Hypothetical Question: A Sequel to the Star Wars Disney Sequel Trilogy

[Winter]

You're a Writer and Director who has been approached by Disney and Lucas Film to write a Sequel to the Star Wars Disney Sequel Trilogy and you HAVE to make it so it applies to as wide an audience as possible to get fans coming back to the films AND you have to make it so it can apply to both detractors and fans of The Last Jedi.

On top of that John Boyega and Oscar Isaac have both made it clear that they have no interest to return to the series and nothing you do can convince them to return but Daisy Ridley DOES return to continue Rey's story.

And finally, and this is a condition for this discussion only, you HAVE to use the events of TDST as a whole to try and build a story for this hypothetical sequel. You cannot ignore any of the films that proceeded you, you Have to use it because ignoring and retconning the what came before is part of the problem as to why TDST is the mess it currently is, IMO.

So, here's my idea.


youtu.be/kgLdYFNZySA

The Galaxy is in Chaos! After the Fall of the First Order and the New Republic crime and brutality rule and without a central authority there is no end to the madness in sight. In an attempt help restore Order Rey Skywalker, the alleged Granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine, has put her attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order on hold.

Unbeknownst to Rey and the Resistance a hidden darkness has begun to emerged from the SHADOW OF THE DARK SIDE! A Lone Warrior and Sorcerer who's skills and knowledge of the Dark Side of the Force is Unmatched has set their eyes on Skywalker and the New Republic in order to stop them from rebuilding the Republic and Restoring Peace to the Galaxy.

On the planet of KORRIBAN, the Home World of the Sith, the Force Wielder is summoned by their master to begin the preparations to begin their plan to break the mind, body and soul of the leader of the New Jedi Order and restore the Sith Empire.

The film would mostly focus on Rey and explore something the Original Trilogy never did, her character flaws and personal growth. Contrary to popular belief Mary Sues ARE flawed it's just that the creators refuse to either acknowledge those flaws and try to spin these negative traits and actually positive. So, what are Rey's flaws, she's quick to anger, more interested in the past than the present or future and she lacks dedication and gives up and seeks the quick and easy way to a problem.

Her abilities are not one she earned but basically stole from someone else and without Kylo in the picture anymore and with her not facing anyone who is her equal Rey has begun to become arrogant in herself. On top of that Rey never resolved her issues with Finn and Poe. Remember in Rise of Skywalker Rey told Finn that she didn't think anyone knew her except Kylo Ren, and since that issue was never resolved in ROS it got worse over time and both he and Poe left her because she had begun to turn more and more toxic and was impossible to be around. Even Chewie and the Droids are reaching their limit with her by the time the film starts.

In this scene Rey is basically Picard at the start of TNG and the Force Wielder and their master is the Borg. Rey's first encounter with them goes badly with her not even able to land a single hint on them and the difference in power is demonstrated fully when they block Rey's Lightsaber with their bear hand (please remember that Vader stopped a Blaster Bolt with his bear hand in The Empire Strikes Back and the Force Wielders in the Mortis arc in the Clone Wars were also able to Hold Lightsabers with their bear hands without issues so this is not without precedent). The Force Wielder then taunts Rey that her relying on her anger to win a fight, an issue she had during her Trilogy, is a very Sith thing. However, they are driven off when they sense several other Jedi that Rey WAS able to train and as powerful as this Force Wielder is they're not invincible.

During the rest of the film the Force Wielder is able to draw the Resistance into a trap where Bounty Hunters hired by the Hutt are waiting for them and while most of the Resistance are able to escape the Resistance is severally wounded from this and goes into hiding. During this Rey and the Force Wielder have a proper lightsaber duel and Rey is crushed during this fight. She only lands 2 or 3 hits on her opponent but by the end Rey is exhausted and one of her arms and her one of her legs is sliced badly enough that she will have to have it amputated.

Then, the finishing blow comes. All throughout the film it's been hinted at that something has been manipulating events ever since the event of The Force Awakens. Remember that Kylo and Snoke said they both felt an awakening in the Force but at that point Rey had yet to have her awakening until AFTER she came into contact with the Skywalker Lightsaber. Also, why did Anakin never appear to Kylo to try and help prevent him from falling to the Dark Side? How was Yoda's ghost able to use Force Lighting which is Dark Side Power even though he is a Jedi through and through (no he did NOT use it in the Prequels he deflected it back at Dooku and Palpatine)? And how was Rey able to connect with every Jedi when being able to retain your sense of self after Death is something only 3 Jedi learned of?

Why was Rey and Kylo so convinced Rey's parents were nobody who sold her for drinking money only to believe that her father was the son of Palpatine? And finally, how did Rey become so skilled in the Force after such a short period of time with no training?

The Force Wielder reveals the truth, Rey ISN'T Palpatine's granddaughter, her parents did sell her for drinking money and she is so good at what she does because the Force Wielder's master is the one who gave her the vision she had back in TFA. Remember Anakin's lightsaber only called out to Rey once she was at an emotional low point when Finn left her and she felt she had to return to Jakku.

And what happened after Rey received the vision, she ran away in fear. And in doing so it resulted in her being isolated from anyone who could have helped her from Kylo when he showed up to capture her. Which then resulted in the deaths of Han, Luke, Leia and Ben all of whom died to either save or help Rey. The entire blood line of the Skywalker family, some of the most powerful Force Users of all time, who thwarted the Sith time and again, dead.

Palpatine claiming Rey was his granddaughter and that she was part of a Force Dyad was just a delusion of Palpatine and Kylo Respectfully. Rey had a regular Force Bond with Kylo which was a resulted of information planted in her head by the Master so she could become powerful in the Force by creating the bond with Kylo and basically downloading his skills into her mind.

This revelations crushes Rey and in one last attempt, trying to use her anger she tries to attack her enemy only to be frozen in place. The Force Wielder then takes her lightsaber and crushes it before her, metaphorically crushing her sense of identity. Then, in a deliberate call back to Empire, destroys the window to the outside which (not into space but like Bespin there is enough of a vacuum to pull her out. Rey does manage to get a hold on the floor grate and tries to hold on but the Force Wielder stands over her and looks down on her, a slight smile on their face.

Then without a word, they turn around and walk away, Rey realizes they're making it clear that she is not even worth killing which is the straw that breaks the camels back and Rey stops holding on and allows herself to be taken into the void. She is again saved by one of her students who catches her and gets her to safety. However, the damage is done as Rey's mind, body and soul are broken and she enters into a catatonic state.

Rey's worst fear in TLJ was her feeling that she had no place and was nobody and it always bugged me that this was swept under the rug after it was revealed. This is meant to return to that point and Rey learns that she was just a pawn used to destroy her heroes and when of no further use was sought out by the one who gave her power so she could be destroyed. And in the end, her enemy didn't even think she was important enough to kill. She is nobody, she was used as a means to destroy her heroes and she is no longer seen as important.

At the end of this film Rey remains catatonic and one her students, the one who save her and is heavily implied to be in love with Rey, stays with her so she can be there for her if/when she recovers. Meanwhile the other Jedi will start to work to figure out what they can about the Master and the Force Wielder and help the Resistance defend itself.

This would then lead into the next part of her arc, excepting that that Rey must stop looking for validation from others and must make her own path in life. She doesn't have a rematch with her enemy here because this is all about Rey's coming to grips with who she is instead of hiding from her pain like she's been doing since the start. Her first step is to stop using the name Skywalker and use her real name.

And when she has her rematch she flights alongside her friends and loved ones, destroying the Master and its servant. Rey then gets on with her life, helping to rebuild the Jedi Order and choosing to change it for the better but retaining the good elements. Rey is no longer living in the past but working to repair the future.

And that's my idea for a Sequel to TDST, break Rey down in order to build her back up again. Acknowledge her flaws and use that as a jumping off point instead of ignoring them or trying to spin them off as a good thing. Give her some actual character development and allow her to become her own character by giving her an arc that is unique to her instead of just retreading Luke's arc.

But what about you, what would you do for a sequel to TDST? How would you take what came before and try to make a sequel out of it that could apply to a wide audience and get both fans and detractors of TLJ on board? Let me know.

[McAvoy]

Yours would be impossible to do with Disney. I am sure if there was new management for Lucasfilm, they wouldn't make their Star Wars star unlike able in the least.

I get it, the point is make her less of a Mary Sue and more grounded. Which really needs to be done. But I don't think Disney will make Rey broken down like that.

[Winter]

Yours would be impossible to do with Disney. I am sure if there was new management for Lucasfilm, they wouldn't make their Star Wars star unlike able in the least.

I get it, the point is make her less of a Mary Sue and more grounded. Which really needs to be done. But I don't think Disney will make Rey broken down like that.

One thing to keep in mind is that Wesley Crusher got one of his fellow cadets killed and it was also assumed at the time that Trek would NEVER allow Wesley to EVER make a mistake like that, even after Gen died it was assumed that Wesley would remain the golden child of the series because that's how it was always done.

Rey IS a Mary Sue and her never getting hurt and losing a fight is going to catch up to her and you can tell that the writers have been pushing for this more and more as time goes on. At some point someone is going to address her issues and is going to ensure that she loses, BADLY.

Will it be as bad as my version... I don't know but again, Wesley got a fellow cadet killed and was called out on it odds are good someone is going to put Rey through Hell at some point.

If Disney and Lucas film want Rey to be rescued from the Scrappy Heap than they're going to need to address her issues and have her lose a fight in a major way. That is, of course, assuming they don't just reboot TDST out of continuity and just pretend it never happened which is honestly more likely given how Disney is already trying to pretend TDST doesn't exist.

[McAvoy]

Yours would be impossible to do with Disney. I am sure if there was new management for Lucasfilm, they wouldn't make their Star Wars star unlike able in the least.

I get it, the point is make her less of a Mary Sue and more grounded. Which really needs to be done. But I don't think Disney will make Rey broken down like that.

One thing to keep in mind is that Wesley Crusher got one of his fellow cadets killed and it was also assumed at the time that Trek would NEVER allow Wesley to EVER make a mistake like that, even after Gen died it was assumed that Wesley would remain the golden child of the series because that's how it was always done.

Rey IS a Mary Sue and her never getting hurt and losing a fight is going to catch up to her and you can tell that the writers have been pushing for this more and more as time goes on. At some point someone is going to address her issues and is going to ensure that she loses, BADLY.

Will it be as bad as my version... I don't know but again, Wesley got a fellow cadet killed and was called out on it odds are good someone is going to put Rey through Hell at some point.

If Disney and Lucas film want Rey to be rescued from the Scrappy Heap than they're going to need to address her issues and have her lose a fight in a major way. That is, of course, assuming they don't just reboot TDST out of continuity and just pretend it never happened which is honestly more likely given how Disney is already trying to pretend TDST doesn't exist.

How Wesley was treated as a character was much different from the first two seasons. He wasn't the golden child anymore. Trek was different by that episode.

Stat Wars is still owned by Disney. They may allow Rey to be brought down a peg or two. But I doubt they will allow her to look like a bitch.

That said, like I said, I know what you ard trying to do and I do approve.

[Winter]

How Wesley was treated as a character was much different from the first two seasons. He wasn't the golden child anymore. Trek was different by that episode.

Stat Wars is still owned by Disney. They may allow Rey to be brought down a peg or two. But I doubt they will allow her to look like a bitch.

That said, like I said, I know what you ard trying to do and I do approve.

Well, Star Wars is already very different from what it was at the start of the Disney Era. The cinematography is different, the storytelling style is different, even the overall look is different with better looking effects (both digital and practical) then what we had in the movies and using elements not only from the Original Trilogy but the Prequels and original Extended Universe, both of which Disney was trying to avoid referencing for whatever reason.

There's also been a great emphasis on character over action while TDST was more interested in action and naval gazing. And just a reminder the main character of the most popular Star Wars Series, The Mandalorian, is a ruthless bounty hunter who is a member of a religious cult. And Din wasn't exactly the most likeable character when we first met him and it took time for him to lighten up.

At this point Star Wars already feels like a different series and Rey has already fallen from Disney's Good Graces given how little she and her co-stars have appeared after ROS' release. Raya and the Last Dragon have appeared more then anything from TDST and that film BOMBED at the box office.

I get what you mean but at the moment, with how little Disney has promoted TDST and the changing series SW is there are really only two possibilities here, Rey changes with the times or Disney just reboots the series.

But I would like to know, what you would do if given the option to make a Sequel to TDST?

[clearspira]

How Wesley was treated as a character was much different from the first two seasons. He wasn't the golden child anymore. Trek was different by that episode.

Stat Wars is still owned by Disney. They may allow Rey to be brought down a peg or two. But I doubt they will allow her to look like a bitch.

That said, like I said, I know what you ard trying to do and I do approve.

Well, Star Wars is already very different from what it was at the start of the Disney Era. The cinematography is different, the storytelling style is different, even the overall look is different with better looking effects (both digital and practical) then what we had in the movies and using elements not only from the Original Trilogy but the Prequels and original Extended Universe, both of which Disney was trying to avoid referencing for whatever reason.

There's also been a great emphasis on character over action while TDST was more interested in action and naval gazing. And just a reminder the main character of the most popular Star Wars Series, The Mandalorian, is a ruthless bounty hunter who is a member of a religious cult. And Din wasn't exactly the most likeable character when we first met him and it took time for him to lighten up.

At this point Star Wars already feels like a different series and Rey has already fallen from Disney's Good Graces given how little she and her co-stars have appeared after ROS' release. Raya and the Last Dragon have appeared more then anything from TDST and that film BOMBED at the box office.

I get what you mean but at the moment, with how little Disney has promoted TDST and the changing series SW is there are really only two possibilities here, Rey changes with the times or Disney just reboots the series.

But I would like to know, what you would do if given the option to make a Sequel to TDST?

If I could make an Episode 10 - and assuming that I had full creative control - Rey is dropping the Skywalker name immediately. If you want to truly change the direction of this character, you acknowledge the fact that the ''Skywalker Trilogy'' has a main character who had a closer relationship with Han Solo, Leia Solo and Kylo Solo then she ever did with Luke Skywalker.
She is a Solo or a Palpatine before she was ever a Skywalker. And if you want that to change, then you make her effing EARN that surname.

And beyond that, lets give some justice to Finn, Poe and Rose. These were horribly underutilised characters. TFA starts as if they were setting up a Luke/Han/Leia trio, but by TLJ it was firmly the Rey show. And that is the sad thing really. Rey only truly became a Mary Sue with TLJ. When she was just an an over-competent desert rat looking for her family she didn't go down that badly with the fandom.

[phantom000]

If I could make a SW trilogy anyway I wanted I might consider the end of ROS as a sort of soft-reboot. I would not try to rewrite the past, but given what happened over the course of 9 films, a lot of what used to exist is effectively gone so that now you have new factions emerging from the ruins of what came before. This allows you to keep a lot of the same elements while playing around with the details.

This could also apply to both the Jedi and Sith. With both groups gone I could see new groups emerging, each with their own philosophy, principles and methods. Each group is supposed to be 'the guardians of peace and justice' but each has their own idea as to how they're supposed to do that which leads to conflict between them.

The actual story would focus on the conflict between two or more of these different groups. Rey would be much older as this is a generation after ROS, and possibly would be more of a supporting character similar to Obi-Wan as this could be her search for someone to pass the torch to.

[McAvoy]

Episode 10 would definitely remove the name Skywalker from Rey.

Assuming we still have to do a good versus evil theme, I would have Rey living on some planet, a new one. She lives there away from population centers living a more hermit lifestyle.

Episode 10 is where we see her build a house. Episode 11 she debates about building a barn to contain her livestock. Episode 12 we see her build a deck. During these times she learns not to use the Dark side when she smashes her thumb with a hammer.

Honestly I would have to think about how I would do it.

[Nealithi]

The issue as I picked up from other places is Kathleen Kennedy sold the idea of not reusing or reliving the past. But to make new story going forward. Then they ended up with the mish mash of what we got.

I would do as they were supposed to do. Move forward, put all the trilogies in the past. Pull a TNG. Yes they existed here is the current story. Make it an ensemble film like Guardians of the Galaxy, don't follow just one person.
With the TNG parallel I mentioned introduce a new hero ship. Have the one that got it together name it the Millennium Falcon because they love history. Designers take inspiration from Kotor, TOR, and the trilogies to see what the model advancing will look like and put a 21st century spin on the design.

State of the Galaxy, even Luke noted what is shown in the games. There is a cycle with the jedi and sith. Have part of the galaxy under an imperial rule and part under a republic or similar. (Trying to avoid calling them a federation) There is an uneasy peace between the two. The empire does have the yet again reborn sith on their side. And the republic restored the jedi to counter the threat that implies.

The history buff that got the new ship working is friends with someone that can fly it. But not all worlds in the republic are Coruscant or Naboo. Even in lands of the free there is poverty. And to escape that poverty they choose to work hauling cargo and passengers. While looking for cargo they are approached by someone wishing to hire them. A simple trip to a world off the beaten path, Yavin. There the history buff keeps talking about the old history of how they had hangars etc there. The passenger is more interested in the temples themselves. They get pursued by not one but two different groups. And the passenger during a conflict has to reveal they know the force and have a lightsabre. As they escape with what is seen as a map fragment they find their benefactor is not a jedi, but a sith. One that has not tried to harm them and has helped to defend and heal them. So mixed feelings all the way. And the groups chasing them? Imperial Intelligence on one side and Jedi investigators on the other. The imperial group wants the data being sought after as a war resource. The jedi because they know the one is a sith and automatically assume they plan something terrible.
Personally for the sith I would lift the story of Darth Imperius from TOR. Former slave trained in the force and appointed as a keeper of knowledge and seeker of lost knowledge. Basically a sith librarian seeking the histories of the previous sith and jedi. The history they are on the trail of? Something far bigger than the librarian originally thought.

Have the imperials consider the sith to have gone rogue. So no safe harbor for the sith there. Have the jedi be lawful stupid paladins. They are jedi there fore they are right. And use that as their justification for anything and everything they do.

For the current Earth social views. I would have the sith be a relatively small human female. I would want the friends to be similar to Diego Luna and John Boyega. I liked them in their initial roles. Diego Luna I thought was great. I would not have any wookies except in the background. Same with most other alien species to keep costs down on costuming. Put most droids on the ship be drones used for repairs and the like. Not full on AI like R2. If you have to use a droid as cast. Do not recycle R2-D2, C-3P0, or BB-8. Make a new one and let people love or hate it for what it is.

[McAvoy]

Any trilogy that follows the Sequel Trilogy that involves Rey, has to bring her down at least a notch. One of the biggest general consensus of Rey is that she is too much of a Mary Sue.

Which means she has to have limitations, she has to lose at least once and conclusively. She can't be the best at everything. And perhaps she can't be the one to save the day.

Think about that last one. Luke only became the 'hero' of the movie in ANH. He lost to Vader and his rematch on the Death Star ultimately didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things in that movie.

Anakin was the hero in the first movie. Lost to Dooku and then lost to Obi Wan to become the black iron lung dude named Vader.

Rey's fight with Ren didn't matter in TFA. That's fine. But she did show up with the Falcon and then lifted those bolders freeing the remnants of the Resistance. Her direct confrontation with Palpatine allowed the copy and paste fleet above to attack the Death Star Destroyers without getting hit by the Uber Super Force Lightning of Dark Side Justice.