Ultimately they can do what they want, highlight what they want or downplay what they want. Take what people tend to like from the sequels and roll onward while ignoring other things. I'm curious to see what plays and what doesn't in the future but I doubt they'll break out the canon revisionism.

But **** it, go big or go home!

In the end, the Sequel Trilogy is a series of three films about characters who are aware they can't live up to the legacy of the previous generation, failing to live up to the legacy of the previous generation. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. And a mixed bag. Kylo Ren absolutely can't live up to the legacy of Darth Vader. Or Leia, frankly. But he can live up to the legacy of Han Solo. Which is just to do the right thing at the last minute and die a pretty shitty death. Rey can't live up to her grandfather's legacy, but it's probably a good thing. It's so impossible to get out of the Shadow of the Past because, well frankly, the Shadow of the Past still lingers, alive through almost editorial metatextual means, ghosts of Legacy literally haunt the galaxy. I'm legit ignoring the contributions of every other character. Finn and Poe are charming but irrelevant to the plot. I expressly think that the themes of the Sequels, incredibly ironically, are intrinsically built into the very idea of trying to make them. This fascinates and kind of delights me. As a simple story of good and evil, legacy and loss, they could've leaned into the Romeo & Juliet side of things more for a stronger film trilogy. But somewhere out there I bet there's a three-hour-cut of all three that takes a scalpel to all the irrelevant data and just makes a decent single movie adventure.

But yeah, they can't even run around TRYING to boldly climb out of the shadow of their betters' legacies without accidentally killing all their heroes and basically ruining those legacies. Which is as true of Rey and Kylo as it is the films themselves, and J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson can't get out of Lucas's shadow (but also Kirschner and Marquand) for attempting them. Because they are the "Next Generation" but they are not the Padawans, mentored by the previous generation. That's Yoda's message to Luke. "They are what what we grow beyond." The irony of course is that this is the Pretender-to-the-Crown Generation. The Padawans, the actual students of Lucas and what he was doing who have grown beyond him ... are Favreau and Filoni.

The Star Wars Skywalker Saga doesn't even have to be over. It can be like Star Trek. The Odd-Number Trilogies (1,2,3 ... 7,8,9) are the not great ones, the Even-Number Trilogies can kick ass. (4,5,6 ... 10,11,12).

You put out Episodes 10, 11, and 12 and have Favreau and Filoni come up with something? It's going to be good. A new paradigm. It could even be packed with the circular "black and white imperialesque villainy with man-in-black evil mystic foes" versus "underdogs and whatever" aesthetic like it always is and it'll still play well because of who is making it.

But I have an even cooler idea.

Just read the Thrawn Trilogy for the first time, in comic form. So good (but also kind of baffling in places) that I have to deep dive the books themselves. But I mean, just go Episode 6.5. Do the Thrawn Trilogy Remix, which is something Filoni has ostensibly already set up. Only use a crazy Ezra instead of C'baoth, have Leia not have twins, give Luke Mara Jade, give more adventures with Han, Lando, bring back that merry band. Imply that Mara Jade is Rey's mom, from after her failed marriage to Luke, which actually gives Rey a reason to inherit Anakin's lightsaber. Big hints at the potential of cloning coming back into play with Palps, and instead of "Luuke" being a thing we get a mirror match between Luke and an Ezra who is basically mind-controlled by Evil Salamander creatures that Thrawn found in the Unknown Sectors and a mistaken Harry & Neville sense of prophecies getting mixed up.

And have Obi-Wan's damn ghost show up.

Go big or go home.