The Star Wars franchise has certainly come a long way since Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm released Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December 2015. Last year, we were treated with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and now we patiently await the arrival of the next few films like Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the Han Solo film that the studios are currently working on. Along with these films, Marvel Comics, also owned by Disney, have released several comic books and now Disney is also in the process of building Star Wars Land at both parks in California and Florida. No matter what outlet they have released Star Wars stories, one thing has been consistent and that is how much they have relied on legacy characters. This is to be expected with the first few films; but what affect will these characters have on films going forward?

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be released on Digital HD & Disney Movies Anywhere on March 24th and on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and On Demand on April 4th. To promote the release, ComingSoon.net was granted an exclusive interview with Gary Whitta; the co-writer for the Rogue One. Although the entire interview has not been published yet, ComingSoon.net does reveal some of the conversation that touches on the characters in the films going forward. When asked about the Star Wars franchise, in terms of familiar characters in future films, Gary Whitta in part responded by saying that: 

“I think you’ve already seen us get 90% of the way here with “Rogue One.” Yes you see Leia, yes you see the Death Star and Vader, because those are elements of that story and they belong there, you can’t tell that story without those characters. But for the most part, 90% of that story is completely new characters. Completely new planets and places you’ve never seen before. It’s a Star Wars movie with no Jedi! You don’t see a lightsaber once until Vader pops it out at the end. It doesn’t have any spirituality or mysticism… a little bit through Donnie’s character, but it’s very different DNA to the Star Wars films that have come before it. I really like the fact that we tried to do something different. The next spin-off is ‘Han Solo,’ that’s another familiar character, but I think increasingly you’re going to see… One of the thing things we really want to do at Lucasfilm is create a universe and not keep relying on old legacy characters. We’ve got Rey and Finn and Kylo Ren, they’ve already introduced a new generation of characters. 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.”

Without a doubt as a Star Wars fan, I will always geek out when classic characters or references are brought up. But at the same time, the studios have done a fantastic job at introducing new characters like Finn, Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren, and of course Rey — to set up a new generation of stories we can enjoy for years to come. At the same time it doesn’t hurt to explore certain character’s pasts like Han Solo, who seemed to have had many, many adventures. Or even a character like Darth Maul who I’ve always thought left the big screen too soon. Which ever direction the studios decide to take one thing is for sure, the seats will be filled with anxious fans awaiting stories from that galaxy far far away.

Would you like Star Wars films to show less legacy characters going forward?

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Source: ComingSoon.net