We’re still over a month away from the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but Lucasfilm is so confident that Episode VIII is great that it’s literally giving writer and director Rian Johnson the chance to create his own Star Wars trilogy from scratch. As in no Skywalkers, and all-new characters. That represents a seismic shift for the entire franchise, and that will probably carry it through the next decade. Today’s Nerdist News is breaking down what the new trilogy means for the Skywalker clan.
Join guest host and the last Midichlorian, Steve Zaragoza, as he uses the Jedi Holocron to forecast the future of the franchise. Of course, it helps when the actors can’t seem to resist sharing a few spoilers of their own. Thanks to John Boyega, we know that Episode IX will be the “war to end all wars” and that returning director J.J. Abrams may be looking to connect all three trilogies in the finale. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has also hinted that we’ll probably see Finn, Rey, and Poe after Episode IX.
Did you notice that Kennedy didn’t say anything about Kylo Ren/Ben Solo/Matt the Radar Tech sticking around? That’s probably because he isn’t going to make it past Episode IX. If there’s redemption ahead for Kylo Ren, it will probably cost him his life. And even if he doesn’t reform, Kylo Ren is still likely to fall in the final battle. But unless Rey is revealed to have been Luke or Leia’s daughter then Kylo Ren really is the last Skywalker. And his death would end the family line.
The fact that Johnson is being allowed to move past the Skywalkers strongly suggests that Lucasfilm really might be done with the family once Episode IX comes to an end. This means that the future of the franchise is truly in Johnson’s hands, and we’re going to get a new generation of heroes and villains who aren’t directly tied into the beloved narrative that was set in motion four decades ago.
How do you feel about the new Star Wars trilogy moving away from the Skywalkers? Use the Force to leave a comment below!
Images: Lucasfilm
