I’ve had a few ideas for What-ifs of the sequel trilogy. I have no intention of writing them, but they’re right below if anyone’s interested.
Ep 7 TFA - What if Rey gave BB-8 to Unkarr Plutt?
Rey still gets the piece to the map, leading to the First Order cornering her. She’s saved when Han Solo crashes his barge into the First Order, but the two and the Falcon are taken away by Phasma. Finn, stuck on Jakuu, finds the piece and has the Resistance pick him up.
While Han and Rey are interrogated, the Resistance finds Luke but can barely get him to move. Eventually, Finn convinces him, especially when Kylo Ren contacts the Resistance to bargain for the chip. The two parties meet at Luke’s burnt down academy, Leia giving up the piece to Kylo and urging her son to return. Kylo is about to when Luke appears, enraging him as he leaves them to be destroyed by Starkiller Base. The new and old gangs escape and are united to put up a fight against the First Order.
A year later, Luke has trained Rey as a Jedi. Han and Leia work with the New Republic, but the FO has made a treaty with the NR, denying support for the Resistance. Meanwhile, Kylo trains until Snoke brings him to the clone Palpatine to plan the final move.
At the meeting, the clone Palpatine reveals himself to the galaxy and plans to take down the NR. While Luke, Leia, and Han fight Snoke and the clone Palpatine, Finn and Rey fight off Kylo. Together, the heroes win and are recognized as heroes by the rest of the galaxy.
The End
Ep 8 TLJ - What if Kylo killed Leia?
Kylo, after killing Leia, leaves the Resistance fleet. Feeling Leia’s death, Rey leaves to avenge her, which forces Luke to follow. The FO leaves the heavily damaged Resistance, as they are tracking them and will use the mini-Death Star laser to finish them off.
However, Luke and Rey’s arrival tips everything. They give the Resistance the chance to escape to a safe haven and mourn their losses while the First Order is trying to understand what is going on, especially a semi-distraught and numb Kylo, who is commended by Snoke and is sent to dispose of the rest.
A year goes by, and the Resistance is no more than just Luke, Rey, Finn, Poe, and crew. After training with all she has, Rey goes to fight Kylo against Luke’s orders. Kylo himself training meets Rey and the two fight (this would happen in a factory the FO has, hinting at the resources being sent to the Unknown Regions). Kylo would win but Leia’s spirit stops him, allowing Rey to escape with info where the weapons are going.
With that, our heroes go to stop Kylo who is growing insane. Luke defeats Snoke after admitting what he feared would’ve happened to Ben. However, he fails to stop Rey from killing Kylo in front of the Knights of Ren. As their new leader, Rey takes the Knights and heads off for the Unknown Regions to face Palpatine (who manipulated Luke this whole time) while Luke rebuilds the Jedi Order for real this time.
The End.
Ep 9 TRoS - What if Kylo Ren allied with the Resistance at the start to stop Palpatine?
Kylo Ren, hearing Palpatine’s call and confirming it with some forces, goes to the Resistance to take him down. Leia has found Lando and recruited him. Together they head out to Exegol to destroy Palpatine.
The brief alliance works in destroying some of Palpatine’s ships, but Rey is possessed by him when she strikes him down (not helped that Hux informed Palpatine of what is to come). Kylo is deposed and imprisoned by the Resistance/New Republic forces, with Finn berating him and Poe holding back Finn. Luke gives some hints of the Force to Finn, which leads to him gaining a lightsaber (yellow) of his own.
The possessed Rey leads an attack on the galaxy, striking at remnants of the New Republic. Sensing so much death and being talked to by Leia and ghost Luke, Kylo is forced to accept his evil deeds and to help the Resistance stop Rey before she becomes too powerful for even him to handle.
In order to stop the possessed Rey, Kylo increases the bond and lets her stab him. The wound shocks Rey Palpatine enough for Kylo to do the same to her. Trapped in a dying body, Palpatine’s spirit vanishes and the two die on the ground, having saved the galaxy from doom. This leaves Finn as the last Jedi left to be trained by two mentors, Leia and ghost Luke.
The End.