With The Force Awakens now dominating the box office, we ask, where next for the most successful movie franchise of all-time…?
1) A live-action TV series
Before Lucasfilm’s acquisition by Disney, a live-action Star Wars TV series, subtitled Underworld, had been in development since 2005. George Lucas had said that it would have been set in the years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope and wouldn’t have featured any major characters from the movies, concentrating instead on the "greasy, seamy underbelly of Star Wars," according to one Lucasfilm employee.
It was put on hold before the Disney takeover due to its skyrocketing budget, but we’d love to see it revived by the current Lucasfilm regime. While the concept seemed peachy, Lucas’ version of the show would, for sure, have been a CGI-infested, digitally recorded pixel-fest. We’d love to see the series once described as “ Deadwood in space”, made with the same love of practical sets, in-vision special effects and real locations as The Force Awakens.
2) More animated spin-offs
Some of the best Star Wars work over the past 15 years has been done on the small screen. While it was easy to throw brickbats at the movie prequels, Lucasfilm earned brownie points for its lavish Clone Wars animated series. Its successor, Star Wars: Rebels, is even better, with a regular role for James Earl Jones, back as Darth Vader after an absence of 33 years.
So what about a couple more animated spin-offs? Maybe we could have one that takes place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, to fill us in on the rise of The First Order? Or what about going back even further in time to the glory days of the Jedi, when Yoda was just a babe-in-arms?
3) A Boba Fett Anthology film
Okay, so both Rogue One (due next Christmas) and the Han Solo movie are confirmed for the spin-off Anthology film series, yet rumours persist that a Boba Fett movie is in the works, focusing on everyone’s favourite taciturn bounty hunter.
It would have to be done right (risk revealing too much about him and you torpedo the enigma of the character), but we have solid faith in the current brains trust at Lucasfilm. Did Fett really die at the end of Return of the Jedi, after he jet-packed himself into the mouth of the sarlacc on Tatooine? It seemed like such an inglorious end for one of the original trilogy’s most intriguing characters.
4) More Christmas releases?
The Force Awakens opened this year on 17th December, and Rogue One is scheduled to land on 16th December 2016. Because of their release dates, many of us now think of The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies as perennial festive treats, and are now as integral a part of the Xmas viewing experience as It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone.
It’d therefore be great if, from now on, Christmas was always associated with a Star Wars release. In years to come, Star Wars could be as synonymous with the festive season as holly, Baileys and Quality Street.
5) A fourth trilogy
We’re leaping ahead here, but, hey, we’re only four years away from the final film in this trilogy, Star Wars: Episode IX (that’s ‘9’ to those baffled by Roman numerals). Are Lucasfilm/Disney planning a fourth trilogy, or are they content for the Star Wars universe to be made up of one-off Anthology films and TV series after 2019?
We’re hoping that a fourth trilogy eventually materialises, but we don’t want Disney to jump into one straight away. Let’s wait a decade or so before we plunge into another main series Star Wars movie. It could be by that 2019 we’re all suffering severe Star Wars fatigue…
Right, how many times have you been to see the new Star Wars movie? Once, twice, ten? There's still plenty of time to watch it again during this Christmas holiday – click here to book your tickets for The Force Awakens. And don't forget to tweet your responses @Cineworld.
