May The Force Be With Him

An open letter to J.J. Abrams

Dear Mr. Abrams:

You surely were not simply handed the job for the new Star Wars franchise, and I am but a lowly lifelong Jedi apprentice, but if I may offer my 2 credits, here is how I would write the third Star Wars trilogy.

Before launching into the arc, I’d like to briefly review the success of Episode IV, V, and VI and the failure of I, II, and III. In short, the intergalactic wars in the former had an intuitive logic, the characters were archetypal but not wooden, and the internal conflict of Luke Skywalker matched the external conflict of rebelling against the empire.

In my vision, the tension internal to the siblings Solo matches the tensions externally in the New Republic. Ostensibly, the story is about the machinations and personal journey to succeed their uncle Luke Skywalker as Jedi Master, however, that’s only what’s going on the surface. Like episodes IV, V, VI, my vision would really be all about what you do when you inherit the world.

Episode VII opens 30 years after the fall of the Empire. Master Skywalker has rebuilt the Jedi Academy on Coruscant and Princess Leia has taken Han Solo as her royal consort. They’ve had 3 children- twins Jania and Jacen (22) and younger brother Anakin (18). There is general peace and prosperity throughout the galaxy. On the anniversary celebration of the Battle of Endor, Luke tells his wife Mara Jade he will be retiring, to better help raise their infant son Ben which begins to unravel the fragile order that has been cobbled together. All of the Solo children have trained as Jedi padawans, and Jania and Jacen have become Knights in their own right. In this Republic, the Jedi have returned to more of an espionage role, which we use to frame the future battles (where as the action sequences in the episodes IV-VI were inspired by WWII dogfights, this will have a much more GWOT feel, perhaps even reminiscent of Homeland’s operational scenes). The republic is loosely held together by intricate networks of spies managed by the Jedi and by vicious, seemingly arbitrary assassinations.

After word of Master Skywalker’s retirement spreads, the battle to become his heir apparent intensifies between Jacen and Jania as they maneuver for support within the council and amongst their peers. The climax of Episode VII is when [spoiler alert!] Jania confronts Luke – who has not yet decided who will succeed him – and they engage in single combat. Jania gets the upper hand just as Anakin Solo finds them and witnesses his sister strike Luke down. Jania flees and Jacen – with the council’s approval - begins a manhunt across the galaxy.

Episode VIII follows the Siblings Solo as Jania has stumbled upon (thanks to her trusty R2 unit) Dagoba, Jacen and his Wookie padawan use the entire Republican fleet to search for her, and Anakin turns inward and to the dark side in search of answers. Episode VIII is really three semi-features told in parallel. Jania’s training on Dagoba convinces her she must return and face justice; Anakin’s understanding of the force grows; and Jacen has a Heart of Darkness style journey on Tatoonie.

Finally, in Episode IX, Jania returns to face justice and is imprisoned. Anakin is set to become a full Jedi knight. When Jacen returns, Jedi loyal to Jania stage an insurrection, and full Jedi on Jedi combat ensues. Jania is freed, reluctantly and sets against her attackers in an effort to restore order. In the climax, Jacen sees Jania with a lightsaber and engages her in single combat. Anakin rushes into the frey, and is able to quell the rebellion, at the cost of his left hand, Jacen’s legs, and Jania. Order is restored tragically too late, as the siblings Solo collapse on to each other.

Yes, this is dark. No, this has no chance of passing muster with Disney. Please remind them that this the language of Shakespeare and the medium of Kurosawa, and that no amount of action figures sold in happy meals will make up for the disappointment of having wasted 9 hours of our lives at crappy movies. Mr. Abrams, on behalf of an eager nation, please make the best films you are capable of. We know you have prodigious gifts and we wait on bated breath.

Thank you,

Brian Goldstein.

PS – If all else fails, hire George RR Martin before he passes.

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