WARNING: FULL SPOILERS FOR Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker FOLLOW

We are now a few weeks removed from the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the end of this season of the Mandalorian. With the recent departure of David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the potential Rian Johnson trilogy seemingly a long time away and only a couple of other Disney+ series in the works, Ashley and Dylan have provided some suggestions for what they should do next in the Star Wars Universe.

Bring Ben Back

Adam Driver has been pretty open with the fact that he’s done with Star Wars after The Rise of Skywalker, but after the ending of the film, the thing I want the most is to see him come back. 

It speaks to my disappointment with the film, but I was originally content with the idea of the ‘Skywalker Saga’ being wrapped up and never seeing one of these characters again. Then on the Star Wars Show Live Red Carpet event for The Rise of Skywalker, I heard LucasFilm head Kathleen Kennedy mention that the Skywalkers could always return in one form or another. 

As far as I’m concerned Adam Driver’s talent was wasted in this trilogy as was Ben Solo. In the lead up to release I’d discussed the idea of having Ben survive the film and have to deal with the real repercussions of the bad things he’s done and how much of an interesting take that would be. 

Killing him was a waste, bring Ben back. 

– Dylan Blight

Jannah: First Order Deserter

Seeing as we’re unlikely to see Finn’s backstory in live action, Jannah is a good, if not better, alternative. Start with her being taken as a baby by the First Order. Show us her training and how the First Order tries to keep their stormtroopers in line. Maybe Richard E Grant’s Allegiant General Enric Pryde could be involved as a key player in the training of these stormtroopers prior to his promotion. Is the element of race in the selection process of who they turn into stormtroopers? It seems like ripe material to be explored.

The idea of an entire squadron laying down their weapons and deserting their post when they feel like they are doing the wrong thing seems like it would be a powerful to see on screen. How did they end up on Kef Bir and evade the First Order? They could also explain how she got her name because Jannah sounds nothing like TZ-1719. We all know that Star Wars is mostly about how people got their names.

The story could be bookended with scenes where she is adventuring with Lando post-Rise of Skywalker, as he suggested. Then you can reveal that he is her father, likely a love child he had at some point. We also know that everyone in Star Wars in related.

– Ashley Hobley

1000 Years Into The Future

In the most likely scenario that they won’t bring Adam Driver and Ben Solo back for another film, I’d like to see the timeline move drastically forward. I want the slate properly cleaned to open us up to a new galaxy finally. Disney possibly should have just done this upon acquiring LucasFilm with their new trilogy. 

Moving 1000 years into the future means you’re free of any events of the nine films, the characters and hopefully any more bullshit lineage tie-ins. You can have brand new planets, characters and introduce new technology into the Star Wars universe. You have seen the Jedi returned, new and different without the mistakes of the past Jedi. You could have Rey mentioned as this historical figure that helped rebuild the Jedi with news ideals and direction.

I mean, there are heaps of ideas. Moving that far into the future just free’s up to any ideas anyone could ever have without having to rely on nostalgia and making it “feel like Star Wars.” Reinvent the wheel, go crazy, it’s the only way Star Wars can survive. 

– Dylan Blight

Son of the Emperor

So, you decided to make Rey a Palpatine. I really don’t line that choice, but if that’s the direction you’re going, double down on it. Explore how the son of the Emperor was raised. Was it a known thing or was he raised in secret? Who was his mother? Was it Sly Moore, Palpatine’s right-hand woman from the prequels, or someone else? My only hope is that the child was the result of artificial insemination as the thought of Palpatine naturally procreating is one that doesn’t need to be perpetuated.

The series could be used to explain why Palpatine’s son doesn’t have force abilities and is unsuitable for Palpatine’s plans post-Return of The Jedi. Did he have powers but lost them somehow (stolen by Palpatine or a rival) or did he never have them? The later would be interesting as you would imagine he would be seen as a disappointment to Palpatine, which would explain why his son would leave him.

Jodie Comer needs to be in this. It is non-negotiable. If you are going to have her, an Emmy Award Winner, and Billy Howle, an up-and-coming actor, you might as well utilize them. Also, if they could re-frame their deaths as them sacrificing themselves as not to reveal Rey’s location, that would be great.

– Ashley Hobley

The Unknown Regions

One of the most tantalising selection of words this recent trilogy’s run across movies, games, books, comics and tv shows have used are The Unknown Regions. It became a big player in The Rise of Skywalker, obviously, but its exploration in Star Wars is very limited. 

If we still need to stick close to the current timeline, let’s rewind. Go back to around the time of The Phantom Menance and through the eyes of new characters from the Unknown Regions lets see the events of the galaxy play out from that side, but as a B-story.

In Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath Trilogy there was a bunch of Empire ships sent into the Unknown Regions after the Battle of Jakku. Are they what helped kick-off The Final Order? Grand Admiral Thrawn is also deeply connected to the Unknown Regions and fans of Rebels are waiting to find out where Thrawn and Ezra disappeared to at the end of the finale of Rebels.  

The Unknown Region could easily be a way to introduce new characters, story lines, planets and more while tying into existing Star Wars events along the way. 

– Dylan Blight

Another Dyad In The Force

One of the most interesting parts of the new trilogy is the bond between Ben and Rey. It turns out the reason for their bond is because they are a Dyad in the force, something that happens once a generation. With so much else going on around it, especially in the last film, we never really got any answers as to what that actually means. Was it something that was done to them or was it a case of destiny? So why not explore another pair from a previous generation to give us these answers and if you’re going to, maybe a recent film could provide some inspiration.

Your Name, the 2016 Japanese film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, was about two young people with a magical connection where they would swap bodies and developed a need to see each other. Now why not apply that to Star Wars, minus the body swapping, with force powers. Two force users, potentially galaxies apart, connected by the force who then have to work together to stop some sort of cataclysmic event. Could be pretty interesting.

– Ashley Hobley