Entertainment

Future 'Star Wars' Might Not Be About Classic Characters

Bruno Werneck

Imagine there’s no Luke Skywalker. It’s actually pretty easy if you think about the far future of Star Wars realistically. And if Gary Whitta, the co-screenwriter of Rogue One, is right, a Skywalker-less future Star Wars movies are definitely coming. Whitta believes that the next few decades could unlock adventures in the Star Wars universe that have nothing to do with the all the characters from the beloved saga films.

Speaking to Coming Soon.net on Thursday, Whitta said, “Whatever kind of Star Wars films they’re making 10 or 20 years from now, I don’t think they’re going to be relying on the same legacy story elements as we have in the past.” Whitta pointed out that even though Rogue One and the upcoming Han Solo movie are standalones, they’re still very reliant on familar elements from the existing films, even the prequels. He said it was “hard to deny” that both The Force Awakens and Rogue One “relied an awful lot of original trilogy characters … and even a few prequel characters.”

Mon Mothma in 'Rogue One.' The character originally appeared in 1983's 'Return of the Jedi.'

But with the success of new characters in both The Force Awakens and Rogue One, Whitta believes the franchise is “90% of the way there” in terms of creating future films that don’t rely on existing characters. The screenwriter also clarified this was his hope for the franchise and that he “has no idea” the direction Lucasfilm will actually take with future Star Wars films. “They’ve already introduced a new generation of characters,” he said.

In terms of box office numbers, Rogue One is the second-highest grossing Star Wars film of all time. On the one hand, because the majority of the main characters aren’t featured in any of the other films, the success of this movie proves Whitta’s point. On the other hand, the movie is about the Death Star, which in a sense, is a classic “character” all on its own.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits DVD and Blu-ray March 24.

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