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Star Wars: Like it or not, Episode IX might not be the last of the Skywalker series

By Jacob Chatfield

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Since its purchase of Lucasfilm, Disney has maintained that its Star Wars sequel trilogy would be just that—a trilogy. But don’t rule out Disney returning to the Skywalker series down the road.

Dread it. Run from it. Star Wars still arrives.

Each new Star Wars movie or series that is announced is met with questions of its necessity. Many fans would’ve been happy if The Return of the Jedi was the last we saw of that far, far away galaxy. Yet, we still haven’t gone more than a couple of decades without new Star Wars movies.

Disney does have plenty of content to work with beyond the Skywalker storyline, but we’re yet to see whether or not those stories will flourish on their own. The first two spinoffs, Rogue One and Solo, both had direct lines to the original trilogy. Rogue One’s plot is connected to the first Star Wars movie, while Solo is based on one of Luke Skywalker’s most trusted allies. Solo didn’t get the box office pull it’d have liked, but it still received praised from those who showed up. True standalone Star Wars movies, like what we expect of the trilogies Rian Johnson and the Game of Thrones creators, may not have the same success.

If that’s the case, Disney might circle back to the main series before too long.

Sequels to the sequel series?

It’s hard to get into what a second sequel series might look like before seeing how the current one will end. However, at the very least expect for Disney to leave the sequel series open for additional installments. Even if it’s not in movie-form, Disney isn’t likely to make its sequel heroes unavailable for cartoons, comics or books that would take place after Episode IX.

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But sequels to the sequels seems… ill-advised.

Of course, I don’t know how Episode IX will end so I can’t fairly say it’s an absolutely awful idea. However, for non-plot dependent reasons, it’s probably at the very least not a very good idea. That doesn’t mean Disney won’t do it for a cash grab ten years from now, they just probably shouldn’t. But there still is an interesting, and potentially controversial way for Disney to revisit the Skywalkers’ Star Wars.

Remaking the prequel trilogy

The excitement that swept the Star Wars fan base when The Phantom Menace was announced was something else. Fans always knew it was a possibility, but the reality of it was met with unprecedented excitement. But then the movie was bad. And Attack of the Clones didn’t do much to recharge fans’ excitement for the movies. Overall, the prequel trilogy’s legacy is much of what could have been.

Photo Credit: [Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith] Lucasfilm

Next: Star Wars fans can enjoy the Millennium Falcon Experience at SDCC

So what if it still could be? Star Wars doesn’t need to and shouldn’t return to the Skywalker series, but if they did, I’d be much more interested in this than more sequels. The core prequel trilogy story with writing, direction and production value of the sequel trilogy could end up being worthwhile.

Star Wars: Episode IX is currently planned to be the last movie of its saga. But if the going gets tough, don’t put it past Disney to come back for another hoorah.

The Last Jedi is currently streaming on Netflix.

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