Secret Star Wars Movies Bringing Back Controversial Characters?
The upcoming secret Star Wars movie might bring back characters from the sequel trilogy.
It was reported that Damon Lindelof is working on a secret Star Wars project for Lucasfilm. Details about the project are being kept under wraps, but a new report suggests it will feature some familiar characters. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lindelof’s Star Wars will occur after the events of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker and could include characters from Disney’s sequel trilogy.
Bringing back characters from the previous three Star Wars entries is an interesting decision, considering how divisive two of the films from the sequel trilogy turned out to be. 2017’s The Last Jedi sparked a huge online discourse about the decisions made in the film and the revelation that the fan-favorite character, Luke Skywalker, failed to rebuild the Jedi order. The backlash following the release of The Last Jedi was so palpable and intense that the creators seemingly decided to change course in the franchise’s next entry.
The Last Jedi brought forward the idea of a new Jedi not having any connection to the Sith or well-established characters. Daisey Ridley’s Rey was told in the film that she didn’t come from a famous bloodline and that her parents were no one. Director Rian Johnson chose to tell the story of an outsider looking to find her way amid family turmoil and discovers that her way is to try to bring balance to the galaxy. It was a Star Wars story that fans didn’t expect coming out of 2015’s The Force Awakens.
However, the negative response forced J.J. Abrams and company to recon everything Johnson was setting up in The Last Jedi. Suddenly, Emperor Palpatine was alive and well in the Star Wars universe (“the dead speak,” as the opening crawl revealed). Despite having been told she didn’t come from a familiar bloodline, Rey became the granddaughter of the Emperor. By the end, Star Wars was in limbo after another divisive theatrical adventure.
Lucasfilm has worked hard to regain many Star Wars fans’ trust with the Disney+ series. The Mandalorian was perhaps the perfect palate cleanser for anyone who lived through the dark period between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Instead of there being constant arguments on social media about whether Luke Skywalker should’ve been written as a failure, Star Wars fans were fawning over Baby Yoda. Some would say the whole world was fawning over Baby Yoda.
But it does beg the question, why would Lindelof and company want to remind people of the sequel trilogy? You’d think the folks over at Lucasfilm would want to distance themselves from it and the actors who played the characters. Perhaps this is due to the ideas pitched by Ms. Marvel director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and screenwriter Justin Britt-Gibson, who came on board the project to assist with scripting duties.
Whatever the case, Lucasfilm hopes to get a theatrical Star Wars project off the ground soon. Although many projects have been rumored (Kevin Feige’s Star Wars, Taika Waititi, etc.), all the effort and thought have gone into producing content for Disney+.
