11 Ideas For The Star Wars Universe After ‘Rise of Skywalker’ ~ Digital Library

We’re not going to use this space to talk about the merits of Rise of Skywalker or lack thereof. The original Lucas nonology is finally complete, and Star Wars is now free of all epic narrative shackles to go in new and different directions.

We’ve already seen Disney try some bold experiments with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Solo: A Star Wars Story, so going forward there are lots of different genres and ideas that could be explored in the Star Wars universe. Here are eleven we came up with in a heated brainstorming session. If they end up using any of them, we expect to be paid enough to retire.

The First Blade

By the time of the prequel trilogy, lightsabers are a known weapon throughout the galaxy, wielded by Jedi and Sith on both sides of the Force in a variety of configurations. But where did they come from? In Star Wars canon, there’s something called the First Blade, the ancestor of all modern lightsaber technology. We’d love to see something that travels back to that era, at the beginning of the Jedi order, maybe even learning about its first bearer. Think something like Vikings, but with a sci-fi bent to it and you’ll get close to the idea.

Nature Documentary

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

Is the world ready for a non-narrative Star Wars movie? We think so. Beyond the often ungainly plots and awkward scripting, what makes people fall in love with George Lucas’ universe is the rich, dense world-building on display in every installment. From the instant we walked into the Mos Eisley Cantina with Luke and Obi-Wan, we were immersed in a constructed environment of incredible detail. So how about a faux-documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough that takes us to some of the franchise’s most notable planets to get closer with the native wildlife?

A Sith Story

The most compelling villains are the ones that perceive themselves to be heroes. As a franchise made primarily for the entertainment of children, the Star Wars movies have a pretty binary view of good and evil. But a gifted filmmaker could make something truly interesting with a simple shift in perspective. Surely not all the people behind the Empire or the Sith order are mustache-twirling caricatures blowing up planets for the fun of it, right? There has to be an angle where we go deeper into the mentality of the Dark Side to tease out what their endgame is, whether that be through a Sith lead character or someone else.

Lego Star Wars

Sure, this one would probably take some complex behind-the-scenes financial dealings to make happen, but let’s face it: LEGO Batman might be the best Batman movie of the last decade, and the brick-building mavens have done wonders with Star Wars in the video game and toy world. Giving Lego free reign to create a movie set in their universe but tweaking the Force to be more in tune with the builder’s hands could create a whole new entry into the franchise for kids who don’t appreciate the gravitas of the mainline films. Oh, and they’d sell a ton of toys, which is always important.

Star Trek

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

No, not a cross-over. Dig this idea: in all of the Star Wars movies, the galaxy and the alien races within it are a known commodity. There’s no discovery at this phase of the universe. So why not take a time jump way back to the early days of connection and exploration to fill in how all of these different cultures and biospheres came together in the first place? It’s the Star Trek model – a lone ship heads out on a voyage into the uncharted to gather information, make friends, and expand trade routes. Giving a new perspective on familiar worlds is a easy and fun way to flesh out a universe.

The Hundred Year Darkness

One of the most important periods in Jedi lore, the Hundred Year Darkness marks the first time that a Force user was tempted by the Dark Side. An unnamed Jedi warrior rebelled against the High Council, arguing that mastery of the Force required not passivity and contemplation, but bold action and strong emotion. The name of that rebellious Jedi has never been released, making this an incredibly cool untapped vein of history that the movies could delve into. We have no idea what prompted that shift after centuries of peace, but it would obviously lay the groundwork for everything that happens in the original series.

1313

We did a round-up on cancelled Star Wars games a little while back – you can read it here – and one of the concepts that was under development really stuck with us. 1313 was a single-player game that was set to star Boba Fett as he investigated a sprawling criminal conspiracy in the crowded underground districts of Coruscant. While Disney might want to swap Fett out for someone else (I hear there’s another Mandalorian in town), the idea of a dark, urban Star Wars story that really gets into the black market activities that flourish in wartime could be very compelling.

Force Experiments

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

I don’t think we’re alone in the belief that the Force is the least interesting part of the Star Wars universe. It often seems like a cop-out that’s used to resolve plot situations or tell us that certain characters are important. Although it seems like the Midichlorian theory that was popularized in the prequels has been discarded, the origin and spread of Force abilities is still uncertain. You have to think that unscrupulous scientists on the Empire side would have tried to find Force-sensitive kids like the Jedi did and experiment on them, right? It’s a cool, if dark, idea for a side story.

Doctor Aphra

Photo Credit: Marvel Comics

Some of the most fun Star Wars universe stuff happens in the pages of the comics, and they’ve also introduced one of the most compelling new characters to the universe in the form of Doctor Aphra. First seen in the Darth Vader series before spinning off to get her own book, Aphra is an intergalactic archaeologist with an extremely questionable moral code and a knack for getting herself and the people she loves into increasingly deadly situations. Accompanied by a duo of droids, she’s driven by her insatiable curiosity into pissing off and double-crossing some of the most dangerous people in the galaxy, which is a beautiful setup for a great story.

The Old Republic

We’ve seen this historical period in video games, but one of the most fascinating parts of Star Wars lore could support much more. During the Old Republic era, which began approximately 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin and A New Hope, a galactic government supported by the Jedi kept the peace in a much wilder, more fragmented universe. This was a time before planet-killing superweapons, where struggles for supremacy were more often contested on the ground in massive battles that pit army against army. Exploring that more primitive, rough-hewn side of the Star Wars universe would be very satisfying.

A Musical

Obviously we would save the best for last. We’ve had a couple of musical performances in Star Wars canon, and if you’re anything like us, you can sing the “Life Day” song at a moment’s notice. So why not just totally blow the doors off of believability and hire some maverick like Baz Luhrmann to lens a musical set in the Star Wars universe? These movies already tap into the crowd-pleasing sense of familiarity and spectacle that the best movie musicals do, and what better way to change what the world thinks about Star Wars than by doing something defiantly outside the box. Bonus points if they can get a Probe Droid to tap-dance.

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