climax similar to what was in the Thrawn trilogy. I'd envision Sariss actually betraying Jerec or abandoning him (Luke thus defeating Jerec) since Sariss' personality is far more in line with Thrawn's and she figures the two of them would make a great pair in conquering the galaxy. But of course her future plans are derailed when Thrawn gets killed in the Battle of Bilbringi.

Another complication though would be that Star Wars Rebels tends to complicate things... in regards to Thrawn and what happened to him... and his relationship with the Noghri.

 

[Captain X]

I kind of feel like going back to this again, because I have a mix of ideas in my head from different sources, and I'm kind of curious what people think of them.

In truth, I'd kind of like to go back to the prequels and rework them, but I'm going to stick to the sequels for now.

Plot:

It would theoretically be possible to do something along the lines of the Thrawn trilogy, which could include Thrawn himself leading an Imperial remnant based somewhat on the Empire of the Hand. I guess it kind of depends on whether one wants this remnant to be closer to what the Empire was, which would include a dark force user and thus include a C'baoth-like figure, or not. Also depends on whether one would want to set things up for the Yuuzhan Vong or not. The rest of the plot would kind of depend on how the characters end up being, but I would use this trilogy as something of a passing of the torch. The only things that are for certain are the timing, due to the actors' ages, that Luke would not be in exile (I might even include Mara Jade and children), and that Han would still die by the end of the first movie because I know Harrison Ford would never agree to be in it otherwise.

There would be no "Resistance" - it would be the New Republic, largely as depicted in the EU books.

Characters:
I'll use the same names as the actual sequels just because.

Rey
There are actually a couple of concepts I've seen that I kind of like for this character. One is that she's the daughter of Han and Leia, and that she took a lot after her dad. She's not Force sensitive, and so she kind of got neglected because her force-sensitive sibling(s) got all the attention. So she ended up rather ironically taking on the rogue-like personality through rebelling against her parents and uncle. So she's more of an anti-hero, and so at the time the movies take place, her parents are kind of trying to make up for it by helping her out financially (or at least trying to), and trying to build a relationship with her. Unfortunately, there's now drama with Ben, because he is either falling to the dark side, or has already done so and disappeared. Rey could then end up getting involved through trying to locate him and bring him back.

Alternatively, I like the idea of basing her more on what we actually got, except that I'd give her a mentor figure, who taught her all the technical information, how to fight and stand up for herself (perhaps the relationship started out of sympathy following Rey getting beaten up at a young age). The key difference here is that she's really good with unarmed combat, but not so good with weapons, which is okay with her, because for as horrible as others have been to her, she has a strong sense against killing others. This is mainly to set her up as being essentially the opposite of how Luke was during the OT, which is to say that where he struggled to move objects and tended to rely on his blaster and lightsaber, she would be able to move things pretty easily. This would actually have made itself known fairly early on, and neither she nor her mentor would know what to make of it, so it would be more of an annoyance for them, and something to hide, as the locals would be superstitious. Anyway, at some point, the mentor ends up being taken, and this ends up being Rey's call to adventure as she tries to get them back. Through this journey, she comes to meet one of the main OT characters.

Finn
There are a couple different ideas with this character that I like about, too. One is a bit closer too what he was in the ST, the main differences being that he, like most of the other stormtroopers, was conscripted from one of the planets under the control of the Imperial remnant, rather than the idea of him being idea of him having been kidnapped as a child and all that. He'd also be more sympathetic to the other conscripts, with his hatred being more reserved for the officers and NCOs like Phasma. So the guy who dies in the beginning would be like his bestie or maybe even his brother, which is what forces his decision to leave, with Poe's capture being his opportunity to get out of there. I think I'd keep him being initially reluctant to defecting to the NR, but coming around to the idea of it out of his sympathy for the various conscripts serving the IR, with his arc working toward causing a rebellion within the Imperial ranks.

Alternatively, it might have been interesting to have him be an ace fighter pilot who has become disillusioned with the Empire and wants out. Him freeing Poe would actually be out of sympathy on his part, though, again, he isn't looking to join the NR at first, he's just letting Poe go before trying to make a life for himself in a quiet part of the galaxy, but getting talked into actually actively fighting against the IR. The idea of him as a fighter jock is somewhat appealing because of the dynamic it could create with Poe, as well as giving him a higher position as an officer, who could help more with more information to help foil the IR fleet through decoding, coming up with counter tactics, infiltration, etc. He could still have something of a foil in Phasma, though in this version she would be a higher ranking officer (and we'd actually get to see what she looks like).

Poe
Poe was pretty good as he was, IMO, so I would have kept him largely the same.

That's about all I have right now. Thoughts?

 

[Captain X]

The bitch of it is, Disney Could Easily fix the mess they made with Star Wars. Just declare the 'Canon universe' different from Legends and make Legends it's own category.

They won't though, because it's more about making political propaganda than it is about anything to do with entertainment or even making money, really.

SfDevris has a FORUM?!?

I wouldn't even bother going there now, not even to discuss the actual reviews - not worth it to put up with all the SJWs that infest the place.

 

[UltimatePaladin]

I had some other thoughts - Finn sorta stood out from the rest of the Stormtroopers. Part of that was deliberate, but I would have liked him to see him start out and then diverge from the role (i.e, start out as a mostly emotionless enforcer, before becoming less so.)

Would have also had Poe, Finn, and Rey act more like a trio throughout the story. If we were going off the original film, instead of Finn going off on his own after crashing, Poe is there with him. When they meet up with Rey, the three end up working together to escape the pursuing TIEs - Poe flies the ship, Finn mans the guns, and Rey is fixing and turning on systems (like the shields) that had fallen into disarray. Basically, demonstrating their individual skills and talents.