Film,  Uncategorized

FEATURE: Five STAR WARS Standalone Stories We Want to See

In addition to the core saga films, Disney is expanding the Star Wars franchise with many standalone movies. We got Rogue One in 2016, with Solo arriving soon. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan Kenobi is getting his own film (eventually), The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is overseeing a new trilogy, and a separate series from the Game of Thrones creators is in the works. There has also been talk of characters like Boba Fett, Yoda, and Jabba the Hutt getting their own spinoffs.

But after that? The Star Wars universe is massive, and Disney has shown every intention to milk it dry. So, we’ll be seeing plenty of standalone movies in the future. Here, we have five ideas…

Knights of Ren
During the decades between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, a group known as the Knights of Ren was formed under the leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke. The group consisted of dark-side users of the Force, with Kylo Ren being a master. The Knights were briefly seen in The Force Awakens, but they were completely absent in The Last Jedi, with Rian Johnson citing a lack of room for them.
If Episode IX won’t put a lot of focus on them, it would be cool to see the Knights of Ren headline a standalone movie. Explore the formation of the group, along with how Ben Solo was recruited. A Knights of Ren story could also shed some light on Snoke’s background, as fans have been desperate to know his origin story. But one thing’s for sure: the Knights of Ren have plenty of untapped potential.
The Force Unleashed
Before Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, LucasArts developed two video games under the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed name. The story follows Starkiller, an apprentice of Darth Vader’s who is tasked with killing the remainder of the Jedi and other enemies of the Empire. However, he goes on to be drawn to the light side of the Force, and this pits him against Vader.
Disney has disregarded a lot of things from Star Wars continuity, and The Force Unleashed is probably one of them. That being said, adapting the concept into a standalone movie could be very cool. It would join Rogue One and Solo as stories that explore the era between the prequels and the original trilogy, while it would introduce a new Force user to the films. Also, if there’s an opportunity to bring Darth Vader back to theaters, Disney will take advantage of it. Period.
Knights of the Old Republic
A lot of fans have wanted this idea to be used in the films, and for good reason. Knights of the Old Republic is a video game series that takes place thousands of years before the movies, depicting the ancient war between the Jedi and the Sith. The series has also expanded to comic books and novels. Disney has disregarded this property too in streamlining the Star Wars continuity.
Knights of the Old Republic would be a super interesting concept to explore in the new movies. We’ve consistently seen the same time periods in the Star Wars franchise, and exploring a completely new era would make this fresh. It would also offer a new perspective of the light vs. dark in the Force. And it could easily maintain its own series, instead of being kept to a one-off.
Darth Maul
Darth Maul has been a fan-favorite Star Wars character for years now. He was the main antagonist in The Phantom Menace, easily serving as the highlight of an otherwise dismal film. Despite seemingly dying there, Maul was later brought back for the animated shows The Clone Wars and Rebels. In the latter show, Maul had his rematch with Obi-Wan Kenobi, where he finally died for real.
We clearly have not gotten enough of Maul in the live action movies, so a standalone movie could be really cool. If it were up to me, I would have it explore the pre-Phantom Menace era, which is what Marvel’s recent comics have done. Maybe depict Maul’s origin and how he was recruited to the dark side. But either way, Darth Maul is a really good character who has largely been wasted in the movies, so Disney has an opportunity to correct that.
Lando
And finally, we have one spinoff that could actually happen. Donald Glover plays a younger Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story, taking over from Billy Dee Williams. Even Solo skeptics have been excited to see Lando, and early word is that he is indeed one of the film’s biggest highlights. Kathleen Kennedy has talked about interest in doing a Lando solo film (no pun intended), and it’d be a crime if that didn’t happen.
It’d be interesting to see more of Lando’s adventures, whether it takes place pre-Solo or during the OT era. They could even have it after Return of the Jedi, possibly explaining why Lando hasn’t popped up in the sequel trilogy yet. Also, Donald Glover is a hot talent right now, and Lucasfilm would be foolish not to use that to its fullest potential.
Honorable Mentions: Ahsoka, Chewbacca, Snoke, Ewoks, Droids

Which Star Wars story do you want to see on the big screen?

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WOBAM! Entertainment.