Disney has left the next Star Wars trilogy to simmer on the back burner while it pours its effort into new Star Wars series. Star Wars is notorious for having a complicated and convoluted timeline that jumps all over the place—which affords it a lot of freedom on where to place its next trilogy in the chronological Star Wars order. While some might argue that telling a story before The Phantom Menace (like The Acolyte) would be a great move for the next Star Wars trilogy, it might be better to fill in some of the lore gaps caused by the sequels.
With the hate behind the Star Wars prequels gone, Disney has a great opportunity to learn from its newfound success. They have already begun to do so with series such as Andor and Rogue One—which directly lead up to A New Hope. But now that most of the stories in between the prequels and originals have been told, it's time to fill in the gaps between the originals and sequels. The Mandalorian and the Star Wars: Skeleton Crew have begun to scratch the surface of what happens after Return of the Jedi, but further explanation is required to solidify the sequels.
Lucasfilm Should Tell A New Prequel Trilogy
Lucasfilm’s next Star Wars trilogy should take place in between the original trilogy and the sequels. There’s still an enormous interest in what happens after Return of the Jedi, and this way Disney would be able to bring actors like Mark Hamill, without de-aging him as much as The Book of Boba Fett. Plenty of other original trilogy characters could also make appearances or cameos in order to fill in all the details between the originals and sequels. With The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett showing the initial years after the fall of the Empire, the new trilogy could show the beginning of the First Order.
By creating a prequel for the sequels, Lucasfilm is free to explore years worth of lore that builds up to The Force Awakens. In addition to bolstering its cast with familiar faces from the original trilogy, the new prequel trilogy can also leverage many of the popular characters from Star Wars’ Disney+ series. For example, the trilogy could easily pay off the theory that Grogu’s blood was used to create Snoke. Star Wars hasn’t shown much of how the First Order came to be—which is strange considering how heavily the history of the Empire has been featured.
While the new prequel trilogy cannot show the sequel characters interacting with each other—since most of them meet for the first time in The Force Awakens—it can show more of their individual origins. Star Wars comics have featured Poe’s escapades as a Resistance X-wing pilot. And the new prequel trilogy could show more of his origins as a Resistance member, similarly to how Andor shows Cassian’s origins as a rebel. Nevertheless, a new Star Wars prequel trilogy could greatly benefit from mixing familiar faces from the originals and sequels.
Sequel Prequels Would Be A Chance To Explore Luke & Ben
One of the most exciting plot lines that a new prequel trilogy could explore is Luke Skywalker’s betrayal of Ben Solo. The events that led up to the collapse of Luke’s Jedi Order would be both fascinating and heartbreaking to behold. Seeing things from both Luke and Ben’s perspectives would clarify a lot of the questions raised by the sequel trilogy that seem to conflict with their established characters. In other words, a prequel trilogy exploring Luke and Ben’s relationship would give Disney a second chance at fleshing out the tragedy that happens between them.
Not only could a new prequel trilogy expand on Ben and Luke’s relationship, but it could easily poetically parallel the prequel trilogy. Both trilogies would end with the downfall of the Jedi Order by a rogue student who was seduced to the dark side of the Force. Showing Ben making the same mistakes as Anakin would reinforce the sequels’ comparison of the two. Throughout the sequel trilogy, Ben attempts to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, and the new prequel trilogy can help explain why he felt the need to live up to Anakin’s legacy in the first place.
Overall, a prequel trilogy for the sequel trilogy could be exactly what the fans have been looking for, while also tying up the loose ends Disney left from the sequel trilogy. Original trilogy fans would be thrilled to see Luke as a Jedi, while fans of the prequel trilogy could appreciate the parallels between Anakin and Ben. Meanwhile, younger fans will be happy to see sequel trilogy characters back on the big screen. All in all, Star Wars’ next trilogy of movies could tie together everything by filling in the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
