Ever since Disney bought Lucasfilm, they’ve been telling new stories set in the Star Wars universe. Despite the infinite storytelling potential that the franchise provides, Disney has been playing it safe by revolving its movies around the same era (and worse yet, it’s an era that’s already been extensively covered).
The Mouse House is reportedly taking a break from making new The Simpsons, there’s profit to be had, so Disney definitely isn’t done making Star Wars movies for good. Here are 10 Eras In The Star Wars Timeline That Disney Should Explore.
The Old Republic
Star Wars fans have been dying to see a Knights of the Old Republic movie ever since Disney bought Lucasfilm and pledged to start barraging audiences with new content. During this period, the Sith were a much more prominent threat, and when the Republic was founded in 25,053 BBY, the Sith launched a handful of nefarious attacks in order to bring down its peaceful democracy.
The prequel trilogy told the story of the tail end of the Republic, and how it came crumbling down. A movie – or even a trilogy of movies – about the Old Republic could focus on its origins.
Rise of the Empire
At the end of the prequel trilogy, Palpatine assumes absolute power of the Galactic Republic and turns it into the Galactic Empire. Anakin Skywalker is reborn as Darth Vader and he and the Emperor begin their iron-fisted rule over the galaxy. By the time the original trilogy begins, the Empire’s reign is in full swing.
We’ve seen stories set around this time – both of Disney’s “anthology” films, Solo, are set during this period – but it’s always told from the perspective of the Rebels. It could be fascinating to see the rise of the Empire through the eyes of Vader and a possible padawan, a la The Force Unleashed.
The Mandalorian-Jedi War
In 5,000 BBY, the Mandalorians and the Jedi Order went to war and it lasted for over a thousand years. With Disney+’s The Mandalorian drumming up interest in the people of Mandalore among the fan base and a long history of the Jedi Order to draw from, the Mandalorian-Jedi War could make a great basis for a movie.
The war included the Mandalorian crusades. A focus on the history of the Mandalorians would go over well with Star Wars fans after The Mandalorian became Disney’s most popular Star Wars project to date and its first season teased the Mandalorians’ rich backstory.
The New Sith Wars
Since the New Sith Wars – also known as the Jedi-Sith War – took place over a period of a thousand years (from 2,000 BBY to 1,000 BBY), it couldn’t possibly be done justice in just one movie. But a full trilogy of movies, or possibly a serialized drama on Disney+, could chart the full escalation of this epic conflict.
The New Sith Wars saw the Sith expand their reach so much that the Jedi Order began to drop their keeping-the-peace facade and became more violent just to deal with them, all while the Galactic Republic’s once-thriving democracy faded in the backdrop.
The Hundred-Year Darkness
Thousands of years before the events of the Skywalker saga, a rogue Jedi started experimenting with the dark side of the Force. He gained a few followers, and eventually, the Sith were born. Until then, the Sith had been considered brothers-in-arms with the Jedi. Cast out of the Jedi Order, the rogue Jedi doubled down, led the Sith to bring evil into the galaxy, and kicked off a period known as “the Hundred-Year Darkness.”
This rogue Jedi hasn’t been identified in the canon (although, in Legends, he was identified as Ajunta Pall), so there’s a chance for a visionary writer-director to come in and make the character their own. It could be the Breaking Bad of Star Wars.
Before the Republic
After the Republic was founded, it existed for tens of thousands of years before being toppled to make way for the Galactic Empire, which was toppled to make way for the New Republic, which was toppled to make way for the First Order, which was toppled to make way for “Rey Skywalker.” Government has existed in the galaxy for a long, long time.
But there was also a time before the Republic that saw the formation of the Jedi Order, among 12,000 years’ worth of other events. This is as far away from the Skywalker saga as Disney could possibly get.
The Clone Wars
The Clone Wars have been covered extensively in Star Wars media, but it’s always been in animated form. The animated series is fantastic – it’s one of the best Star Wars stories ever told – but a live-action movie could look at the Clone Wars with new scale and visuals.
There was a theatrically released movie based on the TV show, but it was panned by critics and fans alike for focusing on the most boring aspects of the story. A live-action movie set during the Clone Wars could bring all the best characters from the TV series to life, including Ahsoka Tano, who fans have been dying to see make a live-action appearance.
Fall of the New Republic
The Mandalorian is set about five years after Return of the Jedi. The Empire’s rule is still fresh in people’s memories and the New Republic is on the rise. When the sequel trilogy begins, the First Order has already taken over from the New Republic and begun a new tyrannical reign.
It would be interesting to see how the First Order began, and how the New Republic fell. The sequel trilogy never gave us much of an idea of what it’s like to live in the galaxy under the First Order’s control, so a story about its rise could fill in those gaps.
Zygerrian Slave Empire
In the Outer Rim Territories, the Zygerrians enslaved a massive number of beings from across the galaxy and ran a slaving enterprise for centuries, presided over by a monarchy. When the Jedi caught wind of this organization, they headed over there to topple it, and eventually managed to overturn the monarchy and free the slaves.
The story of how the Jedi defeated the Zygerrian Slave Empire would make a great one-off Star Wars outing. It wouldn’t stretch to a trilogy or a streaming series, but a one-and-done cinematic effort could be a breathtaking, action-packed thrill-ride with a fantastic cast of characters.
Years after The Rise of Skywalker
Although The Rise of Skywalker was touted as the final chapter in “the Skywalker saga,” mainly so Disney could give it an Endgame-like sense of finality in the marketing, it would be interesting to explore the years after the Resistance toppled the Final Order. Frankly, The Rise of Skywalker didn’t feel particularly definitive.
It seemed as though Lando and Jannah were about to set off on an adventure worth exploring. Finn has been confirmed off-screen to be Force-sensitive. And thinking further ahead, decades down the line, to when the Resistance and the First Order are distant memories, the storytelling possibilities in this universe are endless.
