You could still have new characters like Rey, Poe and Finn and easily set it in the far future. Don’t repeat the same beats rebels vs empire. Don’t crap all over the legacy characters. The sequels are a mixed bag. But the one thing they botched Luke, Han and Leia. Completely and utterly. Its almost unforgivable.
I would say the opposite there, as Luke in TLJ was handled excellently (Han and Leia a bit less, but nothing too outrageous like some claim). I’d also say that “unforgivable” is a strong word to use in the context of a movie franchise. Cheating on your wife with her best friend or stealing money from your family would be “unforgivable,” not doing divisive things with legacy characters.