It’s been over a decade since the Star Wars saga rose again with its sequel trilogy, an era that began with promise but ultimately tore the franchise — and its fandom — in two. To call the sequels divisive feels like the understatement of understatements; while most can agree that J.J. Abrams’ first contribution to the franchise was largely harmless nostalgia, consensus is still split on the one entry that brought fresh ideas, The Last Jedi. Like it or hate it, whatever potential the film carried was snuffed out by its immediate follow-up, The Rise of Skywalker, which was nearly the nail in the coffin for the entire franchise.
All told, the sequel era is one most fans would rather forget about... but if Star Wars wants to survive, it needs to move forward. Lucasfilm’s efforts to expand other parts of the timeline, like setting the Mando-verse just after the original trilogy, have gone a long way in rebuilding some goodwill among audiences, but we can’t ignore the sequels forever. That’s why the saga’s next batch of stories won’t just continue the story of Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley); they could double down on the sequel’s best ideas.
The Star Wars saga is working on a return to the big screen, and Lucasfilm is betting big on the sequel era in the process. With Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s yet-untitled Rey film, and a new trilogy helmed by Rebels co-creator Simon Kinberg, the franchise has five sequel-set projects in the works. According to industry leaker Daniel Richtman, this will be Star Wars’ next big phase. Not unlike the Mando-verse, which is currently building toward a massive crossover movie, the post-sequel era could also culminate in a major event film. Richtman also claims that old characters, likely fan favorites from the sequels, will be returning.
While each of these projects is still far from fruition, the Star Wars saga is clearly doubling down on Rey’s untapped potential. She was mostly locked in a tedious battle of wills with the dark-aligned Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) across three sequel films — and the less said about her tacked-on origin story, the better — but The Rise of Skywalker did eventually establish her as the last living link to the old Jedi Order. Now, it makes sense that Rey gets the chance to rebuild the Jedi in a way that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) never could, free from constrictive rules and fear of the Sith.
Ridley’s collaboration with Obaid-Chinoy will, according to Richtman, be the first installment of this new era. That film could set the tone for the rest of the post-sequel projects Lucasfilm has planned: if Rey establishes a new Jedi Order, that will inform the adventure we get in Starfighter and Kingberg’s new trilogy. With so little known about Obaid-Chinoy’s new film, that’s still a pretty big “if.” But it’s also the best possible path for the franchise to take. The sequels were flawed, but if the saga wants to survive, it has to build (and improve) on their foundations, not bury them under the Tattooine sand.
