McFlabbergasty

Amnar tells Jeni about his past as he works. He explains that Keshiri society is a caste-based civilization borne out of reverence for a pantheon of gods called the Skyborn. Jeni raises her arm at Amnar’s beckoning, allowing him to apply restorative dressing.

There is little mobility between castes on Kesh. Many young souls desire nothing else but a chance to enter the prestigious warrior caste. Amnar got in by displaying his potential as a combatant when, while performing the duties of the labor caste on an icy moon far from Kesh, he helped repel a raid by the Imperial Remnant stormtroopers of General Rau. Amnar fought against the soldiers using only improvised or stolen weaponry. He was made an honorary member of the warrior caste when word of his feat reached his homeworld.

The warriors of Kesh are so highly esteemed because it was foretold by the wise Skyborn that one day there will come an evil force known as the Destructor, hellbent on the annihilation of Kesh and the galaxy around it. The Keshiri believe that a strong warrior class will be needed in order to defeat this malevolent entity when the dreaded day finally comes.

Dagman screams in agony for a few seconds before collapsing to his end. Amnar scans the area for anyone investigating their activities. Jeni turns to Amnar. The two decide that they must go back to Amnar’s dwelling to recuperate and plan their next move. The Jedi, the Keshiri warrior and the droid make haste when they notice the Weequay guards from the cantina entrance, now prowling the area around the Strider’s body and questioning passerby.
 
Cut to a three-story structure hewn from sandstone, standing a few blocks away from the market. It is home to a motley assortment of residents from on- and off-world. Awnings and nets provide the residents some respite against Raxus Prime’s airborne hazards, from dust storms to schools of flying mites that feed on all manner of non-biological materials. In a humble residence on the second floor, Amnar is using low-grade bacta fluid to treat the wounds Jeni has incurred in her recent encounters.

NeverarGreat said:

Why did Luke and Leia keep the nature of Han's death a secret from Jeni?

But that's just a small detail. 

You'll see.

NeverarGreat said:

I could definitely see Disney going with a story like this. The young, female lead, the derelict remains of the Falcon, the Jedi path, all things that an audience would expect from a sequel to Return of the Jedi. The smaller scale of the conflict (at this point), the echo of Luke's temptation to the Dark Side, the lack of the two droids, are elements that I wouldn't expect in the sequels. I like that Han, Chewie, and the droids all died. Their character arcs were pretty well over anyway.

I'm walking a line between exploring new territory, in a narrative sense, and also retaining that distinctly Star Wars-ian ethos we loved about the OT. I'm also inverting certain established tropes of Star Wars, just not in the nigh-sacrilegious manner of the PT, while also not downplaying the significance of everything that was accomplished in the OT.

As for the small scale...it gets bigger. The OT had to be an epic fate-of-the-galaxy-hangs-in-the-balance kind of story from the very beginning because the audience had to be introduced to the massive breadth and scope of the Star Wars setting. When your audience goes into a story not knowing the first thing about the world in which the story takes place, then the tendency is to set the stakes so that the entire fictional universe is in peril.

That's not the case in this sequel trilogy. The audience has presumably seen the OT. It's my justification for starting with a relatively small story. But trust me, things will get epic. This is a sequel trilogy. Anything can happen. It won't end in a way that leads to anything else that has existed in the post-ROTJ EU, to put it in a non-spoilery way.

NeverarGreat said:

You may want to illustrate why we should care more about Jeni than we do about Luke and Leia. After all, we've been with them for three movies, and they still seem active in the galaxy at this time. What does Jeni bring to the table that Luke or Leia can't? What makes them unable to truly understand her quest, and what makes her quest suited to her alone? Just some things to consider, if you haven't already.

Good point. An audience needs to feel in line with the protagonist's motivations. I've been thinking about that as well.

NeverarGreat said:

I'd like to see where it goes!

If you've been liking it so far, I'm sure won't be disappointed with what's coming up. We're not even done with the first movie. :)

I think if this movie were made today, the role of Jeni Solo should go to Chloe Moretz.

How's that chapter coming along, Easterhay?

NeverarGreat said:

Episode VII is coming

2015?

There's still time. :)

Besides, I have this trilogy basically ironed out. Now it's just a matter of transcription. I would even go so far as to say I will have posted my entire sequel trilogy before the real Episode VII hits theaters.

I really hope I won't check back on this in two and a half years and have to eat my own words... 

Dagman stumbles back and tries to take his blaster out of its holster but Jeni brandishes her weapon first. She walks forward until her blaster’s muzzle is just outside Dagman’s arms’ reach, the man now huddled up against a wall and no longer standing upright.

Zero hovers near his owner with a holographic display of the Falcon’s last known location, Verdanth, projected into the air several inches ahead of his abdomen. Jeni gestures to the hologram while demanding Dagman to explain its significance. At gunpoint, Dagman tells Jeni that Verdanth is the Talon Striders’ base of operations.

Then she asks what the Striders want with the Isis crystals. Dagman panics and asks why she wants to know that. In response, Jeni fires a blaster bolt into the soil between his legs, which encourages the Strider to give up what he truly knows: nothing. Dagman tells her he is not privy to the higher-ups’ intentions with the crystals.

He suspects that Hossk and Tyrhevius have not been selling the crystals to anyone, instead keeping them for some other purpose. As of late, Dagman has had to siphon off goods from the Striders’ raids on civilian settlements in order to make his own ends meet...namely gambling debts.

Dagman offers Jeni and Amnar a portion of the valuable crystals if they return the sack and let him go free. Somewhere behind Jeni, Amnar chuckles and tells the Strider that he is in no position to make such a bargain. She turns her head and offers a brief smile.

Dagman rushes off the ground and deploys his weapon. With his free hand he grabs a wrench from a nearby pile of discarded junk. He knocks the pistol out of Jeni’s hand, causing a misfire that leaves a smoldering black crater on the wall.

Jeni snaps her view back to the Strider, her other hand slipping the lightsaber hilt out of her belt. Amnar takes aim with his rifle. With amazing agility, Jeni switches on the blade and makes an upward swipe at Dagman, slicing off his entire arm. The Strider's appendage, still gripping his blaster, lands in the dark soil some feet away.

Bingowings said:

The TIE fighters go from being grey to an ugly blue too, what gives?

This.

I always preferred the grey ANH-era TIEs. Somehow they seemed more hostile and mechanical, befitting the nature of the Empire.

Amnar rushes through the market district towards an alley some distance away. He deftly slides under the trodding legs of an orray towing a cart of goods, vaults over a school of furry blue Squibs prowling the center square of the market, and slips neatly into the alleyway.

Dagman is pushed aside by the orray’s massive yellow snout, causing him to stagger for a few seconds before regaining his balance. He pushes the Squibs aside by force and nearly runs headlong into a kiosk vendor’s pushcart before stumbling into the alley. To his shock, Dagman finds himself face-to-face with Jeni Solo.

Certainly. That's why I've placed my prequel efforts on the backburner. I have another thread in this sub-forum about a prequel trilogy that features a post-Sith conversion but pre-black armor Darth Vader as its protagonist, but I find that very difficult to write about for the reasons you mentioned.

Ultimately I think the key to writing effective Star Wars prequels is to let go of the idea that they have to be 100% about Anakin Skywalker's fall and the conclusion of the Clone Wars. I'm sure the pre-OT era can be made more interesting than a simple retread of the familiar and soulless Lucas material we saw in his prequel films. If you can get creative enough, there's plenty of room to mine for interesting story ideas. 

I might as well scrap even my Vader prequel trilogy idea, now that I think about it.

I've turned to writing a sequel trilogy because the ending is not set in stone, especially since I'm not conforming to the established post-ROTJ EU timeline. There are some elements present in my sequels that will be recognizable for EU fans, but they are dealt with differently than you might expect. Right now I won't say much more than that. Down that path lies spoilers! 

That sounds like good attention to detail, Neverar. This is Star Wars, after all. The mythic, pseudo-Arthurian resonance is one of the main draws of this IP. Can't wait to hear more about your trilogies!

More Revenge coming soon.

I'm surprised there aren't more sequel trilogy concept threads in this sub-forum. I'm not the only one pumping that well, am I?

Elysium. Neill Blomkamp is probably my favorite sci-fi film director of the past 10 or so years and the premise of this new movie sounds intriguing, not to mention its great casting choices. I have hope for this one. If it at least comes close to the quality of District 9 I'll be a happy camper.

This part of the story feels a bit clunky to me. I think it might not be Star Wars-y enough. 

Meh. It's just a first draft.

More to come soon. 

From Jeni’s description, Amnar realizes that he has seen Dagman. The trader has been a frequent visitor to Raxus Prime in recent months, always bringing back sacks of loot.

From afar, Jeni spots Dagman trying to cut a deal on his bag of crystals with an Ithorian vendor. The deal does not succeed, so Dagman hoists the bag back over his shoulder and goes off to find another buyer. Jeni and Amnar improvise...

Amnar approaches Dagman alone. Dagman does not recognize Amnar, who offers two thousand Credits for the crystals. Dagman chuckles and says he will only consider an offer of at least four thousand Credits. Amnar bares the bladed muzzle of his rifle to the Strider and implores Dagman to reconsider the offer. Dagman backs away and pulls out a blaster pistol, but Amnar executes a swift strike which sends the weapon flying out of the Strider’s hand. Then Amnar snatches the bag off of Dagman, now laying on the ground, and bolts away. The Strider retrieves his weapon and gives chase.

Bingowings said:

It's a giant astrodroid.

I'm just going to roll with this. The kaiju equivalent of R2-D2.

He's very human.

You logic'd that one right out of the park, georgec.

NeverarGreat said:

Episode 3. 3 scenes. First, the capital ship crashing down on Coruscant. That was what Star Wars should be. Adventure, excitement, destruction on a massive scale, everything. 

I actually agree. I felt jolted back to my very young self again, like the original adventuresome sense of "Star Wars-iness" returned to the series, if only just for that one scene. 

Jeni, Amnar, and Zero leave the junkyard wastes and enter the market zone. There are stands and kiosks all along an avenue. Patrons and shopkeepers of many species walk, fly, slither, and crawl around haggling each other for agreeable prices on wares. Countless different languages, only a handful of which Jeni and Amnar can understand at any level, fill the air as the two hunt for Dagman.
 
---

I'm considering a title change for Episode IX: The Final Holocron. It'll make sense when I get there. 

Hey you stole my title.

NeverarGreat said:

R2-D2 saved the Queen's starship in Episode 1. Without Artoo, the ship would have been destroyed, and the Jedi killed, as well as the queen. Nute Gunray is successfully prosecuted for invading Naboo and killing the queen. Qui-Gon and Obi-wan would never have stopped on Tatooine to find Anakin, and so Anakin would never have become a Jedi, nor would he have become a Sith. A new leader of Naboo would have been elected, and as Jar-Jar had been killed as well, he wouldn't have called for emergency powers for the Chancellor, even if the Trade Federation had remained intact after that fiasco. In short, if Artoo had never existed, the Empire would never have been formed.

"I don't know what all the trouble is about, but I'm sure it must be your fault."

slow clap

Surely the saga would have turned out differently if Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan didn't have those pocket re-breathers that allowed them to swim to Otoh Gunga?

Has anybody yet tried to edit the current Marvel film continuity leading up to The Avengers into one long mega-film? I imagine it wouldn’t hold up in a critical sense, especially when the film reaches more modern times and is constantly jumping between the stories of Tony Stark, Thor, and Bruce Banner, but it might be a cool exercise nonetheless. Sort of like the fan edit known as The Matrix Dezionized.

The film would probably start with the prologue of Thor, then go on to the events of The First Avenger (minus the epilogue scene, of course), then cut between Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man 2 before finally settling on The Avengers.

While technically being a part of the generation that grew up on the prequels (I was born in 1992), I've come to see them as the lackluster works that they are in comparison to the originals. The OT just resonates better in terms of characterization, screenwriting, art direction and smart use of special effects. I'm not so much a purist as I am a guy who likes the originals better than the prequels.

It's so wonderful. Every single Star Wars forum has so many celebrations going on.

Zero shows Jeni that he has extracted a file from the Falcon's backup memory bank. It is a flight log containing information about the Falcon's journey at the time of Tyrhevius' attack on the ship. A holographic Han Solo appears. He says that he has intercepted a group of Talon Striders and downloaded data about their "secret project" into R2-D2. Han finishes his message with, "Soon as I get home I'm teaching Jeni how to play sabacc." Then the hologram switches to a display showing the Falcon's trajectory to Corellia from a world called "Verdanth".

A journey Han never lived to finish.

Jeni switches off the hologram.  Han is with the Force, she tells herself. Never to be forgotten. Amnar assures her that he met an honorable end.