George wasn’t going to make sequels he was going to make Star Wars underworld and that never got made.
Disney’s priority was to make a commercial for a theme park. And to sell toys. Other ancillary merchandise. Storytelling was never as important as corporate planning was. They have shareholder calls and meetings, corporate boards and governance. Quarterly quotas.
Yeah, for me his ideas for Underworld sure seem a lot more intriguing than what we’ve learnt of his Sequel Trilogy outlines. 👍
A pity we never got to see that - especially given the writing talents assorted for the series (though some aspects of it have been rejigged for stories in other SW series since?).
Some of his sequel ideas have also been repurposed. If Mando and Gorgo holds to be true they will be facing warlords running the remnants of the Empire. And Dave Filoni is using George’s ideas in Darth Maul Shadow lord with Darth Talon.
Wasn’t Luke as a colonel Kurtz like character allegedly in George’s treatment. That sort of ended up in the Last Jedi if not in the way George would have handled it. The astral projection/ Luke is a legend stuff. and not a straightforward redemption arc. That does not sound like George at all. I also don’t picture Lucas making the prequel Jedi failures and Luke’s meta narrative. Chuck the lightsaber it’s time for the Jedi to end. Burn the tree with the Jedi texts, oh that is right Rey stole them.
I do like the idea that the force is bigger than the light side and the dark side and its vanity that the force dies if the jedi religion dies. The balance being bigger than the jedi and Sith conflict is interesting and then its abandoned.
I gave the DOTF script another read through last night (I’d forgotten how enjoyable and engaging it was) - and there is certainly that aspect of the Force being addressed throughout the script (especially with Rey; and meshing / riffing with themes on Luke and Vader in ROTJ).
For me, the finale was quite intriguing on the subject (and also breaking that problematic and bizarre Jedi dogma introduced and portrayed in the PT - as well as tackling the somewhat traditional circular nature of the Light & Dark overall)…
Obi-Wan: Your true self is free of suffering. Free of pain.
Yoda: Taught us much, you have.
Rey: I’ve taught you?
Yoda: Mmm. Succeeded where we have failed. Narrow was our point of view.
Luke: You chose to embrace the Dark Side and the Light. To find balance within.
Yoda: Co-exist, they must, as such feelings do in all of us.
and later - upon Rey’s return…
Leia: But there’s a calm I’ve never felt. Balance.
Rey actually learning from the mistakes of the past to actually move forward with a new Jedi Order (as of the DOTF) would’ve been something of interest to see in any later / post-ST era on-screen appearances… evolving both the story and lore onwards.
I’ll be giving the animated fan comic film another whirl tonight. 👍
And then another read-through of George’s belated ~2012 Sequel Trilogy outlines.