Star Warsis working on a new trilogy - and here are the most realistic possibilities for what it could be about. Simon Kinberg (Star Wars Rebels,Deadpool,The Martian) is working on a new trilogy for theStar Warsfranchise. Little is known about it at this stage; frankly, sources seem to disagree over whether this is Episodes 10-12, or whether it’s something brand new. There have often been complaints that Lucasfilm announce things before they’re ready, but to be fair, this time the studio don’t seem to have planned the news to get out just yet.
These new reports emerge at a time whenthe future ofStar Warsis becoming quite exciting again. Daisy Ridley has teased that her “New Jedi Order” movie is “evolving,” an ambiguous comment that has left many wondering if there’ll be news soon; there have been reports that James Mangold’sDawn of the Jediwill begin production next year. It’s likely there will be more concrete information at Star Wars Celebration next year. Until then, though, we can only speculate about the variousStar Warstrilogies that could realistically be in the works… and here are the most likely possibilities.
5Star Wars Episodes 10-12
A brand new story… but it should really star Rey
The first reports suggested theseupcomingStar Warsmovieswould officially be Episodes 10-12. That raised a lot of eyebrows, given these were also revealed to star characters who hadn’t been on the big screen before - and they would operate alongsideSharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey movie.It’s hard to imagine the Skywalker Saga continuing without Rey in a starring role, not least because theStar Warssequel trilogy ended with her claiming the name “Skywalker” in honor of her mentors.
The mere mention of a newStar Warstrilogy does, of course, immediately make viewers think of Episodes 10-12.George Lucas' original plans for Episodes 10-12are long-gone; he planned them back when he intended Luke Skywalker to become the Emperor and Luke’s sister to be a completely different character (explaining the now-wince-worthy Luke and Leia kiss inThe Empire Strikes Back). But that doesn’t mean it is impossible for an original story to create a brand new tale.
4Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
There’s only one idea that could leave the fanbase delighted
BioWare’sKnights of the Old Republicgames are the stuff of legend (literally, givenStar Warsofficially classes them as Legends rather than canon). Back in 2023, Lucasfilm officially announced a new incarnation of theStar Warstimeline that neatly divided it into the following sections:
Dawn of the Jedi
Fall of the Jedi
Reign of the Empire
Rise of the First Order
New Jedi Order
What is telling, though, is thatLucasfilm didn’t announce a single project taking place in theKnights of the Old Republicera. James Mangold is making a movie exploring theDawn of the Jedi,Star Wars: The High Republicis a transmedia initiative exploring that part of the timeline, and the future is already being explored in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s movie. In canon, though,The Old Republicis empty. That’s naturally led to intense speculation that Lucasfilm intend to explore theKOTORera.
A faithful Darth Revan, star ofKOTOR, is an instant way to score massive points with a divided and divisive fanbase
Here’s a simple truth: a faithful Darth Revan, star ofKOTOR, is an instant way to score massive points with a divided and divisive fanbase. Characters fromKOTORhave already been alluded to in canon (Palpatine’s Sith legions were named after Sith Lords from the past, including Darth Revan), so the potential is clearly there. Of all the ideas on this list, this really does seem the wisest.
3The Future Of The Jedi
Could Star Wars take a tip from Legends?
There is, however, another exciting possibility - one that Disney could take from Legends as well. In 2006, Dark Horse Comics introduced readers toStar Wars: Legacy- an exciting vision of the future of theStar Warsgalaxy, one rooted in George Lucas tradition but beautifully reimagined. This was an age where the Sith rose from the shadows and snuffed out the light of the Jedi, with the last Skywalker - Cade - standing against them. It was a thrilling opportunity to reinvent familiar tropes and concepts.
Curiously, this wasn’t the first time Lucasfilm had toyed with revealing the future of theStar Warsgalaxy. One original idea forStar Wars: The Force Unleashedwas centered on a distant future in which the Jedi and the Sith had formed an uneasy truce, and were ruled by a single Council; there, the last Skywalker would find himself framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and all the evidence would point to a member of the Council… with the surname Solo. As withLegacy, this was an idea that riffed on the familiar while also doing something new.
It’s possibleLucasfilm could take exactly the same approach with the newStar Warstrilogy. Rather than set it in an established part of the timeline, it could instead introduce viewers to a whole new era - one where the rules operated slightly differently. What madeStar Wars: Legacysuch a success was the fact it opened up so many story opportunities. ManyStar WarsExpanded Universetales began charting the course from the “present” to theLegacyera, and it proved to be a compelling tale.
Here’s the catch, though;Lucasfilm wouldn’t be able to adaptStar Wars: Legacy. That was a logical extrapolation of theStar WarsExpanded Universe, but the canon has taken a completely different direction. In Legends, for example, there was effectively a Skywalker dynasty - simply because Luke’s New Jedi Order didn’t follow the same rules as the prequels. In contrast, Daisy Ridley herself has hinted she expected Rey to follow those rules about relationships, so she will be the last Skywalker. The absence of Skywalkers means the future has to look very different.
2Star Wars Could Return To The Dark Times
Darth Vader’s return
The last few years have delighted viewers with the return of both Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to the iconic roles of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. TheObi-Wan KenobiDisney+ TV show was originally envisioned as a trilogy, one that explored Obi-Wan’s reconnection with the Force, but it evolved into something very different. Lucasfilm could still explore that part of the timeline, however, byfocusing in on Darth Vader himself- perhaps with his quest to hunt downOrder 66 survivors. This would need to be handled with care, but it would surely be a hit.
There was a time when theStar Warsprequel trilogy was derided. Those days are long gone, though; nowadays, the return of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen was greeted with almost-universal delight by the fanbase. Both McGregor and Christensen have made it clear they’re eager to keep coming back toStar Wars, meaning the possibility of a Dark Times adventure starring Darth Vader himself can’t be ruled out. While the character’s end-point is known,Star Warshas always known that doesn’t matter in terms of dramatic impact;the end-point of the entire prequel trilogy was a foregone conclusion.
Darth Vader doesn’t really have room for a massive emotional arc.
The difficulty here, though, is ensuring the stories have emotional stakes. The scrappedObi-Wan Kenobitrilogywould have told the tale of how Obi-Wan evolved as a character fromStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Siththrough toA New Hope. Darth Vader doesn’t really have room for a massive emotional arc, so this would need very careful writing indeed.
1Something Brand New… & Unexpected
The possibilities are endless
We know a lot about theStar Warstimeline, but it’s possible the franchise could be going where it has never gone before. The first possibility lies in theUnknown Regions, a vast sector of unexplored space. As Timothy Zahn’sThrawn: Ascendancy - Chaos Risingexplains:
“The Chaos hadn’t always been that way, or so the legends went. Once, at the dawn of space travel, it had been no more difficult to move between any of the stars than it was now to travel in the Ascendancy. But then, millennia ago, a series of chained supernova explosions throughout the region had sent huge masses tumbling at high speeds between the stars, some of them demolishing asteroids or whole worlds, others sparking more supernovas with their near-lightspeed impacts. The movement of all these masses, coupled with regions of heavy electromagnetic flux, resulted in the constantly changing hyperlanes that made any voyage longer than a couple of star systems difficult and dangerous.”
This part of theStar Warsgalaxy is commonly associated with the blue-skinned Chiss (think of Grand Admiral Thrawn), but there are actually countless inhabitants.Simon Kinberg could tell any story he wanted in the Unknown Regions, and he could create any new Force cults he wanted. The opportunities are literally limitless.
But there are even more possibilities after theend ofAhsokaseason 1. This took the franchise further afield than even George Lucas had imagined, with Ahsoka traveling to the planet Peridea in a distant galaxy. The recently-publishedStar Wars Bestiary Vol. 1hinted that Peridea became public knowledge after Ahsoka’s journey there, so it’s possiblefuture stories could be set in this new galaxy. If so,Star Warsreally could head in some unexpected new directions.
