Frankly the idea that they reset it makes no sense with IX being the saga finale. No sense at all.
For almost 40 years, movie three of the OT was the end of the Star Wars saga. You know, the movie where all the major villains were killed and everyone assumed that the Rebellion had won, and which in TFA’s backstory it actually had. George’s idea for sequel trilogies was constantly changing, and was at times going to be about the Wookiee planet, or the world of the Midichlorians, or about Luke finding his mysterious twin sister across the galaxy and requiring her to defeat the Emperor, at least before he got tired of Star Wars and rushed to the conclusion in ROTJ. Why are we taking George’s plans seriously at all anymore?
So yes, George Lucas and JJ Abrams and Michael Arndt reset the conflict in the universe for another trilogy. To draw a comparison: Mordor is again filled with bigger, meaner orcs with another evil spirit leading them, Aragorn has given up on the world of Men and gone into hiding, and another hobbit hero will need to find a wizard mentor and make everything right with the world. Again.
And it’s just a shame, since the seeds of greatness are within TFA from the beginning. A Republic split between a strong, centralized ‘Imperial’ government and a united confederation of self-ruled star systems would provide ample opportunity for conflict. Add to this the questioning of bringing back what is essentially a state-sanctioned theocratic order, and the rehabilitation of generations of soldiers conditioned for war, and you’ve got the beginning of a truly new chapter in what can really call itself the continuing Star Wars saga. And it actually is that sort of a movie, until the Senate is blown up by another superweapon and the Resistance becomes the Rebellion.
Finally, I’m somewhat amused at how much faith you put in a man who is famed for his inability to stick the landing of his stories, when he has to do it now not just for this trilogy, but for the entire Star Wars saga.
I don’t envy him his job.
I have no faith what so ever that Abrams can craft an ending to this trilogy much less the saga. But George did a treatment with an ending. We know they are using his treatment as the basis for at least some of the story. If they use George’s ending, I’m confident that Abrams can pull it off because he is a good director, just not a good writer. I do worry he will muck it up in editing like he did TFA.
And I do think this saga will end and not be picked up again. Disney has plans to explore more corners of the Star Wars galaxy. There are thousands of years of the past to delve into. Lots of good Jedi/Sith stuff, lots of good wars and conflicts. They have plans for two trilogies that are not connected to the Skywalker saga.