5 Star Wars Spin-Offs I’d Like to See

 

With the acquisition of all things Star Wars by the House of Mouse a few years ago, the worm officially turned.  Up until that point, fans had resigned themselves to Revenge of the Sith being the last Star Wars film they’d ever see on screen.  Thankfully, Disney ushered in a new era where we have at least one Star Wars film a year through 2020.  And in a move that was truly inspired, Disney decided to give audiences not only the saga films but one-offs exploring the various corners of the Star Wars universe.  The first foray into these offshoots dropped in December with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  While I wasn’t overwhelmed by it, the film was certainly enjoyable, and the most important take away was the story potential.

As far as further one-offs are concerned, the only confirmed one is the Han Solo movie scheduled for release next year which began principal photography yesterday.  As for the third anticipated story set for 2020, Disney has been mum.  Early speculation was a possible Boba Fett movie (hard pass for me), but nothing has been set in stone yet.  In my mind Star Wars has become the new James Bond.  We’re now coming up on almost 25 movies for 007 and the franchise began 55 years ago. Star Wars is a virtual cash cow for big D, and as long as the green is flowing, you can bank on audiences experiencing stories from a galaxy far, far away for the foreseeable future.  Seriously, they’ll probably be making Star Wars films long after everyone reading this has become a Force ghost.

As I said, the best thing about Star Wars right now is the enormous potential.  There are a plethora of options to explore.  Having said that, here are some of the Star Wars one-offs I’d like to see:

 

Darth Vader

Despite your feelings on Rogue One, I think the one thing the majority of fans can agree on is that the Darth Vader scenes rocked like Jabba’s band on a Friday night.  Especially the last scene where Vader carves up Rebel troops with his lightsaber like a gundark on Wookie Life Day.  Fuck sand, the Sith Lord was coarse and he got EVERYWHERE.  As one guy I know said, “Vader got his balls back.”  In fact I didn’t realize how much I wanted a Vader solo film until that last scene.  I recently read Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp, and it just solidified that desire.  In fact I think if they adapted Lords of the Sith into a film it would kick all kinds of ass.  The only problem is that James Earl Jones is getting on in years (he just turned 86), and the chances of him voicing Vader again lessen by the year.  However, with technology the way it is now, I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem to recreate his voice.  I need this movie in my life.

Knights of the Old Republic

“For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic.”

These are the words uttered by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope.  Why not explore that time frame?  Knights of the Old Republic would be a great jumping off point.  Yes I know it’s based on a video game and is now considered non-canonical.  However, let me tell you this movie would be all kinds of awesome.  It’s set 4,000 years before the founding of the Galactic Empire, where a Sith Lord named Darth Malak releases a Sith Armada on the Republic.  It’s an epic inter-galactic war between Sith and Jedi.  The challenges of bringing this story to life would be momentous, however the potential returns are staggering.

 

Yoda

Have this film we must!  Yoda may be my single favorite character in the entire Star Wars pantheon.  Yet casual and die-hard fans alike know virtually nothing about him.  What’s his home planet and where are the rest of his species?  For that matter what SPECIES is he?  How did he become a Jedi?  Who trained him?  These are questions I’ve been longing to know for years.  Also with Yoda being 900 years old at the time of his death, there’s a broad range of stories you could explore.  Some have suggested an adventure set a few years before A Phantom Menace.  Personally, I’d prefer an origin story or perhaps one centering around his Master/Padawan relationship with Count Dooku.  But you could go in any direction with nine centuries at your disposal.

The Knights of Ren

One of the most intriguing and mysterious aspects of The Force Awakens centers around The Knights of Ren, an order led by Kylo Ren, AKA Ben Solo. I’m fascinated with this group and how they formed.  Are they an ancient cult of the Dark Side or new?  Are they even still around or did Kylo Ren kill them all?  Moreover, I want to see how Ben Solo fell to the Dark Side and how he was lured into joining the Knights of Ren.  The only thing is that you’d probably have to cast a younger actor to play a teenage/early 20s version of Ren and I don’t think  you could do this movie justice if you left Luke Skywalker out of the equation.  Still, they are a fascinating group and I’d like Disney to delve deeper into their mythology.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Of all the possible Star Wars spin-offs, this one seems like the biggest no-brainer.  Yet Disney is really dragging their feet. Speculation and some unknown sources cite the possible return of Kenobi as a Force ghost in Episode VIII or IX, however that’s no excuse not to move forward with a solo Kenobi film.  For God’s sake Ewan McGregor is chomping at the bit to get back into this role!  The obvious time frame to set the movie would be sometime between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.  MacGregor is older now just as his character would be, so that fits nicely.  The only complication might be how to get Kenobi off of Tatooine.  After all he is a hermit.  Regardless this movie needs to be green lit like yesterday.

 

While I’m not delusional enough to think Hollywood would read this article and categorically accept my choices, these are story opportunities that most Star Wars fans can appreciate.  I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume fans would welcome most, if not all of these suggestions as possible story lines.  Either way I’m just happy to be living in a time where the world gets more Star Wars films.