"I'VE GOT A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS"
2015 is a long way in a galaxy far, far away.
But, Episode VII is coming.
To this hopeless Star Wars fan, that's good news.
But I have a few worries.
The main thing that concerns me is that J.J. Abrams has been put in charge of this thing.
This guy destroyed Star Trek!!!!
I absolutely loathe the new Star Trek and I lay the blame completely at Abrams' feet.
If he does to Star Wars what he has done to Star Trek, I might have to take some drastic action.
So, in the hopes (because I'm not totally hopeless) that the Star Wars saga can be salvaged, I've decided to put out there my idea for where the sequel trilogy could go.
Disclaimer: Now these are just ideas and notes and not a complete outline for the sequel trilogy
Episode VII - The Missing Hero (or The Fallen Hero)
Episode VIII - The Sith Strike Back
Episode IX - Triumph of the Force (or Victory of the Force)
The over-arching story arc of the trilogy is the final victory of the light side of the Force over the dark side and its ultimate destruction.
How can this happen?
Well, suppose instead of a yin-yang understanding of the Force, suppose the Force is inherently good and that it has been corrupted by an outside object to create the dark side.
And since the Force is created by all life in the galaxy, the object that corrupts it is an object that is not alive and an object of Death.
So here is what I suggest. Lets call this object the Kaiburr Crystal (yep, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, I'm looking right at you) and it is located on the dead tomb world of the Sith known as Korriban (nod to the expanded universe). This crystal was for many millennia imbued through native Sith magic with the souls of the Force-sensitive Sith race against their will by their priests (think Mayan human sacrifice here). Over the millenia these dead Sith souls reached out to the Force and slowly corrupted it and created the Dark Side of the Force. Whereas the Force is created by life, the dark side is created by something that is not alive and yet imbued with Force sensitive souls that are trapped and desperate and eventually succumb to bitterness and madness. Hence the creation of the Dark Side of the Force.
So, if this object is destroyed, then couldn't the Dark Side be destroyed as well? Yep. That's the idea.
More on this later.
Another theme of the trilogy is the redemption of the father through the son as it is played out in the Skywalker family.
(Note - If the new movies don't have to do with the Skywalker family then I may have to take even more drastic action.)
And another theme of the trilogy is the conflict between Ben and Anakin which mirrors the prequel trilogy.
More on this later.
(Note - Just a word about the prequel trilogy: It should be neither over-acknowledged nor contradicted. For good or bad, the prequels exist and they are canon.)
Episode VIII - The Missing Hero (or The Fallen Hero)
see the poster above for a great preview of what could be
Is that Luke on Korriban? Could be.
It has been 30-35 years since Return of the Jedi.
Grand Master Jedi Luke Skywalker is missing (he's been missing for some time perhaps as long as 2 years).
He left to discover the origins of the Sith and perhaps the Dark Side of the Force itself which leads him to the dead tomb-world of the Sith species, Korriban, where he is captured and held by a powerful Sith spirit that for the moment I will name Darth Thrall.
Darth Thrall is of the Sith species and his purpose is to syphon off Luke's life force so that he can come back to life and he holds Luke as his captive and under his control. Yep, he's that powerful.
Now, 2 Jedi decide to go in search of Luke, The Missing Hero.
These Jedi are brothers, Anakin and Ben Skywalker. Anakin is older in his early 20s and Ben is around 18 or 19 and has just become a Jedi prior to the events in this movie.
The movie starts on Nar Shadda, the homeworld of the Hutts, where the two Jedi have been captured (or allowed themselves to be captured) by a relative of Jabba the Hutt (perhaps his son?). They are on Nar Shadda because they got a lead on where Luke might have gone and are following up on it.
Once they find out the information they need, which will put them on the trail to Korriban, they easily break free and take down the Hutt (all this is a nod to Return of the Jedi).
They escape in none other than the Millenium Falcon.
But who is piloting the ship?
Well, I think it would be hilarious if the copilot was Chewbacca except now he has all grey hair (cuz he's old, get it?) and a girl who is the daughter of Han Solo and Princess Leia. For now let's call her Jaina Solo (nod to the expanded universe and because I always liked that name).
She is not a Jedi, about 20 years old and a pilot very much in the mold of her dad. Now here's the thing, both brothers are in love with Jaina but she prefers Ben. (cousins in love, is that too weird? Maybe)
So, of course, we have a love triangle that will have big consequences down the road.
They return to Coruscant with their information and report to both the Jedi Council and Han and Leia (yep, here we get cameos of the original actors).
The boys want to pursue the lead they have but the Council forbids them to go as does Han and Leia, but they decide to go anyway in Jaina's personal ship (I don't know, lets call it the Centurion Cruiser).
They head to Korriban but its not easy to get there because it is located in an area of space that is almost un-navigable and we get some cool piloting by Jaina to get them through.
Once they make it to Korriban, they go in search for Luke. Remember this is a tomb world and their are wild animal-beasts or perhaps Massassai warriors (nod to the Expanded Universe) protecting the tombs.
In the course of the journey, Anakin gets separated from the others and is placed in a situation where he has to use the Dark Side of the Force in order to survive. This is the first touch of the Dark Side for Anakin and will have great consequences later in the trilogy (also, if this movie is called The Fallen Hero, this would allude to Anakin).
Finally they find Luke and the spirit of Dark Thrall and have to actually fight an enthralled Luke (the father fighting his sons, does that sound a little familiar?) and Luke actually overcomes Anakin but before he can kill him, Ben convinces him to return to the light side and overcome Thrall's uh.. enthrallment.
Now when Luke is freed, Thrall disappears with a shout (NOOOOOO!!!!! ... hello Revenge of the Sith bad Darth Vader yell of despair).
The boys, Jaina, and Luke escape and return to Coruscant. The Missing Hero has returned and their is a big celebration. Jaina and Ben celebrate with a kiss as a jealous Anakin looks on with an equally concerned Luke.
And then...
In the final scene of the film, we return to Korriban as a large red crystal is shown which smokes and then in a flash of light and a scream of anger... Darth Thrall appears alive once again.
This first movie should be a self-contained unit, just as Star Wars (Episode IV) was but with the possibility of future movies (remember at the end of Star Wars, Darth Vader rights his ship and flies away to who knows where).
Episode VIII - The Sith Strike Back
Ok, so I'm not crazy about that title but it works for now and does describe what happens in the movie.
Darth Thrall attacks the New Republic and specifically the Jedi temple on Coruscant.
Perhaps he uses the Massassai Warriors of the expanded universe to help him (are they immune to the Force? Interesting idea).
The movie ends with a big battle between Luke, his sons and Thrall.
Thrall defeats Ben, knocks Anakin out, and battles Luke to the point of submission and just as Anakin recovers his senses...
THRALL KILLS LUKE SKYWALKER!!!!
Yep, that's right. Luke is killed and Anakin witnesses it and then goes absolutely bonkers (another NOOOOO!!!! scream? Maybe) and using the Dark Side he kills Thrall.
(See the parallel between this and Luke in Return of the Jedi who succeeded in overcoming his anger? Anakin fails and succumbs to the Dark Side - who is The Fallen Hero from Episode VII?)
Episode IX - Triumph of the Force (or Victory of the Force)
Anakin has disappeared.
Ben goes to find him along with Jaina.
(This mirrors Episode VII just as the two plot devices of the two Death Stars mirrored each other in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi)
Anakin has fled back to Korriban and found the Kaiburr Crystal which is the source of the Dark Side of the Force and has become more powerful than ever in the Dark Side.
A final confrontation develops between Ben and Anakin.
And just as Anakin has Ben at his mercy and is about to kill him, Jaina begs him not too and is ready to sacrifice herself for Ben by throwing herself over Ben's helpless body (or something like that).
Anakin can't do it because he still loves Jaina and then...
the Force Spirit of Luke appears and urges Anakin to return to the good side of the Force and destroy the Kaiburr Crystal which he does (big dramatic moment) but at the cost of his own life.
Anakin dies (returning to the light side of the Force) but the Kaiburr Crystal is destroyed and so is the Dark Side of the Force.
The sun shines on Korriban for the first time in many millennia.
Ben and Jaina escape seeing the Force ghosts of Luke and Anakin as they leave and then they live happily ever after.
Cue the John Williams music.
Well, that's it.
That's my idea for the sequel trilogy.
I think it would make some good movies.
I would pay to see them (especially if it said in the credits: Story by Matthew Cochran, heh-heh)
Obviously, some things need to be fleshed out and there are some lingering questions, the biggest probably being - who is Anakin and Ben's mother? But hey, as I said, these are just notes not a script or even a movie outline treatment so give me a break and let me know what you think.
