Why These 5 ‘Star Wars’ Legends Materials That Could Have Been In The Sequel Trilogy Were Not Chosen
If you are interested in any of the following Star Wars Legends stories (as these books are still in print), I recommend you skip any you are interested in.
Star Wars fans are a passionate bunch, with many who have loved the series since its release in 1977. When the prequels started to come out in 1999, fans were divided, with many loving them and others not so much. When the sequel trilogy movies were released, people reacted similarly, with many critics having an additional weapon in their arsenal: comparing it to stories in Legends.
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Legends, also known as the Expanded Universe before Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, continued the story of our heroes, with many of these stories being beloved by fans. Many of these fans think these stories would have been better than what we actually got. Whether or not these would have made better stories is an entirely subjective discussion that I won’t get into here, but when you look at it from a business perspective, Disney had valid reasons not to pursue these options.
Story 1: The Thrawn Trilogy
The first significant story to continue of our heroic rebels was a series of three books written by Timothy Zahn in the early 1990s. Fans as a whole loved this series. Taking place 5 years after Return of the Jedi, the Empire, now led by Chiss tactical mastermind Grand Admiral Thrawn, is now about even in strength with the Rebellion (now known as the New Republic). This story has familiar heroes Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, Lando, Wedge, and more, all very consistently portrayed with the way they were in the original trilogy, as well as some fan-favourite new characters including Thrawn, Mara Jade, Gilad Pellaeon, Joruus C’Baoth, and Talon Karrde. So with all this going for it, why not choose it?
Why It Wasn’t Chosen
One big reason for this is that since it’s set only 5 years after the original trilogy, the actors would be too old to reprise their roles, and if they set the story far in the future, it would disrupt the story and upset fans. In addition, Leia is about to have twins at this point, which would be less believable if we used Carrie Fisher’s actual age. This age difference would also make Luke and Mara Jade’s dynamic different. It would also imply that the Empire survived decades after Return of the Jedi, making the Battle of Endor feel less special. Also, while the series as a whole is seen as brilliant, cloning is overused, including the idea of Luke having an evil clone, which likely wouldn’t play well with audiences either. Also, Thrawn is killed by his bodyguard in an anticlimactic way, an ending that played out fine in the novels since it was given proper context but may not do so well on screen.
Story 2: Dark Empire
Set shortly after the above story, the comic book series Dark Empire featured a story beat that it seems JJ Abrams borrowed for The Rise of Skywalker: Somehow Palpatine has returned. This story, created in 1991-92 by the late Tom Veitch, shows the Empire as the villain, except this time, more powerful than before, and Palpatine is more powerful than ever. There are Star Destroyers bigger than the ones in the original trilogy. The Galaxy Gun is a superweapon even more powerful than both Death Stars. Also, like the Thrawn trilogy, Dark Empire is a trilogy, meaning each movie would have a natural start and end point.
Why It Wasn’t Chosen
As with the previous entry, the actors would be far too old for a proper redo. Also, this story hits many of the same beats the sequels were criticized for: Palpatine coming back via cloning, a resurrected Empire with more superweapons, etc. Also, Luke plans to defeat the Empire from the inside by joining the Dark Side and becoming Palpatine’s apprentice before needing to be redeemed by Leia. Based on how poorly Luke in The Last Jedi was received by some fans, a dark side Luke would probably be seen as even worse.
Story 3: The New Jedi Order
Seen as the most prominent storyline post-Return of the Jedi, our heroes have finally made peace with the Empire and are set to finally have peacetime. Starting in 1999 and happening over 20 years after the original trilogy, this story features a race from outside the galaxy, the tech-hating religious zealots Yuuzhan Vong invading the galaxy. They take over Coruscant, destroy dozens of planets, terraform others, kill over 365 trillion individuals, and are only defeated by the Jedi and the New Republic fighting alongside everyone else in the galaxy. It’s not just that our heroes team up with the comparatively tame Empire, but also the previously wildcard smuggler’s alliance, the usually traitorous Hutts, the fan favourite Mandalorians, and even more huge factions. The prequels saw the bad guys win, while the OT saw the good guys win. Seeming the good guys and bad guys have to work together to defeat a more significant threat seems like a natural way to end the series. Also, the classic characters, who are now primarily mentors to the younger generation, are old enough that their original actors could have played them. What’s not to love?
Why It Wasn’t Chosen
Many people disliked things about the Vong, mainly their complete absence from the Force itself, but also their overly edgy nature that made them feel like something out of Warhammer 40k. Also, the series would likely have to be rated at least 14A (similar to PG-13 in the States) to portray them accurately. This, combined with the high number of character deaths, including Chewbacca right off the bat, would take away from the family-friendly nature of the franchise. The book series was also 19 books long, meaning plenty of material would have to be cut. Sure, the gaps could be filled in with a Clone Wars-style show, but the immediate reaction by many fans would be one of disappointment seeing their favourite characters from the series not used in the movie version.
Story 4: Legacy Of The Force
Set over 35 years after the events of the original trilogy, this series deals with the idea of Han and Leia’s oldest son Jacen becoming a Sith Lord and creating his own mini-faction. Eventually, he tries turning Luke’s son Ben to the dark side, kills Luke’s wife, and succeeds in turning one of his friends to the dark side. The Galactic Alliance, the new name for the ‘good’ government, teams up with the Empire to take down this new threat. Eventually, Jacen is taken down by his twin sister Jaina, who was given combat training by Boba Fett. We know Adam Driver could play Jacen (given his parallels to Kylo), Daisey Ridley could play Jaina Solo, and the original actors would be around the right age to play their respective characters. We also know that Temuera Morrison is willing to charge back in (like a bantha) to play Boba. Sounds good, right?
Why It Wasn’t Chosen
Sadly, this has more to do with the environment back when Disney made the purchase. The series, having been written in the mid to late 2000s, is one of the first to heavily reference the prequels and contains heavy politics. Although the prequels have seen an increase in acceptance from the general public recently, at the time, many fans wanted to avoid making a new trilogy ‘like the prequels.’
Story 5: Fate Of The Jedi
Set shortly after Legacy of the Force, this story seems to tie everything together. The main enemy is Abeloth, the seemingly most powerful being in the Star Wars universe, even more powerful than Luke Skywalker, who now possesses almost god-like power. Abeloth wants to ‘wipe out civilization,’ Things get so bad that the Jedi and Sith even have to team up to take her out. Again, the actors would be the right age, and literally saving the galaxy is where the stakes are. Why not try this one out?
Why It Wasn’t Chosen
At this point, every story mentioned above has become required reading to fully understand the status quo at the start, and I don’t think that the opening crawl would be enough time to catch everyone up. Also, by this point, Luke and Abeloth are both so powerful that there would be no doubt that they would see the same accusations of being Mary Sues (or Gary Stu of Luke).
Regardless of how you feel about whether or not these stories are better than what we got in the sequel trilogy when it comes to not alienating general audiences, it makes much more sense to have broad appeal. The easiest way to achieve this is to ‘play it safe,’ which usually involves simply doing what’s worked before. In this case, sticking close to the formula of the original trilogy makes complete sense.
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Source(s): Wookieepedia