No matter what happens, Star Wars will live on. While Solo: A Star Wars Story may mark the low point for the Disney-owned era of the franchise (and, arguably, one of the saga’s least inspired entries), Lucasfilm is showing no signs of slowing down development on its “Star Wars stories.” Of course, news recently broke that Logan filmmaker James Mangold will write and direct the upcoming Boba Fett spinoff film, and rumors persist that fellow fan favorite Obi-Wan Kenobi is making a return, hopefully with Ewan McGregor back in the role. Naturally, with a universe as vast as the “galaxy far, far away,” the possibilities are endless. After all, everything from a Lando Calrissian prequel to a crime epic centering on Jabba the Hutt has been in the cards, but here are a few other ideas that Lucasfilm needs to consider.
Yoda leading a Samurai-style Jedi quest
For all its flaws, one of the best aspects of the prequel trilogy is seeing the Jedi operate as the peace-keeping force they were intended to be. This mission statement is never better captured in George Lucas’ films than by Master Yoda himself. So the idea of seeing a younger Yoda lead a team of elite Jedi on a dangerous secret mission — perhaps paying off those Seven Samurai-style rumors from a few years back — has us intrigued. Lucas always intended for the Jedi to be his space opera take on the Japanese warriors, and the concept would give the saga the space to explore a heretofore untapped time period.
Ahsoka Tano: A Star Wars Story
Thanks to Solo, it’s become clear that the “Star Wars stories” are slowly warming up to the idea of more closely integrating the films with the ancillary canon, namely the animated series, novels and comics. Ahsoka Tano is by far one of the most popular characters from those projects, especially the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, who has yet to be brought to life on the big screen. Rosario Dawson — who is already a fixture on the Marvel Netflix series — has even expressed interest in playing the role. Perhaps Lucasfilm will one day soon give Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice her due.
Darth Vader and the Empire’s early years
We know what you’re thinking. “Didn’t we already get an entire trilogy of films delving into Vader’s backstory?” Fair enough. But we’re not talking about bringing Jake Lloyd and/or Hayden Christensen back for the role. Instead, we want more of the Vader that viewers only caught a brief glimpse of at the end of Rogue One. In between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Vader spends nearly two decades helping Emperor Palpatine eliminate those who might oppose the Empire and strengthening its hold on the galaxy. While some of his exploits are being explored in comics, surely there’s a tale fit for the big screen.
Maul: A Star Wars Story
Darth Maul and his double-bladed lightsaber have easily remained the highlights of The Phantom Menace. However, the Zabrak warrior’s story has been greatly expanded on in both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, both of which are canon with the films. In the nearly two decades since he first appeared onscreen, the character’s popularity has only grown, and for a multitude of reasons, the time may finally have arrived for him to headline his own anthology film, one which recontextualizes the other films and acknowledges just how far he’s come since his initial defeat by a young Kenobi.
The rise of Darth Sidious
In the original trilogy, Emperor Palpatine is shrouded in mystery, but the prequels shed a lot of light on how he rose to the leader of the Galactic Empire. That being said, a film which further develops his past and his presumed Sith apprenticeship under Darth Plagueis would bring the dark side to the big screen like never before. Consider how the Harry Potter stories have explored Voldemort’s past, and you’ll have an idea of how a Palpatine film could work. Bonus points if the project is able to bring Ian McDiarmid back as the original trilogy-era Palpatine for a framing device.
Knights of the Old Republic
Fans have been saying it for years, but allow us to keep beating the drum for why a Knights of the Old Republic film, inspired by the beloved video game, should happen. Many critics of the recent spinoff films to date have lamented their necessity to constantly refer back to previous films rather than confidently mining new material. Set thousands of years before the Empire’s inception, such a film would be able to introduce legions of new Jedi and Sith while exploring the evolution of both groups of Force users. There’s even enough material here for a whole new trilogy, one which may or may not already be in the works.
Which Star Wars spinoff films do you want to see after Solo and the announced Boba Fett film? Let us know in the comments below.
