Twenty years ago I remember anticipating getting tickets and seeing the continuation of a saga that captivated my imagination since I was a youngling. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was not my first introduction to Star Wars. I watched the movies on VHS shortly after The Return of the Jedi left theaters and was released on home media. Until Phantom Menace, the original trilogy was the only Star Wars I had, and I gladly watched again and again. I loved having the story of the Skywalkers, and how their family shaped the galaxy. After that long hiatus, the next trilogy came out. Then I had to wait another long hiatus until this final trilogy was released.
But, the story of the Skywalker family is coming to an end. The characters whose eyes we’ve viewed a whole universe through will be closing the final chapter on their book.
Star Wars is not done yet, however.
The reason for mentioning the previous gaps in time is to say that we will have another. According to Hollywood Reporter and other sources, Bob Iger has said that there will be a large gap of time before another movie is released. We’ve been here before Star Wars fans. In between previous gaps were a plethora of amazing galactic characters and stories who we’ve now seen in canon media, like Grand Admiral Thrawn. Though these nine films have been about Anakin, Luke, Leia and those close to them there is a whole universe that has life.
Still, it will be sad to not have the Skywalkers as a focal point in this universe, at least in feature films. The good news is we are not done with sagas in the Star Wars universe.
In the Hollywood Reporter article, Kathleen Kennedy is quoted as saying they are looking at the next saga. Rian Johnson who helmed The Last Jedi, and David Benioff and DB Weiss of “Game of Thrones” fame are each crafting their own trilogies. It had been reported before that these three would be involved in Star Wars projects. Now we know that they, along with Kennedy, will be having their own summit to talk about and “lock down” the next ten years of Star Wars.
It’s exciting! The Star Wars sagas are not finished! We know from what has been before that these are going to be galactically epic! The Skywalker Saga was a grand tale to tell, but I keep saying there are so many other amazing stories that have spun out of the original trilogy. The next saga can bring about even more expansion.
So, yes, Star Wars as we have known it in the theaters is coming to an end. This has become more than nine plus films, though. And I am glad that they are taking time to set out the next chapter in the overall Star Wars galaxy’s book. The Skywalker book has closed, but it’s just one chapter in this far away galaxy a long time ago. And we have plenty in between to keep our attention. And the force will be with it all, always.
