I've been thinking about this ever since last night, and I've decided to narrow down my answer in a few ways to keep it from getting to be book-length (or at least fanfiction-length). First, I'm going to write about Star Wars VII, not just a new Star Wars movie. I hope that Disney--as they have hinted--will put out side movies in addition to the regular storyline of VII, VIII, and IX, just like they're putting out individual films for the Avengers in addition to the main plot. So as much as I'd love to watch a Star Wars movie that plays out like a horror movie with the main characters entering an ancient Sith temple on a forgotten planet where a hidden evil lurks, or a movie in which an outcast Jedi is hunted by the enemies she's made in the criminal underworld, those ideas will have to wait until later. And I have lots of ideas. Only a few involve Twi'leks and are rated R.
Picture source: Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, picture by Kieran Yanner
First, let's get some things out of the way. No Sith as the villains and no Imperials. If I wanted to watch a movie with those things in it, I have my choice of the old movies. Also, let's throw out the EU post-ROTJ canon. I love Timothy Zahn as much as the next geek, but that would take place between movies and is far too big to put into a flashback. Given the age of our stars, putting them into a Thrawn Trilogy plot is just not feasible, and skipping right over it to get to later stuff would leave too much for the fans to catch up on. Maybe we can have an older Mara Jade hanging out with Luke and leave the rest in the background, but frankly even that might be too much to sell. Let's come up with new conflicts and new plots.
Star Wars
Episode VII: Passing the Lightsaber
To start, why not let the series come full circle? With the Empire defeated, the Rebels have to set up a new system. Remembering the weakness of the Republic, they instead set up a strong central government. In the past 30 years, however, they have seen many of their old ideals tarnished. Luke becomes increasingly isolated, withdrawing from public to focus on building the Jedi Order. Leia hopes to pass on the burden of leadership to a new generation, but sees a greediness in those who didn't have to fight for the freedom the Rebellion gave them. Afraid of a resurgence by the Dark Side, they set out to put down an independence movement in one system. Suddenly, they realize that they stand in danger of becoming a new Empire: the Jedi, under Luke, stand up to the Republic. Leia, backed by a group of young idealists, hopes to find a diplomatic solution, but ultimately sees that she will have to take back control of the Republic herself before it goes completely down the dark path.
Meanwhile, Han and Lando are facing getting old. Their adventures are no longer so much about accomplishing goals as just reviving the feeling of youth and danger. They hang out with younger hotshots and scoundrels who see them both with respect and a measure of pity. With a meaningful conflict to fight for, they set out to help Leia regain control of the Republic. Luke sends the Jedi he has been training to aid them.
The Interweb disappointed me for pictures of an older Han Solo, but I found this kick-ass picture of him ... well, kicking ass instead. Source: Hal Hefner on Deviantart.
The movie ends with the heroes once again leading the Republic. But they know that their time has passed; they're too old for this shit, but they see that the new crew who helped them will be safe hands to pass the Republic into.
Star Wars
Episode VII: An Even Newer Hope
The last concept starts and ends on a galactic scale; I think it would also be interesting to start small and go big, like the first Star Wars did. In this plot, a kid from a backwater planet (NOT Tatooine, because Tatooine is a backwater like Cabot Cove is a safe little village where no one ever gets murdered) discovers that she has a connection to the Force. She comes from a planet plagued by sentient predators, so she has excellent combat and survival skills. She travels to the Jedi temple, but they say she's too old to begin the training.
As she gets ready to leave, disappointed, the Temple is attacked by a secret order of anti-Force assassins. The Jedi Order is thrown into chaos when Luke is kidnapped/put into a coma, and Leia and Han turn to this young, untested warrior for help. Can they track down the mystery of this secretive anti-Jedi group? What happens when they discover that they're being funded by a group inside the Republic leadership, who see the Jedi as a paramilitary religious group posing a threat to stability?
Star Wars
Episode VII: A Divided Galaxy
The last plot starts exactly like Patton Oswalt's now-infamous rant about the new movie: an armored arm appears above the lip of a huge hole in the desert, and Boba Fett crawls out of the Sarlacc. If you do the math, he's in his mid-thirties in the events of the original series, so he'd be in his mid-late sixties now. He finds himself in a world he hardly recognizes, the powerful criminal world dominated by the Hutts (and Black Sun, if we want to bring in the EU) he remembers all but gone. It has been replaced by a more disorganized system of petty criminal bosses and warlords. The galaxy, rather than being a place of peace and prosperity, is in a period of economic hardship and decline. With the memory of the Empire still fresh in their minds, worlds have given up on the promise of a galactic democracy. Rich planets hoard their resources and poor planets suffer.
Boba Fett finds himself a relic, but there are a few young warriors (and an old droid) who are drawn to him. In a twist, he runs across Han Solo. The two have a moment of violence ("You tried to kill me!" says Han. Fett replies, "It's time to finish the job!"), but then they see that the galaxy has treated them both the same. They get in touch with the Jedi and with Leia and what remains of the Rebel leadership. Fueled by a mixture of adventure-lust and political hope, they forge an alliance of bounty hunters, smugglers, and the remains of the Rebels--augmented by new fighters inspired by their cause--to overcome the warlords. At the end of the movie, there's a conflict between freedom (espoused by the seedier parts of the ragtag army) and order (espoused by the Jedi and Rebels), creating a rift that threatens to split them apart and leads to the conflict of the next movie. The last shot is Leia standing sadly at a wall-sized window of a Rebel ship as Han flies off in the Millennium Falcon, as the couple is divided by the impending conflict.
You really have put a lot of thought into this!
ReplyDeleteOne question I have is: in the second script, what is it about the young hero that makes the old heroes turn to her for help?
Realistically, I suspect that Luke, Leia, and Han will have small roles in the movies. That said, I really like the idea of the first script ending with the characters divided over how best to rule the galaxy.
That was always one of the most interesting things about the EU to me: it's one thing to unite to overthrow a government, and a completely different thing to cooperate to rule the galaxy with your old allies.
I figure that maybe she sprang into action during the attack and showed how capable she is. Maybe Luke feels tugged by the Force into trusting her, especially since she arrived at just the right time. Of course, her buddy from back on the rough planet she grew up on, who only agreed to come with her to the temple so she could be a Jedi, never counted on getting swept into the adventure, too.... (or is that too Han Solo?)
ReplyDeleteMy friend, you should never ask "Is that too Han Solo?" If anything, you should be asking, "Is that Han Solo enough?"
ReplyDelete