Tags
Cast, entertainment, geek, Han Solo, Heir to the Emperor, Mara Jade, Movies, Star Wars, Star Wars 7, Star Wars VII, Story, Timothy Zahn
Many of us who love Star Wars are keeping a close watch on the next installment of Star Wars. We have very little to go on at this point but it seem that the original cast has returned to some degree. We are not sure as to what impact they will have but since a great deal of time has passed it puts a massive constraint on the time period they will place the next film in.
This could be a huge mistake. There are some excellent stories that will be thrown out due to this and that is truly a shame. The current thought is to write and produce an entire trilogy. One would need to make sure there is a solid story and offer up a large scale threat that needs to be neutralized. Although all of the 
extended universe stories offer this to some degree only a few offers enough translate well to film.
To mention one story arch, Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Emperor makes for a great offering of conflict and adventure. It picks up shortly after the fall of the Empire and offers a window into the process of rebuilding the Republic. During this arch a new and powerful enemy rises to power and threatens the existence of the New Republic. This would also introduce new characters to the film universe. One character would be Mara Jade, who I think would be well played by Bonnie Wright. Mara Jade would make for an interesting addition and is already highly liked in the extended universe.
This would require some tough decisions to make this a film. One hot button topic would be new actors for the original characters. Many would think this is a bad idea. The truth is that it is probably time to move on and it is not like the actors are the characters. The one exception might be Harrison Ford as Han Solo. Besides that the rest of the cast could be replaced by younger, and in some cases more talented actors.
I would like to know what the rest of you think. Am I barking mad? Or am I on to something. If anyone reads this I fully expect some potential rage but I could be wrong on all accounts. Should they keep the original characters and replace the actors? Should they move well past the characters and do the “next generation” thing? Or should they not change anything and we can all pretend that no one has aged in the last 30 years?
Thanks for Reading,
Tom Dorsey
Animockery Studios 
To replace the original actors with new younger ones for Leia, Luke and Han may not be the best idea for this reason only. J.J. Abrams! Now I’m not bashing Abrams. I’m just saying to do bring in younger actors to play those roles may draw criticisms since it was Abrams who also rebooted Star Trek.
I like the idea for now to bring back Hamil, Fisher and Ford and let the fans have one last blast with them. No one knows for sure exactly what story their going with, but I’m being hopeful since Lawrence Kasdan is a co-writer on the script with Abrams. After all it was Kasdan who wrote Empire Strikes Back.
Yes at some point you will have to find younger actors to play those roles especially if they do any of the books, like the Heir to the Empire Trilogy, but remember the Zahn trilogy only takes place 5 years after Return of the Jedi.
I think fans are wanting the original three to come back even if its only for Episode VII after the taste Lucas left in most peoples mouths with his prequels.
Disney paid over 4 billion for Lucasfilm and you don’t buy Lucasfilm just for the company, you buy it so you can make more Star Wars films. Disney is not going to make sure they get a return on their purchase.
So far Disney and Marvel are doing some pretty exciting movies I would expect no less when it comes to the Star Wars franchise.
You are correct that Disney and Marvel have done well as of late. We can expect that certain kind of magic (a.k.a. talent and a huge budget) in most films they make these days. My concern is exactly what you stated, giving fans one last taste of the originals. Now, we know that they are already involved in some fashion but whose to say how? To make a story for this film just to have the original cast could be seen as fan service which does not strike me as a move JJ Abrams would make.
Take the original cast and have them play a small part in the beginning of the one film. Use them as a form of introductory scene. Then that could be something worth while and on some level everyone wins (assuming the overall film is good).
You are correct about the time that passes from Jedi to Heir. That is part of my suggestion for Bonnie Wright as Mara Jade since she can not only act and look the part but she is the correct age too. To make that happen though you would need younger actors for the rest of the characters. Would it be acceptable to play the future to past bit for this movie? Would that through people off since we would have the old actors play the old versions of the characters and then switch to the new cast playing the younger versions?
My point is there are other possibilities other than trying to make an old recipe new again.
I personally think that any extended universe stories are already out the window… Abrams will do this for many reasons, one if he did follow any extended storylines then many fans will already know the twists and turns and that kinda sucks for everyone. Another reason is that Abrams will want to craft his own story and not follow a novel and be restricted by its narrative. You have to look at the new trilogy almost like you would extended universe, its not really canon as it is no longer Lucas.
You could be right. I ask only that you think about the patterns we see already. No matter if the extended universe it tapped into or not there will still be some degree of rules and guidelines set by the original content and the extended universe. George sold his company but the deal included some creative input on at least this first movie. JJ Abrams has also been in some contact with him.
The guidelines that would be included would be certain characters and a few major events.You may be right that strictly following a book would leave some in the dark and others a little more clued in. Now if you through out the idea that what Lucas has done so far for story and accepted cannon then you may as well call it a re-boot. JJ Abrams has already done this and if I remember right that was a concern that fans had when he was announced as Director. I am not against the idea of a sort of re-boot but then there is really no need at all for the original cast.