Star Wars: Does Star Wars need a reboot like Star Trek?

[aTOMiC]

With the news that Disney has acquired Star Wars from Lucas we're all wondering what that means.

My first thought is that I am thrilled. I'd rather see more Star Wars with other, more promising creative minds running the show. We all owe a huge debt to George Lucas in that he gave us something special to enjoy. However now that he's gotten his "story" told just the way he wanted, its now time for others to expand on his work and let the Star Wars universe live and breathe on its own.

Yes there is the possibility that Disney could make some crappy Star Wars films. Of course that's possible. On the other hand they may learn from the mistakes made with the prequels and give us a more satisfying collection of films than even Lucas was able to deliver.

Now to the big question: Does Star Wars need a reboot?

I pose this question because continuing the story as is would require the absence of one of the Star Wars saga's most iconic characters...Darth Vader. What if it were possible to start all over from the beginning, possibly in a different way, but retain key elements that make it possible to have a nearly unlimited number of Star Wars films that can feature Vader in some way? (so long as he stays interesting that is)

Okay I know this sounds like a daft idea. Hard core fans would be up in arms with a new actors playing Luke Skywalker, Leia, Han etc but it would really blow open the possibilities without sacrificing too much of the original concepts.

Or we could leave well enough alone and just jump into Episode 7 like nothing has changed and see what's up with the Empire after Palpatine's death. Maybe spend some time with Luke as an Obi-wan type character mentoring new Jedi.

At the end of the day I really don't care one way or another. Star Wars is coming back and I'm just going to enjoy the feeling until I start hearing dumb casting news, head scratching directors choices and limp script ideas.

Viva la Star Wars!

[Cail]

Let's keep a couple of things in mind. Everything you love about Star Wars came from Gary Kurtz, everything you hate was from Lucas. Moreover, with the exception of Empire, which is genuinely a good film, the OT is awful. We love it because of what it represents, not for what it is.

Getting Lucas away from the franchise is a Good Thing for fans. Disney has the resources to make quality films, and they have a good track record with properties they've acquired (the last Muppet film was fantastic).

I absolutely do not want to see an Episode 7 starring a cadre of geriatric has-beens, and I doubt that Disney would be foolish enough to do so. But then again, Tron: Legacy, so what do I know.

[Orlion]

The new movies will be a chance for a new Star Wars experience without having to reboot the entire thing. Sure, you could have a Mark Hamil appearances as an older, fatter Jedi, but he and Hans do not need to be a part of the story.

The real problems will start after the sequel trilogy is complete. By then, we may start with "Land Before Time Syndrome" and get a lot of crap.

[dlbpharmd]

For me, the SW franchise has always been about Darth Vader. With his death, there is no more story to tell.

Kinda like TCoTC, now that I think about it.

[High Lord Tolkien]

There's a million years and an entire Galaxy to explore!

I think the Old Republic might be the way to go.
Isn't that where all the new games are taking place?

An army of Sith would be pretty nifty to see.

[Savor Dam]

An army of Sith would be pretty nifty to see.

Here is where I am probably showing my ignorance, but how can there be a Sith army when there can only be two Sith at a time - a Master and an Apprentice? Or is that rule (which I only know from the movies; I have not read the written canon nor played games) not operative?

[I'm Murrin]

That rule was introduced by one particular Sith Lord; previously there'd been many.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

Based on the scant information I have available to me, there used to be lots of Sith but they fell into so much infighting that the order developed the philosophy of "one master, one apprentice" rather than die out completely. Of course, that is completely ridiculous--with only two practitioners the order would die, anyway, and it rules out the reality of having "one master, one apprentice" who have absolutely nothing to do with any other Sith.

That main plot hole notwithstanding, any movies Disney makes will take the story forward in time. The death of the Emperor and the destruction of the second Death Star mean only that the governors of various planetary systems are now free to run their systems their own way without answering to any central authority. The dissolved Senate will reform relatively quickly but it won't have any legitimacy or authority and the system governors certainly won't submit to its dictates. I think we can safely follow the Roman path to figure out how things will progress--another authoritarian figure will step forward to bring the Senate into cohesion and bring various systems back under control, most likely by deploying a handful of Super Star Destroyers.

Instead of saving everyone, the Rebellion actually caused another two or three decades of war.

Now...let's presume that Luke trains his sister relatively quickly which means it takes an entire year just to bring her to "intermediate padawan" status; a more realistic time frame is two years, minimum. In the meantime, he would have to be on the lookout for new Jedi hopefuls and begin trying to train them, as well. In short, it will be at least a generation before there are even a handful of fully-trained Jedi and the probability exists that some of them will be tempted to the dark side.

Even if we jump forward 50 years after the events of Episode VI, we will still find political/military instability in the galaxy (regional systems not obeying the central authority), a not-fully-developed Jedi order, and probably a handful of Sith who have arisen. It will be as if all those earlier events never happened--a blank canvas upon which Disney can paint new stories with all new characters.

I have never read any of the books, by the way.

[wayfriend]

In 1979, director George Lucas said in an interview on the set of The Empire Strikes Back, "The first script was one of six original stories I had written in the form of two trilogies. After the success of Star Wars, I added another trilogy. So now there are nine stories. The original two trilogies were conceived of as six films of which the first film was number four." Lucas backed this up with a 1980 interview with the L.A. Reader, stating "Star Wars is really three trilogies, nine films... it won't be finished for probably another 20 years."

[...] The sequel trilogy was to feature Luke Skywalker as a Jedi Master in his sixties, passing on the torch to the next generation of Jedi, the dismantlement of the last remnants of the Galactic Empire and the rebuilding of the Galactic Republic. It would also have concerned the re-establishment of the Jedi Order, as foreshadowed by Yoda's line in Return of the Jedi, "Pass on what you have learned." According to a 1983 Time magazine article, its main theme would have been "the necessity for moral choices and the wisdom needed to distinguish right from wrong".

[dlbpharmd]

In 1979, director George Lucas said in an interview on the set of The Empire Strikes Back, "The first script was one of six original stories I had written in the form of two trilogies. After the success of Star Wars, I added another trilogy. So now there are nine stories. The original two trilogies were conceived of as six films of which the first film was number four." Lucas backed this up with a 1980 interview with the L.A. Reader, stating "Star Wars is really three trilogies, nine films... it won't be finished for probably another 20 years."

[...] The sequel trilogy was to feature Luke Skywalker as a Jedi Master in his sixties, passing on the torch to the next generation of Jedi, the dismantlement of the last remnants of the Galactic Empire and the rebuilding of the Galactic Republic. It would also have concerned the re-establishment of the Jedi Order, as foreshadowed by Yoda's line in Return of the Jedi, "Pass on what you have learned." According to a 1983 Time magazine article, its main theme would have been "the necessity for moral choices and the wisdom needed to distinguish right from wrong".

Sounds boring to me.

[Vraith]

An army of Sith would be pretty nifty to see.

Here is where I am probably showing my ignorance, but how can there be a Sith army when there can only be two Sith at a time - a Master and an Apprentice? Or is that rule (which I only know from the movies; I have not read the written canon nor played games) not operative?

The "only two Sith" thing was a retcon...and an amazingly stupid one on every level. [oops, I see others are already answering]

I've read 2 sequel books [long ago], both part of Zahn's 5 or 50 star wars books...they were OK, but too close in time to use original actors to reprise roles. I suspect Disney will ignore most of the existing mythopoetica...novels or games or whatever.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

The "only two Sith" thing was a retcon...and an amazingly stupid one on every level.

All retcons are amazingly stupid. If you, as a writer/director/whatever, are thinking of retconning your world/story/characters then you didn't plan them out correctly when you first set pen to paper. Just like comic books--never retcon a character from the 60s or 70s just to make them relevant today; instead, create a new character and move forward from there.

Disney will ignore the books and probably get some scriptwriters to come up with new, original plots. They aren't going to recast or reuse any of the already-existing characters, either, opting to create a whole new crew.

[Orlion]

All your theorizing ignores the possibility of an alien threat from beyond the realm of the Star Wars galaxy.....Faced with near annihilation, the galaxy will have to set aside the messy questions of reality to face this new foe!......... which only wanted a planet, anyway.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

I can't think of everything for them. If they want me to do that, then they can pay me a decent "script consultant" salary. I would be more than happy to think up all sorts of things for them.

[Orlion]

I can't think of everything for them. If they want me to do that, then they can pay me a decent "script consultant" salary. I would be more than happy to think up all sorts of things for them.

"Script consultant" salary? So, dinner at a steak house and they take credit for your ideas?

[Lefdmae Deemalr Effaeldm]

Just had a strange thought - with how important Darth Vader is to Star Wars, what if someone else laid hands on that pretty costume? Luke, for instance. And if Mark Hamill gets to play him again - that solves any looks issues and he has some cool evil voicing in his possibilities, like with Joker - and I particularly liked his voicing in Metalocalypse.

[Avatar]

No reboot.

I'd be fine with the original characters making another appearance, even now. (20 years ago would have been better.)

The Old Republic is also a great idea.

The thought of a reboot horrifies me though.

--A

[High Lord Tolkien]

I never took the Sith=Two thing to be taken as only 2 in the whole universe.
I understood it as they always worked in pairs.
Kind of like the the Master teamed with a Padawan Jedi thing.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

I never took the Sith=Two thing to be taken as only 2 in the whole universe.
I understood it as they always worked in pairs.
Kind of like the the Master teamed with a Padawan Jedi thing.

Yes, that makes a lot more sense.

"Script consultant" salary? So, dinner at a steak house and they take credit for your ideas?

You have a point. I should make certain the contract states a salary of hard currency.

[RaceFinisher]

Heh...the first time I heard it, I thought: Oh, no...Disney could really mess this up! Then I thought, wait, they really couldn't do worse than the new three could they!