Star Wars Sequel Trilogy: George Lucas Had Big Plans for Leia Before Disney Sale

With some new details around the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, it's become clear that George Lucas had big plans for Leia before the Disney sale occurred. The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005 is coming out from Taschen and it details what the creator would have wanted for the next step in the franchise. One of the most surprising developments is that he would have had Carrie Fisher's character front and center. She was poised to be the centerpiece of the trilogy. Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker would have rebuilt the Jedi order with a small number of students and the Princess would have been tasked with leading the galaxy into a period after the Empire.

Leia would have been tasked with rebuilding the Republic and ascending to Supreme Chancellor. It's a twist on the chosen one prophecy that permeated the original trilogy and a reexamination of what the prequel trilogies did with Anakin Skywalker. Other wild ideas included that Darth Maul and Talon would have served as the antagonists. There is a large segment of the fanbase that would have loved nothing more than these changes to nod toward the existing fanbase. But, we'll never know how it was received because Disney took it in their direction.

If you think those changes were too drastic, well you haven't seen anything yet. Last year, Lucasfilm executive Kathleen Kennedy said that she could see the series moving beyond trilogies at some point.

"Obviously, that's what's we've been spending so much time talking about, and it's a really important transition for 'Star Wars,'" Kennedy explained. "What we've been focused on these last five or six years is finishing that family saga around the Skywalkers. Now is the time to start thinking about how to segue into something new and different."

"I think it gives us a more open-ended view of storytelling and doesn't lock us into this three-act structure," she continued. "We're not going to have some finite number and fit it into a box. We're really going to let the story dictate that."

In a separate interview with io9, Kennedy also had some words about the people who believe we're seeing Star Wars fatigue.

"I don't think there was a worry about that," she told the outlet. "And I think we've been pleasantly surprised. We're going into television. We've never done [live-action] television for Star Wars. So, yes, there's an unknown and I suppose you could say there was an underlying risk. But what we absolutely knew is that the two are very different in look and feel and were not in any way trying to do the same thing. So we arrived at a point of view pretty early that we thought the two could live comfortably side by side. And I actually think the fans are having fun with Mandalorian and I think it will only help The Rise of Skywalker."

Would you have like to see these original plans for Star Wars unfold on the big screen? Let us know in the comments!