Most of us are still getting over the fact that we're actually going to see more Star Wars movies. From the days of the rumors of nine movies (at one point there was a crazy rumor of twelve chapters!), Star Wars fans have always wondered what could happen next. With George Lucas handing the reigns of the franchise over to Disney, there is a mixture of trepidation and excitement.
Some may feel the movies should have stopped after the original trilogy. Others can embrace the idea of more movies, even if they are geared towards a newer generation. What it comes down to is more movies keep the franchise alive.
With the amount of money Disney paid for the franchise, logic dictates they will want to ensure they make that money back rather than try to crank out mediocre content and leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. With the success of the recent Marvel films with Disney (and of course Paramount), could Disney be eyeing the same approach of releasing multiple films in the same year?
== TEASER ==The immediate strong argument is this is a bad idea. The Star Wars movies have always been seen as trilogies about the Skywalkers. Watching Episodes I - VI, you can clearly see all the movies, including the original trilogy, really tell the story of Darth Vader's fall and redemption. The proposed idea of Episodes VII through IX happening every few years should follow the same suit and focus on the Skywalker clan (which of course could also include Leia and any of her children). But would it be wrong to have more movies to go along with the next trilogy?
With the Marvel films, as much as Iron Man 3 or the next Thor movie may be anticipated, the highest level of excitement with general moviegoers will be on the next Avengers movie. Everyone sees these movies and the next Captain America movies as side films building up to the sequel to The Avengers, regardless of how independent the stories might be. Who's to say we can't have the same formula used in the Star Wars universe?
Imagine a movie focused just on Luke Skywalker. Maybe we could see STAR WARS: DARK EMPIRE (by Tom Veitch). It was in this story we saw the return (sort of) of Emperor Palpatine along with Luke succumbing to the Dark Side of the Force. We could also see a movie focused just on Boba Fett, how he escaped the Sarlacc and why he's such a bad ass. Or maybe we could get a movie just on Mara Jade. Readers of the expanded universe know how great of a character she is and seeing her story on the big screen could be something.
There are obvious logistics involved with some of these ideas. The main factor is the time that has passed and the original actors needed for some. The current expanded universe novels are set thirty-something years after Return of the Jedi. Movies focused on this time period would allow the original actors to reprise their roles. Movies occurring immediately after Jedi would be a little harder to do with some of those actors.
Is it possible to have too much Star Wars? Would having two or maybe even three Star Wars related movies in a single year be too much? Fans have no problem with the multiple novels, comics, occasional video game and TV shows centered the characters. When you really enjoy something, you want as much of it as possible. Star Wars may have been had the presentation of movies in trilogies but that doesn't have to be the case. The main films could focus on the Skywalkers or main characters. Other films could show us other parts of the Star Wars galaxy. It is a big universe.
There are many many worlds and characters that could be explored. As long as the focus and dedication is firm in delivering the best possible product, the more Star Wars we can get, the happier we can be.