To many, the news of Episode VII came as a surprise. The Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm element of the news was a shocker for certain but after we’d all had time to let the dust settle, we began to realise this wasn’t the biggest surprise in the world. In fact, the sequel trilogy has been with us – at least in spirit – since the very beginning.
The recent Bloomberg article detailing the the current road to the new Star Wars films already informs us of a much longer history in regards to Episode VII’s planning but it goes back much further than that. Star Wars kids of the 80s will remember all the talk of “there’s actually nine episodes” in playgrounds. Pre- internet, this message of more Star Wars still managed to reach even the youngest of Star Wars fans and even as late as 1999 when the prequels arrived, there was talk of these infamous sequels, despite the fact Lucas said he wouldn’t make any more Star Wars after Episode III wrapped up.
Of course as soon as the sequels were announced via the new Disney / Lucasfilm press release, Lucas made sure to inform us that he wasn’t lying to us for all this time because “He” indeed would not be making more Star Wars films at all. Once again what Lucas told us was true “from a certain point of view” but even with the future intentions for Star Wars now laid out , what do we know of Episodes VII to IX? Lucas has changed his story, feelings and approach to the on again / off again sequels for nearly four decades it seems.
The prospect of a sequel trilogy is not a new thing and in this article we’ll take glimpses at just how long it’s been in the planning, even if its path to creation has been a rocky one. Behold, the 8 stages of early development for Episodes VII – IX…
8. The Beginning…
Long story short, around 1975 George Lucas first realised the Star Wars story he was writing was bigger than a single movie. The concept of splitting the story into three distinct trilogies covering three generations of the Skywalker family was toyed with. Of course when the original Star Wars was a global hit of unforeseen magnitude the studio wanted more stories. Lucas pulled his first master trick that got us thinking about the future and indeed the past of Star Wars an renamed the first instalment of his hit movie Episode IV A New Hope.
Episode IV? That means this is the fourth episode! Where’s Episodes I-III? And how many Episodes are there? This was a genius move in the history of movie franchises really and one that’s never been replicated, despite the huge appeal for prequels since Star Wars pulled its first comeback in 1999. Of course the concept of ‘episodes’ spawned from Lucas’s love of the Flash Gordon serials and the notion that fans do not always come into the things they love from the beginning. The intrigue about what happened pre-Episode IV was a hot topic for a further twenty odd years and enough to generate conversation, speculation and even fan fiction when it came to the nature of what came before.
Of course, Episodes IV to VI tell us what came before in general terms and now the prequel Episodes I-III have filled in the rest of the blanks but when it comes to VII to IX, we are again in a world of speculation… or are we?
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28 Comments
For me, I wouldve like the story to go abit like Jedi Academy game. But I will wait and see
Who cares?? Lucas killed his franchise with the three prequels (no matter what you may think they sucked major league ass)and Disney are in the business of selling toys for a living. To paraphrase Lucas from your article, there is no story to tell!! I definitely do not want to see a 70yr old Harrison Ford/Mark Hamill/Carrie Fisher back.
“no matter what you may think they sucked major league ass”
By that same logic I could say to you that no matter what YOU may think they were good movies. Stating opinion as fact irks me.
I think there’s plenty of scope for Luke but not so much Han and Leia. But hey, I love the characters enough to look forward to seeing them again.
Why are people so preoccupied with saying Lucas is a ‘sellout’ all the time? What’s up with making money out of a franchise he’s created?? Same happened with Zuckerberg, Gates, Branson etc. Nobody knows yet where the next trilogy is gonna go, he’s done the right thing and given up the Directorial duties, and letting someone with fresh ideas take up the reins. A change is as good as a rest, and as long as they learn from the mistakes they made with the prequels, then the next 3 films could be a great thing. Have decent storylines, don’t overly rely on CGI and develop characters we give a damn about. And bring some serious bad ass Sith Lords again, we need more Mauls!
Plus if no one wanted to buy it, that avenue would have died a long time ago. Same goes for Disney. If no one actually cared they wouldn’t cough up the cash. They just so happen to be playing in a sandbox that appeal to a mass market who like collecting stuff.
Sure, some consider the Lucas approach to only care about toy sales but if it was as vacuous as many shout about, Star Wars would have died years ago. Lucas can’t win. If he has grown up stuff like politics (god forbid) and brooding, people went crazy, if he went kiddy he got the same thing.
At the end of the day, there’s a ton of stuff out there that play this same game but the market sees through it and merchandise dies on its ass.
Bringing another trilogy based after the Return Of The Jedi, is a no go!!! Darth Sideous is dead, Darth Vader is dead. We know that Darth Sideous only has one apprentice. If he finds another who is more powerful he gets him to kill his apprentice. Therefore the way it ended in Return of the jedi means the dark side of the force was wiped out. Master’s and apprentices are all dead therefore who is going to be the villain?? it just wouldn’t work.
the only way you can bring a star wars film back, is by going back in time before the prequel trilogy(episode 1,2,3). Reason why i find this more appealing is because of the interesting plots that are left unanswered by the prequels.
first off is how and why darth sideous killed his master. how did darth sideous gain power of the dark side. why did he elude the jedi council for so long. Then their’s Yoda how did he become an jedi master, how did he come by the knowledge of the force. also maybe Qui Gon Jin seeing him as an apprentice. Their are so many things you could do by going back in time. please take it under consideration Disney.
But they’ve already said the next trilogy will be after Return so it’s a moot point. Besides, the Jedi could rise again, and anyone of them could turn to the Darkside. It’s always inherant that a Jedi Master could have an Apprentice and the lure of untold power could turn that Apprentice bad, same as it’s there in Humanity!
Exactly. Doing a sequel gives us the chance to see the re-birth of the Jedi, the re-birth of the Sith (potentially from within the Jedi order as Max Rockatansky said) and set up a playing field for tons of new Star War based stuff without having to eventually tie back into Eps I-III. This new era of Star Wars is one that should be informed by the existing Saga but not really have to answer to it in regards to what directions it takes. Same goes for feeling the need to tie into EU stuff. The only way for this new trilogy to really thrive is to do its own thing and not feel the need to adapt existing stories. People would just moan if it tampered with elements of EU anyway, best just to avoid it.
If there’s a re-birth of the Sith it undermines the point of Anakin Skywalker and the story of the original six movies. They should come up with a villain who isn’t a dark side Force user. Presumably they’ll want lightsabre duels in these new movies but that doesn’t mean the villain has to be a Force user. Grievous wasn’t. I agree though that they shouldn’t adapt existing EU stories. No disrespect to the EU but as this article points out Lucas himself has said it wasn’t the direction story wise he would have gone in. Plus, adapting existing stories means we’ll know how it’s going to end before it begins.
Dave, I’m not sure the return of the Sith would undermine anything. Not given the 30 year gap. Things change and if they give us the origins of a Sith and the fall from the light in a fresh new way, we’re going to have a villian with personailty. If it comes from within the Jedi, again it makes it personal to the story. I’d prefer this to some generic General or army. Don’t get me wrong I love Grievous but he’s really only there to keep Obi-Wan occupied so Anakin be turned to the darkside.
Oh yeah, don’t get me wrong either, I’m not saying the new villin should be like Grievous or even that Grievous was great himself. As you say, he was more of a plot device and thrown in for some cool lightsabre spinning sequences. He was basically a henchman of Palpatine’s henchman. And I do agree that some generic general or former imperial officer would be boring. Plus, it could seem like, how can Luke not just hand this guy his ass (I’m assuming Luke will have become a pretty powerful Jedi in 30 years, maybe something akin to what Anakin would have become had he not been hacked to bits and cooked alive). I guess that you could spin it that Anakin destroyed the last of the original Sith line. Or that his destiny was to liberate the galaxy from Palpatine’s tyranny specifically. I just loved Palpatine as a villain and that everything that happened from I-VI was catalysed by his behind the scenes scheming and manipulation. I also liked that while other villains came and went throughout the movies, that there was one all powerful villain that lasted from beginning to end who was in charge of everything. That’s why Return of the Jedi felt like such a natural and perfect end to the story, if you watch it from I-VI. I think that such a villain will be difficult to live up to. And I just fear that there’s a danger of repeating the same plot threads if it’s a case of having to stop the Sith reborn over the course of three more films. That would make the films a bit pointless for me personally. I feel that they need a threat that feels like a natural extension of the story, not one that feels like they’re starting again just for the sake of starting again. Although I’ve no interest in seeing anything like Dark Empire with Palpatine cloned or something like that because if he of all people doesn’t stay dead, then it really does undermine Anakin’s purpose.
Totally agree Dave. It has to feel like a natural next step. I’ve said before by my biggest fear is this just turns into a love letter to Star Wars and it brings in all the old beats just to make us feel safe. I have to say, I’m very much looking forward to seeing where Luke is. Like you say he could be pretty powerful now.
I think Star Wars, at least Episode wise needs to have a villain that feels personal to the hero in some way. If it is Sith, is has to come from a failure within the new system somehow. Like I’ve said in previous articles, having two Jedi (possible siblings) split apart and go on their own journeys where we’re never sure which one could turn, if they both will, or whether neither of them do intrigues me. I’d like to see quite a natural turn to the darkside, as opposed to be lured or manipulated I think. I’m not entirely sure how that works in my head yet, but I’m working on it.
Palpatine is really under appreciated as a villain I feel, largely because he’s not flash about it and topping him is going to be insanely hard.
I’d love to see Luke having revamped the Jedi Temple and sitting in Yoda’s seat in the council chambers in terms of rank. It might not fit in with what happened in early EU post-Return of the Jedi stories but given that the Temple wasn’t destroyed for whatever reason, it would seem weird that Luke wouldn’t at least explore it after the Empire fell. I don’t know if I can see Leia as a fully fledged Jedi but her kids would definitely be more likely candidates. Some people have been saying Lando should be a senator. I could actually nearly buy him as supreme chanceller. I dunno why, it just seems to fit. But the villain definitely needs a personal connection to have an impact. As much I’m weary about more films, like yourself I’m also very curious. Especially if Luke, Han and Leia are back. All of these Star Wars articles lately make for fun speculation anyway!
Luke in the Temple and Leia is the senate, I would imagine is a good bet. Lando needs to be back but as the dude in charge…? maybe. He did blow up a Death Star after all. Sith and Jedi business doesn’t seem to be something widely discussed, so I guess Lando would have got a ton of credit for the Battle of Endor.
Or just say the good parts happened between Episode VI and VII of course ;)
God, people kill me… In one hand, they hold GL up as a God, Patron Saint of the ‘Holy Trinity’, in the other, they hold his ass to the fire saying he ‘destroyed’ Star Wars with marketing and telling HIS stories (not the ones people envisioned) with the Prequals. They are like deranged archaeologist, searching for the ultimate, carved in stone ‘Truth’ in scraps lifted from interviews from as far back as 30 years ago. In the end, George is a storyteller, and a masterful one at that (even though, god forbid he isn’t perfect) to captivate audiences for more than two generations, and I for one am grateful I was around for the ride, no matter where it takes us.
Not sure if that was a pop at the article or not but I agree with your view on George entirely.
I personally would’ve loved to see Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy Trilogy of books adapted…good trilogy, solid stuff, has a Sun Crusher and Sith with Han Solo still being a badass…but considering the age of the actors that prospect’s a little gone. Personally, I love Luke Skywalker as a character, his arc was excellent, and anything they can do with him in the future is something I want to see. The prospect of him being the next Obi-Wan and handing the skills off to a new Jedi is exciting to me, and if the stories can stay solid through the years, I’d love to take my kids to see a Star Wars movie in theaters one day. The prequels had their faults, but the franchise still exists, still makes money, and people still want to see more of it, so I say give the people what they want.
Hopefully the Fisher, Hamil, & Ford appearances will be similar to DeForrest Kelly’s in ST:NextGen S01,E01 or Nimoy’s in Star Trek (2009), as anchors that connect Episodes 4-6 to 7-9.
Awesome article, Marcus dude, you’ve become the go-to guy on the ‘net for exceptional ‘Star Wars’ articles that really cut through the nonsense (like a double-bladed lightsaber) and get to the brass tacks, here’s to many more in the future, but for right now;
When looked at from afar, it’s clear that between January and August 2012 something major happened to change George Lucas’ mind on making Episodes VII-IX, and from reading that Bloomberg article, it’s not hard to see the impetus behind that change in direction… hiring Kathleen Kennedy to take over Lucasfilm, and the beginning of the acquisition of that company by the House of Mouse, plain and simple.
It was Kennedy who suggested starting up “the franchise” (as she put it) again to make Lucasfilm a more valuable commercial entity with an attractive, not to mention lucrative, long-term future, and one that Disney would pay big bucks for in the acquisition deal, this in turn led to Lucas starting on the treatments for the new trilogy not long after, treatments they dangled in front of Disney without letting them read them until the broad outlines of the deal were agreed to… give Lucas credit, he may not be the film-maker he used to be, but dammit if he isn’t one hell of a businessman, and no mistake!
I have very mixed feelings about the upcoming new trilogy, it’s pretty clear the very reason for their existence is an entirely commercial one, that’s fine, but is there enough of a substantive story to tell that it won’t feel like a mercenary tacked-on cash cow enterprise? Judging by the timeline, it would appear that Lucas was working on the treatments for at least a solid year if not more before he let Disney executives read them, and that, coupled with the talent involved so far in Episode VII lead me to believe they just may have cracked it and they have something genuinely special. I’m holding out an opinion until both the first reviews come in on VII and until I see it myself, then we’ll know whether the Force is strong with this one or…
On further reflection, my maths were a little askew on that timeline; it looks like George Lucas worked on the treatments for no more than a few months, six at most, before turning them over to Disney… no wonder Bob Iger said only that “they had potential”, they’re probably VERY rough outlines, from which screenwriter Michael Arndt, J.J. Abrams, and Lawrence Kasdan have been building upon in subsequent story meetings since… still, talent is talent, and the talent on this film is exceptional, so here’s to one hell of a ‘Star Wars’ film and one hell of a new ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, but we shall see…
I think that’s very much the key. Waiting to see. Many are already questioning if the Sith could work in the sequels, if EU will be taken into account and how much the old guard will be used but at the moment we’re really in limbo. The upcoming months will be quite exciting I’d imagine, especially when we can really start cobbling ideas together from genuine news rather than the ton of conjecture flying around from various sources around the project.
Whatever happens, sections of the fanbase are gonna be disapointted at every turn and even I, a long time Star Wars fan that loves the Saga can’t help but worry about the Disney deals effect on Star Wars but it has to come down to the final product. Even months of feeling negative about it could change with a solid final product.
Oh and thanks for the kind words about the articles. I’ll try to keep them coming… it would be nice if Disney announced some casting wouldn’t it. ;)
In the end the only one who can truly answer that why now is George Lucas, and I don’t thnk he’s ever going to explain his ideas for things fully. I think he has a love/hate thing with Star Wars. He loves how it has captivated so any fans and generations. He loves that his instincts about creating a mythology derived of the influences he grew up with have proven to be universal. But he probably hates how it has basically become his burden and his responsibility that has held him back as an artist. He’s mentioned many a time that he wanted to do more documentary-type filmmaking and Star Wars kind of prevented that. I think he felt thanks to his experience with Dave Filoni and crew on the Clone Wars that the younger generation was better equipped to handle it than maybe he felt before. Star Wars is for the young and he ain’t young anymore. So I think he feels relief and confidence that he’s left behind what Kennedy and crew need to keep it going. But it’s no longer his responsibility and maybe now he can see Star Wars through fresh eyes that are unburdened with having to satisfy a passionate and demanding fanbase. Now he can finally just satisfy himself.
Yeah, I’d probably agree with most of that. Though he certainly had his chance to get out of the Star Wars game from about 87-94. It felt almost done with back then. It found a life in odd collectables, a splattering of games in the growing console markets and EU stuff but film had taken Star Wars to its heart and moved on to new pastures because of it around then (well if memory serves anyway).
The turn around came in the build up to Special Editions in 97 when the limited edition video runs started back up again (94/95). I worked in retail at the time and the videos hit hard, like people had forgotten about Star Wars or something. When they disapeared and went out of print people used to pay well over the odds to get their hands on them.
Marcus dude, when you say the videos “hit hard” on their release in 1995, do you mean they didn’t sell as well as hoped for or that they sold like gangbusters?
Oh they sold like gangbusters. And then some.
how are the prequels so bad, for a start they look better and they are like the most important part of the story (found anakin, trained anakin, anakin has a kid and becomes sith and destroys the jedi)
and besides from that they are great movies
i cant understand why a lot of people hate them