Media Essays: A Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Re-Write Part 1

Written by The Wandering Fox

A long time ago in a town far far away, a guy in a fox mask had met up with his best friend, the Media Man. He drawn out his blue lightsaber, and the Media Man got out his own.

The Wandering Fox said “My young Padawan, you have much to learn in the ways of writing. May I recommend a rewrite?” He asked kindly.

The Media Man risen his lightsaber “My master, you dare come to my home, ask to do a rewrite?” Then he lowered his lightsaber and smiled. “Yes you can. What are we doing today my friend?” He asked.

“I think it’s a rewrite of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.” Wandering Fox replied before he rested his lightsaber.

You might be thinking “Oh look, it’s a anti-Disney fan who’s here to moan his butt off, I bet he’s part of the Fandom Menace!” Eh heh, no. Yes, I didn’t like the sequels, but I’m not some loser who hates ladies or is a racist. I’m a guy who loves stories. One of my favourite stories is the Star Wars original trilogy and prequel trilogy, the story of Anakin turning to the dark side out of fear over losing his wife and child, his son reaching out to him to redeem him, the downfall of the Jedi, the empire and the rebels fighting to restore peace to the galaxy, the trial of being a hero, it was very engaging. Yes, the prequels had their flaws, but it did a decent job of doing more with Obi Wan, the Sith, the Clone Wars beginning, the Jedi being lost in their ways, Anakin’s complex character of desiring freedom but being manipulated into being a Sith, and how it all came in the original trilogy.

After Disney brought Star Wars, I will admit I was a bit iffy as I felt the story was done and didn’t need anymore movies, yet once they began dropping the trailers, I was very intrigued and gave it a chance. The trailers were giving us glimpses of Rey, Finn, and Po. I was most interested in Finn with him being a Stormtrooper who was running away from his former allies, then him with the lightsaber in the trailers had me hopeful we were gonna get a story of a man finding redemption and becoming better both as Jedi and as a hero, to finally stop whatever was left of the Empire. What we got wasn’t bad at the time but in hindsight could’ve been a lot better, for it seemed too similar to A New Hope. I think they did it to be safe though they made the mistake of not having Han, Luke and Leia together. Though we were at least gonna give them a chance with The Last Jedi. Who was Snoke? How was Rey gonna be as a student to Luke? Would Finn recover? Would Leia confront Kylo Ren? Ehhhhh, we got The Last Jedi, which derailed the entire trilogy and had a big disastrous impact on Star Wars. Luke was now a miserable sod who gave up on everything, Finn was turned into a idiot, Snoke was killed off, Luke was killed off, we had unlikeable characters like Admiral Holdo, and we had a dumb love story with Rey and Kylo Ren. From there we had The Rise of Skywalker which was even worse then The Last Jedi, Rey’s story was hastily put together, Palpatine returned, Kylo Ren had a redemption but didn’t make sense, then Rey basically is gonna do what Luke should’ve done.

These films were a mess. We only had two seasons of The Mandalorian to make up for it, but then it and the other tv shows dropped in quality, and now we’re getting a sequel to The Rise of Skywalker. Many have wondered exactly Disney should’ve done. I thought of it, and I think these characters introduced in The Force Awakens could be done well if a story could’ve actually been figured. Finn, Rey and Po deserved better. Han, Luke and Leia deserved better. So here, I will do my best to try and make this trilogy better. Part 1 is the basic summary of the episodes. Part 2 is about the characters.

Trilogy

The Force Awakens

Yeah, I’ll keep the title the same as it’s a intriguing title. But in terms of story, the only similarities are is that it’s set 30 years after Return of the Jedi, Finn is a stormtrooper who is fleeing from his former allies, Rey is a scavenger and Po is in the resistance, Kylo Ren is still Ben, Snoke is still the villain and the First Order is still a knockoff of the Empire.

The movie opens with Po and BB8 meeting with the old man on Jakku, but instead of looking for Luke Skywalker, they’re here on a stealth mission, Jakku is located near the First Order’s side of the galaxy, Po is there to get information from those who have done dealings with the First Order, the old man a former commander of the empire grew disillusioned with the First Order and is turning information over. Kylo Ren then arrives and he’s joined by Captain Phasma and Finn with their stormtroopers. Finn is disgusted with the village being massacred and the killing of the old man has him question about who’s side he’s fighting on. Because of this, Kylo Ren senses the Force is in Finn and once they return to the ship, he requests Finn be brought to him. Po and BB8 are captured, but because BB8 has the information in him, the First Order intends to take BB8 apart. Finn is deeply unnerved once Kylo Ren interrogates him and senses his fear, saying “Fear was said to be the first path to the Dark Side. I sense a lot of fear in you. But I can turn that fear into power. Power better used. Power that can bring order to the galaxy”. Kylo has Finn to be taken to his ship so he can take him to have Finn take the road of power. Finn escapes the guards and breaks Po and BB8 out, the three escaping on Jakku, but Po is believed to be dead. Finn talks with BB8 and says if he has the Force, then he’d rather do it for good, asking BB8 if he knows where to find Luke Skywalker. BB8 helps him get to the nearest town.

Rey is introduced during this, scavenging for parts, she’s been building a ship to fly off Jakku and find her dad. She’s got a few things left to get together, though because of this she’s got a rivalry with other scavengers who are keen on getting revenge on Rey for one upping them on their scavenging. Rey is ambushed by her rivals, demanding she take them to her ship after she’s got the last few bits together, but Finn arrives and scares off the rivals. Rey is thankful, yet Finn asks if she has got a ship. Rey confirms this and says she had been making this ship with her mum and uncle, her father had left to go get help but he hadn’t returned. Her mum and uncle were killed by rival gangs and she’s desperate to get off. Finn explains he’s trying to get to the New Republic. The First Order then attacks, with Finn holding off a few Stormtroopers so Rey can have the ship ready. With it done, she and Finn leave, but are chased by the Tie Fighters. They are close to being killed until the Millennium Falcon appears and destroys the Tie Fighters. Escorted to a New Republic ship, they are met by Han and Chewbacca, who explain to them they got a distress signal from Jakku, they just got Po, who had survived the crash. Po explains Finn saved him and he could help them. Han takes them back to Coruscant, so they can talk it over with Luke and Leia.

With Kylo Ren, he’s informed by the stormtroopers of what happened, with him frustrated Finn escaped and BB8 has the info the old man delivered. He talks with Snoke, who says it’s only right that the New Republic understand their capability now, telling him to take the Starkiller Fleet to the cosmic guard around Coruscant to show them what they can do. Kylo obeys, though he intends to finally kill Luke.

At Coruscant, Finn meets Luke and Leia. Luke is a Jedi Master now, having a few Jedi Knights with him including his son Owen. Leia is the Chancellor of the New Republic. Finn admits he knows little of what the First Order are doing but Kylo Ren had tried to convert him into being a Sith. Curious, Luke takes him in to find out how strong he is with the Force. Rey at first wants to leave to find her dad but Han convinces her to stay, saying the First Order will be after her for helping Finn. Po gives them the information, the First Order have been mining Kyber Crystals and turning them into canons to fit on their Star Destroyers, to blow up entire fleets.

At the Jedi Temple, Finn is greeted kindly by the other Jedi, with Luke resting a lightsaber in front of Finn and tells him to think of his past, reach with his feelings, think of those he loves. Finn tries but his anger causes the lightsaber to fly to him more dangerously, making Luke see Finn has a troubled past. Owen isn’t trusting of him, telling his dad how Kylo ended up the way he did, but Luke isn’t giving up on Finn, he isn’t giving up on Kylo either. Leia is listening and thinks of asking Finn what he knows of Kylo.

Han bonds with Rey over how her and her family built the ship, Rey revealing she had test flown it a few times and got better over the years. Rey reveals her dad was a former Rebel pilot who had retired from service. Han decides to see how good Rey is as a pilot, having her fly a X-wing. Rey is a little iffy with the x-wing, but she does it decently.

Kylo Ren then attacks with his flagship, which destroys a cosmic dock with a single blast, with Tie Fighters attacking Coruscant. Luke and Po lead the fight back, but Finn is captured by Stormtroopers, who take him back to Kylo Ren. Rey and Po, feeling they owe Finn, go with Han, Luke and Owen to rescue him. Kylo Ren begins interrogating Finn, asking why he chose to run if he can have power. Finn says power was what got his family killed, his anger causing the Force to tear the room apart. Finn escapes but is chased by Stormtroopers. Rey and Po begin attacking the ship in their X-Wings, with the Millennium Falcon boarding the ship. Luke faces off against Kylo, telling him to come back to the light, saying Snoke doesn’t understand what good is. Kylo argues Luke is foolish, saying his compassion will be the end of the new peace found by him. They fight but the sight of Han causes Kylo to lose his temper, giving Luke the chance to destroy his lightsaber. Finn makes it back to the heroes and the ship’s Kyber Crystal is hit, causing it to begin descending. Luke uses the Force to put Kylo on a shuttle, giving him a chance to escape before getting away with Han, Owen and Finn. Luke apologises to Han for not saving Kylo, but Han forgives him, saying he can feel the good in him.

The end of the movie has Finn admit to Luke he wants to control his Force powers, so Luke takes him in. Leia realises the New Republic is gonna have to confront the First Order and begins the army to get together, with Rey choosing to stick around upon realising the New Republic needs her.

Certain bits in the movie happen, with flashbacks hinting Finn’s family were quite rich and had been backing the Empire and the Imperial Forces. The absence of Owen’s mother is further elaborated on in the sequel. Though I like Ahsoka and Cal Kestis, I won’t have them appear in the movie in case they take away focus on Luke. The Kyber Crystals being fitted on Star Destroyers was used in the movie but it was to shoot down Finn’s tie fighter. The Kyber Crystals were being mined for in Rogue One for the Death Star, it only makes sense they keep trying. Leia reveals the First Order is made up of former Imperialists and sympathisers to the empire who felt the empire did them good and are giving them the means to keep fighting the New Republic. I do know Harrison Ford wanted Han to die, but I would’ve convinced him to stick around for another movie. I called Luke’s son Owen because it’s fitting he calls his son after the man who raised him, but Ben Solo exists so there’s no Ben Skywalker.

Episode 8 I could call it Dark Revelation or Fallen Son

This is where things become quite different from the sequels we got. This will be set a few years after The Force Awakens, Finn is a padwan to Luke, Rey is a x wing pilot, both New Republic and the First Order have been fighting for a while. Given Carrie Fisher died after she finished filming The Last Jedi I’ll have to factor in how I will handle Leia. The focus of this episode is cutting off the First Order’s supply of Kyber Crystals, the growing relationship between Finn and Rey, and uncovering the fate of Luke’s wife Mara.

The movie opens with Rey and Po leading a attack on a First Order mining site, to stop them from getting anymore Kyber Crystals. Most if the New Republic forces are killed with the exception of Rey and Po, who return with a small number of survivors, but have spotted Kylo Ren has a apprentice on his side. Yet despite them bombing the mining site, the New Republic has been struggling. They inform Leia and Han of this on the main ship, with Leia trying to get support from non New Republic representatives, who aren’t impressed with the lack of progress they are making. Luke, Owen and Finn come in to help calm things, and try to keep the representatives on side, with Luke explaining how the First Order is being led by a former Sith Inquisitor who swore undying loyalty to the emperor, saying if he wins and they don’t stand together, their own planets will be facing trial by the First Order.

The representatives leave, to discuss things with their rulers. Going back to Coruscant, Rey and Po tell Luke of Kylo’s new apprentice, a Nightsister. Luke is concerned by Kylo having collected someone and turned her to the Dark Side, yet even then he still wants to save Kylo and hopefully her. Han is growing a bit weary of Luke’s words, saying he’s no closer to saving his son, but Leia urges him to give Luke a chance. Luke, feeling he should try harder, talks with Finn, Owen and Rey, telling them he wants them to go where they last saw Kylo and try to track him so he can bring his nephew home. Owen isn’t sure Kylo can be saved, but Finn says Owen doubted him as well, so they should try. We get to watch Finn spar with Owen before they leave, Rey watching on being impressed with Finn, who has a blue lightsaber. Finn does have feelings for Rey but isn’t sure if he should follow them for even though Luke allows relationships, he read the texts of the former order and thinks he could make the same mistakes as Anakin.

This decided, they leave on a ship and go back to the planet, finding the First Order is leaving given the bombing they suffered. Kylo has already left but his apprentice has been left behind, helping gather the survivors to leave. Finn suggests they sneak aboard one of the ships, though Owen says it won’t do because the Nightsister could sense them. Rey says she can but instead Owen decides to go plant a tracker on the ship. Owen goes and does this but he’s caught, with the Nightsister taking him aboard her ship. In touch with Luke, he fears his son allowed himself to be captured to confront Kylo Ren, they follow them. Luke admits his son has long suspected Kylo Ren killed his mother, Mara Jade. Finn asks if Luke thinks so as well, but Luke isn’t sure, for he wants to hope Kylo didn’t do it but if he did do it, then he doesn’t know if Owen will ever forgive him. At Coruscant, Leia tells Han she isn’t sure if she’s living up to the expectations her mothers and dad had, though Han says she’s doing really well. It’s then C3PO tells them the representatives have agreed to talk it over with them, they are to meet on a planet to talk things over. Luke agrees to go with Leia and Han, both of whom he keeps telling of what’s going on with Finn and Rey’s attempts to get Kylo Ren back. Leia urges Luke to go but he says he trusts his son to be the stronger guy.

Owen is met with by the Nightsister, who is called Coris. She doesn’t torture him but questions how he can fight his cousin, telling him how Kylo Ren saved her from slavers and desires to bring order back to the galaxy under the rule of Snoke. Owen asks her if that’s what Kylo told her, telling her he believes Kylo killed his mother, to try and break his dad. Coris isn’t sure if this, though as they come to land there’s a storm that almost causes the ship to crash but Owen helps land it safely. Coris is confused to why Owen didn’t try killing her and run. Finn and Rey crash yet manage to escape their ship, reaching their enemy, finding Owen being greeted by Kylo Ren, taking him inside. The planet they’re on is a mix of Crystal and rock, with it mostly red or black, Finn sensing much darkness is on this planet. Rey is injured so he tends to her. Rey admits she isn’t sure of what to make of things if Kylo Ren is Han’s son yet killed Mara Jade, leaving Finn a bit iffy on telling her of his own past.

Kylo Ren and Snoke interrogate Owen, Kylo unmasking himself to reveal he has a scar on his face, telling Owen he has to understand Luke is going to lead the galaxy into a collapse if he doesn’t take full control. Kylo desires to “redeem” his family yet in death, but tries to make Owen see things from his perspective via the Force, only this takes a toll on Owen as he falls unconscious, Coris taking him back. Finn and Rey go to a tunnel of crystals and find the bodies of Force wielders Snoke had tortured in trying to turn to his side. Finn ends up facing illusions of his family, who chastise himself for turning his back on the family name and helping the New Republic, telling him he betrayed them even after they died. Finn almost cuts down the illusions in anger but Rey calms him down, telling him not to be like Kylo. Finn calms himself and tells the illusions his family died at the hands of Imperial remnants who blamed them. Finn joined the First Order out of fear. But he is doing the right thing. He exits the tunnel with Rey. They find Owen talking with Coris, Owen trying to get her to talk of how exactly she and Kylo met. Finn and Rey’s arrival has her knock Rey unconscious then a brief fight ensues which Coris wins. Tied up, they are brought before Kylo on a ship, with it revealed one of the representatives is helping the First Order, helping them to take control of the Republic as long as they leave his planet alone. Owen reaches to his dad through the Force, telling him of the trap coming for him.

Snoke begins to emotionally tear into the captives, saying Rey is a fool for thinking she can find her father, telling her he was killed by the imperialist remnants, telling Finn he’s a man trying to run from his guilt and thinks Luke is his saviour but will only lead him to a dark end. Rey gets emotional and cries, accepting her dad is dead. Finn questions how Kylo can so blindly follow Snoke, even questioning him on how he’d ever forgive himself if he kills his mum and dad. Kylo says he’s merely saving them from their deaths of failure. Owen asks him if he killed Mara Jade, to which Kylo Ren tells him Mara crossed Snoke, its Snoke he should be angry with.

Coming on the planet, they hide and wait to kill Leia and Han, yet Po and Han sneak on their ship and free their friends, with Snoke is revealed to have been a hologram, leaving Kylo, Coris and their forces to fend for themselves, a fight occurring which results in Kylo confronted by his mum and dad, who beg him to come back. Kylo ends up bitterly telling them he isn’t Ben anymore, Ben died the day he killed Mara Jade. Luke is left petrified, Leia tries reaching for her son, telling him it’s over and he has to stop, but Kylo cuts her and Han down. Owen, enraged at his mother’s death and Kylo killing Leia and Han, running in and fighting him, Finn going in to help him. Luke tends to Leia and Han, yet they tell him to forgive Ben, them both dying in his arms. Coris is left deeply shaken by Kylo’s confession, though she saves him, doing it to keep him alive to find what he did to her family. Owen breaks down in Finn’s arms. A funeral is held for Han and Leia, Luke bitter at their deaths but says he will bring Ben back for them. The representatives have decided to help the New Republic after they were backstabbed by the giving Kylo the chance to get there, Finn and Rey kiss after the funeral.

Things to bring here is Owen has a bigger role, being a friendly rival to Finn in the Jedi Temple. Coris is here to represent a reflection of Luke, Owen and Finn to Snoke, Kylo Ren and Coris. But she’s the one who’s still a bit new to this, you have bits here and there she’s not as bad as Kylo or Snoke. Snoke’s backstory is more known to Luke and Leia and Han, a Inquisitor who served Darth Vader but was skeptical of the rule of two for the Sith and believed Palpatine was a fool to have a senate, it should be one man’s rule, nothing else. Han and Leia dying together is more fitting, their love for each other is something very strong and Luke being there trying to help them offers you Luke trying the best he can. You have Po taking a backseat here yet still has some stuff to do like leading the bombing, rescuing his friends and helping in the final fight. Kylo Ren killing Mara Jade is a reference to Jacen Solo killing her in the books.

Episode 9 I’m thinking of calling The Fate of the Apprentice

The movie here is set a few years later, both sides are fighting over a planet which has the biggest Kyber Crystal, which has the potential to be a war ending event. Finn is continuing his relationship with Rey, Owen is broken by the reveal Kylo did kill his mother, Lando Calrissian is now in charge of the New Republic.

The movie begins with Owen and Finn going to Dathomir after being told to meet someone there. Coris has gotten in touch with them, as she wants to get answers about her past, distrusting Kylo Ren after he confessed to killing Mara Jade then killed his mum and dad. Going in the temple, Coris does a ritual which helps her find Kylo did indeed kill her family then had her sent to slavers, rescuing her to make her his. The undead awaken and they flee, with Coris telling them she desires to end the war. At Corasaunt, Lando Calrisian meets with Luke, who’s tending to a Jedi funeral after one of his allies died. Lando is concerned for Luke, believing the deaths of his wife, twin and friend are hurting him. Luke tells him not to be worried. Finn and Owen return with Coris, who likes to give them information.

Kylo Ren is overseeing the deaths the First Order has taken, with him beginning to wear himself down, the guilt of killing his family taking him, and the deaths of those around him is making him doubt the side he’s on. Snoke tells him to focus on finding the Kyber Crystal, they capture it, they can defeat them and finally take over. Kylo leaves with a squadron to find it, but he’s haunted by Anakin’s force ghost, who tells him he has to stop and give himself in.

Coris tells the heroes of the Kyber Crystal, if they can destroy it, the First Order’s desire to fight will fall. She leaves to meet with Kylo Ren, to provide cover for the heroes, with Finn, Rey, and Po going with her. Owen stays behind to talk with Luke, confessing he doesn’t think he can control his anger if he meets Kylo again. Luke confesses he doesn’t know what to do, yet Anakin and Mara’s ghosts come to them, telling the father and son Kylo is not yet gone and if he can be rescued, they will forgive him. Luke and Owen tearfully thank their loved ones and both leave.

Coming to the planet, Coris meets with Kylo, feeling his struggle with his guilt. The planet they reach is mostly aquatic with a few lands. A brief air fight occurs which results in Finn, Rey and Kylo shot down. Finn and Rey find a few Stormtroopers who survived, Captain Phasma with them, they try to get Finn and Rey but are easily defeated, though Finn offers them a chance to help. Though they don’t like him, Finn says he quitted the First Order as they slaughtered innocents, asking the stormtroopers if they want to be remembered for it, or help people. Captain Phasma tells Finn he’s a coward, and a betrayer, going to kill him. They fight, with Finn as the winner. With Phasma dead, the stormtroopers decide to help them. Coris lands and wants to kill Kylo Ren. He sees her coming, Kylo realising she knows. Injured, Kylo begs her to stop, saying he did what he thought would be best for her, but Coris goes to stab him, Kylo then knocks her away with a Force shove. He starts choking her, yet Owen and Luke flying in on their X-wings distracts him long enough for Coris to get away. Coris meets with Finn and Rey, who have Luke, Owen and Po meet with them. They call in Lando and ask for their fleet to come. They see Kylo climbing up the rock that has the Crystal in it, so they go after him. Kylo calls in the First Order, he fights Luke and Owen, yet the First Order arrive and blast down at the heroes, separating them and Luke, who Kylo captures. Luke is taken on Snoke’s ship, he tells Kylo Mara forgives him, but Kylo tells him there’s nothing that can be done now. Luke asks him what killing him will bring him, because it brought Anakin nothing but misery.

The New Republic fleet arrive and they face off against the First Order, though Snoke appears and has Luke on his knees, saying if they don’t hand over Coris and back away, they will kill Luke. Finn has a idea. They sneak on board, Finn, Po, Rey, Owen disguised as Stormtroopers, Po and Rey sneaking to the engines to plant bombs there. Coris is brought before Snoke, he takes off the helmets of Finn and Owen, telling them they are to join him or he will kill Luke. Finn asks Kylo Ren if he can be any better, then he could’ve stayed with his mother, be her advisor, but instead he chosen to murder Mara, Leia and Han. Kylo is left gobsmacked.

Coris then walks over to Snoke and says she will be his from now. She tries to stab him but he easily catches her, yet Luke then uses the Force to drive him back. Their lightsabers back their sides, they face against Snoke, Kylo Ren. Luke duels Snoke with Owen while Finn and Coris fight Kylo Ren. The engines are destroyed and the ship falls to the water. The fight continues with Snoke managing to stab Luke in the leg and knocks Coris aside. Finn and Owen have Kylo at their mercy, but Owen doesn’t kill him, saying it won’t bring him any relief. They go to help Luke and Coris, Luke being choked by Snoke. Coris recovers and helps fight him but Snoke is a bit much, yet before he can kill Owen, Kylo Ren is stabbed by him, taking the lightsaber for him, stabs his lightsaber through Snoke. Snoke struggles to breathe but gets up, going to stab Luke in the back, but Finn cuts his head off, finally killing him. Kylo Ren dies in Luke’s arms, Luke forgiving him. The First Order is horrified by Snoke’s death and with the New Republic surrounding them, they surrender.

Luke has Kylo buried beside his mum and dad. Luke has a limp now, but still teaches. Coris serves behind bars and begins meditating wuth the Jedi, with hints Coris and Owen will be a couple. Finn marries Rey, with them beside Luke, Owen and Coris, looking over Corasaunt.

It’s best to mention here you have Mara explain what happened. Kylo did kill her but she tried to get him away from Snoke but Snoke was too powerful. Anakin being there to talk to his son helps close the door on the Skywalker saga.

Okay, there’s Part 1.