My Sequel Trilogy would have been something like this:
Episode VII: The New Republic is seemingly thriving, however there is no new Jedi Order, and Luke Skywalker has exiled himself, Leia is now Chancellor of the Republic but finds herself weighted down by the world of politics and Han died some time prior to the movie (Harrison Ford has never been enthusiastic about SW so I would leave him alone). I would have kept the Imperial Remnant title from the EU as it makes a hell of a lot more sense than the First Order, and would have portrayed them as a shadowy organisation that unlike it’s predecessor the Empire, which fought using total war, they resort to more subtle tactics, such as guerrilla warfare, espionage, deception, infiltration through senators that are still secretly loyal to the Empire, conquering seemingly unimportant worlds, using unused experimental imperial technology, and while they would use old imperial Star Destroyers as mobile bases, their main base of operations would be in the Unknown Regions. They would be lead by the Knights of Ren, who are what I would call Force supremacists, as they believe that Force wielders are inherently superior to others and should rule over everyone. Originally being students in Luke’s fledgling Jedi academy, their belief of the strong ruling over the weak is what drove them to crush the new Jedi Order before it could truly blossom and subsequently join the Imperial Remnant. Kylo Ren in this version is unrelated to the Skywalker family, he’s just a promising student with a lust for power who went renegade alongside others, and Kylo Ren is his name for real. Second to the Knights of Ren in terms of command would be a council of former imperial military leaders and senators. Rey would be a nobody and nowhere near as OP in the Force, but is fully aware of her Force sensitivity and that’s what drives her to seek out Luke, to gain a better understanding, and she’s been gathering information on Luke’s whereabouts. That’s how she meets Chewbacca, now captain of the Millennium Falcon and Poe Dameron, his copilot and Finn, first mate and renegade stormtrooper. Finn defected from the IR because he couldn’t stand the suffering he inflicted when raiding worlds and kidnapping people to be used as slave labour, and has since decided to right the wrongs of his past with helping Chewie and Poe. Throughout their journey they uncover the IR secret plan to restore the Empire, and halfway through the movie Rey meets Luke, who is pretty much the same as in TLJ, a bitter disillusioned hermit who wants no further part in the conflicts of the Galaxy, but nevertheless agrees to train Rey as she’s driven by a desire to use her power responsibly, but the training is cut short when Kylo arrives after sensing her presence and offers to teach Rey true power, being impressed by her raw potential, and proceeds to kill Luke as a display of power, yet Rey still turns him down and flees. Now guided by Luke’s Force Ghost, Rey is determined to protect the Galaxy against the growing threat of the IR.
Whew, that’s a lot of text, I think I will use different posts for episodes VIII and IX.
I still haven’t come up with any ideas for episodes VIII and IX, but at the risk of appearing needy, I would like to read some feedback on my proposed episode VII.