STAR WARS: "the Skywalker family saga"

[Superlad93]

Okay so since the Force Awakens has come out I've been doing some research and one of the interesting things I've come across is that the main films will apparently excursively be about "the Skywalker family saga". Most of you are saying "duh just like it's always been", and to that I bring up the idea that they are now basically doing Star Wars every year from now till it doesn't work. Every other year will be a "main Star Wars film" aka a Skywalker film. This bothers me a little bit to be honest with you.

I mean how many times can you really do "Skywalker saves the day"? In my honest opinion, maybe one or two more trilogies. It just seems too exclusive to me, and not to mention the fact that 1) you'll enter the movie automatically looking for a Skywalker 2) you'll know that at least one will live on to have more kids. I personally think in order for this particular direction to work they'll need to get VERY creative.

Maybe it's not an actual Skywalker but the relic or tool of a Skywalker like picking up Excalibur and slaying a dragon. Maybe the Skywalker is only the teacher. Maybe the Skywalker is the foe. Who knows maybe someone can channel the spirit of a Skywalker to finish the business they had in the living world and then train their child etc. Just don't let it continue as a game of where's Waldo: the Skywalker addition.

I mean I feel like I'm not imagining that taking it in this direction is pretty constricting. I feel like I'm making a pretty reasonable observation. But what are your thoughts on Star Wars: "the Skywalker family saga"? What do you think of my observation? Do you agree/disagree? I'm very much open to see what everyone thinks.

[RobinFan4880]

Only the three Star Wars trilogies and the Clone Wars TV show center around the Skywalkers. The Anthology movies (the movies that will be released every other year (starting next year)) and Rebels focus on other characters.

We had 30 years of old EU continuity where the Skywalkers played a very prominent role but, really, it is a huge galaxy. More than enough room to tell stories about other characters and other families. The EU did quite a bit of it too (which is why Wookieepedia is so massive).

[Superlad93]

Only the three Star Wars trilogies and the Clone Wars TV show center around the Skywalkers. The Anthology movies (the movies that will be released every other year (starting next year)) and Rebels focus on other characters.

We had 30 years of old EU continuity where the Skywalkers played a very prominent role but, really, it is a huge galaxy. More than enough room to tell stories about other characters and other families. The EU did quite a bit of it too (which is why Wookieepedia is so massive).

Oh yes I know, and that's why I specified "main Star Wars films" rather than all the films. I know Rogue One, Young Han Solo, and the Boba Fett film will be largely devoid of Skywalkers and more like anthologies. But those films are also all set in the past (2 out of 3 of them confirmed to be) and they all end in Skywalker stuff (Han's end and the Death Star being blown up by Luke).

I'm not at all saying I don't see and appreciate what they are doing with the "Star Wars Stories" line in between the main movies, but they so far have the distinct pang filler to put it bluntly. Just filler before the next Skywalker outing.

As I said above I'm not abhorrently opposed to this, but it needs to get REALLY creative in it's definition of "Skywalker saga" to keep from getting too formulaic and trite. There are only so many time one can play "find the Skywalker" before it become beat.

And again as I said above there are ways to still stay "on model" while branching out in these main films. But in a perfect world I think the main sensibilities that SW started with shouldn't be forgotten. The idea that greatness is found in the strangest of places, and ultimately it's personal choice that matters allows empires to rise and fall, and heroes to be born. If it's always preordained by lineage then a bit of that is lost, I feel.

[RobinFan4880]

Oh yes I know, and that's why I specified "main Star Wars films" rather than all the films. I know Rogue One, Young Han Solo, and the Boba Fett film will be largely devoid of Skywalkers and more like anthologies. But those films are also all set in the past (2 out of 3 of them confirmed to be) and they all end in Skywalker stuff (Han's end and the Death Star being blown up by Luke).

I'm not at all saying I don't see and appreciate what they are doing with the "Star Wars Stories" line in between the main movies, but they so far have the distinct pang filler to put it bluntly. Just filler before the next Skywalker outing.

As I said above I'm not abhorrently opposed to this, but it needs to get REALLY creative in it's definition of "Skywalker saga" to keep from getting too formulaic and trite. There are only so many time one can play "find the Skywalker" before it become beat.

And again as I said above there are ways to still stay "on model" while branching out in these main films. But in a perfect world I think the main sensibilities that SW started with shouldn't be forgotten. The idea that greatness is found in the strangest of places, and ultimately it's personal choice that matters allows empires to rise and fall, and heroes to be born. If it's always preordained by lineage then a bit of that is lost, I feel.

We had 30 years of continuity that main lined the Skywalker family and it really didn't get old. The problem with the movies is that they can only tell short stories that are targeted towards a mass audience, which in and of itself is very constraining compared to an ongoing comic book or novel series, or even a video game. The amount of money that is on the line often means studios play it safe rather than risk a flop.

I agree that Lucasfilm will need to do different and interesting things going forward because none of us want movie Star Wars to get stale. To be honest, even though they may be "filler" the Han Solo, Boba Fett and Rogue One movies will fill very important sections of the new continuity that are still fairly underdeveloped and quite interesting. Side note, I am betting Rebels will also guest star the characters from Rogue One in some capacity.

I am betting once the trilogy is completed, we will see new films set in the new trilogy era and beyond. I just think Lucasfilm wants to keep the era filled with mystery for now.

[the nomad]

I remember reading something where George Lucas himself said that Star Wars is a Saga centered around one specific family. THe Skywalker family and yes while there are other characters I'm still guessing that everything will always orbit around The Skywalkers. Directly or Indirectly. But on the other hand Saga's are never ending, the story is still the same but the characters change, maybe eventually, like forty years from now the Star Wars story will move away from the Skywalkers and to another family.

Maybe Finn's Family. We can only hope.

[Superlad93]

We had 30 years of continuity that main lined the Skywalker family and it really didn't get old. The problem with the movies is that they can only tell short stories that are targeted towards a mass audience, which in and of itself is very constraining compared to an ongoing comic book or novel series, or even a video game. The amount of money that is on the line often means studios play it safe rather than risk a flop.

I appreciate the time constraints that make using the Skywalker family line seem far more interesting and easy than making up or bolstering a new one. That's why I'm a bit torn on the idea. On one hand it makes good sense but on the other it has a really good chance of getting VERY old down the road.

That 30 years of continuity means less than nothing to your general movie goer. The majority aren't going to pick up supplementary material, no matter how great, not shown in a theater. And who's to say the long direct line of Skywalker stuff wouldn't get old if it were done in feature length movie format as opposed to long from books and such? We live in a world were Marvel movies are now being called out as rather formulaic and largely derivative. There's even going to be a sort of "changing of the guard" once the contracts of most of the current actors are up. Marvel knows they can't just have RDJ one line his way to victory and they reuse that with all the other smaller IPs. They know that it's time to start building others up and making new additions.

So I think Lucasfilm may benefit from a more out of the box take after this next trilogy. They want to stay ahead of the game, no? So maybe the next one (trilogy) doesn't so directly allude to the last few? Maybe it uses a Skywalker in an all new way. Look at Anakin. One could argue that the original 6 movies were actually all about his path. Luke, Leia, and Ben were all sort of supporting characters in the life of this man.

A take like that would be much appreciated. You still have your Skywalker but you are not only allowed to heavily explore other characters but you give them a strong beginning middle and end that still works as it's own story. I'd be a very strong advocate of that style along with more traditional Skywalker stories for some of these movies.

I agree that Lucasfilm will need to do different and interesting things going forward because none of us want movie Star Wars to get stale. To be honest, even though they may be "filler" the Han Solo, Boba Fett and Rogue One movies will fill very important sections of the new continuity that are still fairly underdeveloped and quite interesting. Side note, I am betting Rebels will also guest star the characters from Rogue One in some capacity.

I never argued that they didn't at least sound interesting, but what's the real draw in the grand picture? Why should a 15 year old care about Rogue One (I'm 22 and I find it hard to care)? To be honest why should an 11 year old care about young Han when, to them, he may just be Ben's dad and a war hero? What's keeping them from skipping over those movies and going to the ones that "matter" a year down the line? Like when you watch and anime and you skip the obligatory bathhouse episode or flashback about a character that means nothing to the story.

With that said they could very well surprise me and make them just as interesting as the main films. But then their further adventures wouldn't happen, would they? At least not in the same way as the Skywalkers.

I am betting once the trilogy is completed, we will see new films set in the new trilogy era and beyond. I just think Lucasfilm wants to keep the era filled with mystery for now.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. What mystery? We know, till told otherwise, that the main (the ones now and after) movies will all be about Skywalkers and their family issues. I think that pretty much takes a good chuck of the mystery away. The cool part I suppose will by how they work it in while giving us new and diverse leads and heroes that save the day.

PS I hope I'm not coming off as hard headed or dismissive of your views. If so I wanna assure you I don't mean it that way.

[Superlad93]

I remember reading something where George Lucas himself said that Star Wars is a Saga centered around one specific family. THe Skywalker family and yes while there are other characters I'm still guessing that everything will always orbit around The Skywalkers. Directly or Indirectly.

Yeah and I think that work in like long from novelization or something akin to that. But movies are a fast mass consumption deal. I'd read the hell out of a Skywalker family style unending book saga. In there I could get those other characters that have whole sections of the book just for them. For like 4 to 6 chapters nothing matter but them. You could do whole movies on just those chapters. It's like GOT or LOTR.

But on the other hand Saga's are never ending, the story is still the same but the characters change, maybe eventually, like forty years from now the Star Wars story will move away from the Skywalkers and to another family.

Yeah this is why I'm pretty torn on this. On one hand I love the Skywalker line and I love Kylo and Rey (come the f#ck on you know who she is) but how much longer can we keep doing it this same way, ya know? If we're gonna do this then we've gotta spice it up and think outside of the box with the Skywalker family and what that means and how you use it in a saga.

Maybe Finn's Family. We can only hope.

I'm keeping my bias in check for this thread lol But to let it run free for a second, I think Finn might just marry into the Skywalker line and his kid might be the new lead down the road. So it'll be something lol

[AJBopp]

That 30 years of continuity means less than nothing to your general movie goer.

We shall see, every other year, whether the general movie goer believes that a movie without the Skywalker family is actually Star Wars. I have my doubts, personally.

[DrNewGod]

I wouldn't worry. If there is a single udder on the Star Wars cow that contains so much as one drop of milk, whether Skywalker-enriched or Skywalker-free, you may rely on Darth Mouse to find it, and squeeze it dry.

[the nomad]

I wouldn't worry. If there is a single udder on the Star Wars cow that contains so much as one drop of milk, whether Skywalker-enriched or Skywalker-free, you may rely on Darth Mouse to find it, and squeeze it dry.

QFT. I completely agree. Darth Mouse is gonna get that 4 billion back in spades.

[the nomad]

I'm keeping my bias in check for this thread lol But to let it run free for a second, I think Finn might just marry into the Skywalker line and his kid might be the new lead down the road. So it'll be something lol

I'll have to see it to believe it, but I'm not gonna give up hope though. LOL!

[RobinFan4880]

That 30 years of continuity means less than nothing to your general movie goer. The majority aren't going to pick up supplementary material, no matter how great, not shown in a theater. And who's to say the long direct line of Skywalker stuff wouldn't get old if it were done in feature length movie format as opposed to long from books and such? We live in a world were Marvel movies are now being called out as rather formulaic and largely derivative. There's even going to be a sort of "changing of the guard" once the contracts of most of the current actors are up. Marvel knows they can't just have RDJ one line his way to victory and they reuse that with all the other smaller IPs. They know that it's time to start building others up and making new additions.

You misunderstand what I mean. By the 30 years worth of content, I meant that we have already lived through an era where all we had was Skywalker-lead stories. There were hiccups in the road but, on the whole, the writers managed to keep it fresh and exciting. They did this by introducing new villains, new good guys and new worlds as well as allowing the the timeline to advance and for the characters to grow and change. The worst thing you can do is allow your property to become static. That is the real threat. So long as things change and new ideas are added in and explored, it will not matter if the Skywalkers are always at the heart of it.

Plus, we also had an entire sub-franchise of Star Wars develop a feel, a tone and a scope all its own in the Knights of the Old Republic era. If things become stale or boring, Disney will just go forwards or backwards in the timeline and explore what will feel like an entirely new galaxy.

So I think Lucasfilm may benefit from a more out of the box take after this next trilogy. They want to stay ahead of the game, no? So maybe the next one (trilogy) doesn't so directly allude to the last few? Maybe it uses a Skywalker in an all new way. Look at Anakin. One could argue that the original 6 movies were actually all about his path. Luke, Leia, and Ben were all sort of supporting characters in the life of this man.

The next trilogy will not be far from the current one. I think we will need to really hit a rut before they have to deviate too far. I'd wager after the trilogy after the next one is when you would see a large time skip or a shift away from what we have now. Of course, I don't think we will get Star Wars X, let alone Star Wars XIII any time soon. I think the Star Wars Stories series will supplant the trilogies for a many years, that way when we come back to the Trilogy concept, it will feel fresh again.

I never argued that they didn't at least sound interesting, but what's the real draw in the grand picture? Why should a 15 year old care about Rogue One (I'm 22 and I find it hard to care)? To be honest why should an 11 year old care about young Han when, to them, he may just be Ben's dad and a war hero? What's keeping them from skipping over those movies and going to the ones that "matter" a year down the line? Like when you watch and anime and you skip the obligatory bathhouse episode or flashback about a character that means nothing to the story.

Considering how wildly popular Rebels is on TV, I think you are in the minority. People love Star Wars. Even when the content is piss poor, people still love Star Wars.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. What mystery? We know, till told otherwise, that the main (the ones now and after) movies will all be about Skywalkers and their family issues. I think that pretty much takes a good chuck of the mystery away. The cool part I suppose will by how they work it in while giving us new and diverse leads and heroes that save the day.

We don't know where the story will go or how it will develop. The less that is crammed into that era, the easier it is to surprise audiences.

PS I hope I'm not coming off as hard headed or dismissive of your views. If so I wanna assure you I don't mean it that way.

No worries, you are even tempered (which is more than I can say for a lot of the people posting the Episode VII threads)