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Do you think the Sequel Trilogy should be decanonized?

Decanonize the ST?

  • Yes

    Votes: 156 83.4%

  • No

    Votes: 8 4.3%

  • Not fully, but deemphasize it

    Votes: 17 9.1%

  • Unsure

    Votes: 6 3.2%
  • Total voters
    187
Decanonise it and then take a decade-long hiatus, at least from the live action stuff.

Sitting in a cinema and hearing the theme blast through the speakers during the title crawl used to feel so damn special. These were event movies. Now it's just another milked to death franchise.
 
Madflavor said:
I do have to wonder what's going through their heads over at Disney/LF that not one movie from the ST made the Top 10.

screenshot-2026-05-04-at-9-24-33-am.png


There was the declining box office results of TFA - TRoS, but in the years since then, this has to be the most damning thing towards those films.
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I remember leaving the theater after watching TLJ just confused and annoyed that they would make something seemingly with the goal of insulting their fans. I still went and saw the third movie (can't even remember its subtitle), but at that point I couldn't even muster the feeling of annoyance; I just didn't care anymore. I haven't watched anything Star Wars ever since.
 
Madflavor said:
I do have to wonder what's going through their heads over at Disney/LF that not one movie from the ST made the Top 10.

screenshot-2026-05-04-at-9-24-33-am.png


There was the declining box office results of TFA - TRoS, but in the years since then, this has to be the most damning thing towards those films.
Click to expand...
Damn, I really need to watch that 2nd season of Andor.
 
It would be best to remove it from canon. They got a few things right, the concept, look and feel of the initial Kylo Ren was pretty bad ass. A flawed character played by a good actor. The concept and cross guard, all great shit. The best thing about the trilogy. They can also remove whatever the hell they did to Luke.

Removing those movies allows them more freedom and the current mandoverse or similar to have actual meaning and suspense to where it's headed. Intstead of trying to shoe horn everything to make 'Somehow Palpatine returned' make sense. They could plot a better course.

I don't even hate Rey as a character, only that so much was unearned and the dyad was bad. It was all a mess without a plan.

I'd like to see them keep some of Kylo and merge it with Jacen or similar legend character. Dark Empire wasn't terrible, Heir to the Empire seems like a better course.

Ideally, if Jedi 3 sticks the landing, a mid trilogy between the originals and prequel would be great.

At the end of the day I think most fans want some versionof an Underworld ruled chaotic galaxy without a strong empire. It's a great concept for a short term future.
 
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I only think they should try and decanonize the sequel trilogy if they plan on doing a story with Luke, Han and Leia between ROTJ and TFA. I can understand the questionable direction all three characters have to reach to line up with The Force Awakens would limit the stories they can do with Luke, Han and Leia and sour the story they're telling because it cuts down on opportunities to surprise. But if they really aren't interested in doing that (I think, they should, I think there is a post-ROTJ story tied to them that is just waiting to be told), then I think they just need to distance the franchise from the ST. Don't reference it much, don't pull characters from it very often. Just move on.

If they do decide to tell a post-ROTJ Han, Luke and Leia story, I really hope they just re-cast all 3. We got to see Mark Hammil's Jedi knight Luke done justice with Mando season 2, I think it's time to move on. Over-reliance on CGI causing a lack of tangibility was a valid (but maybe overblown) criticism of the prequels. If we get a set of movies where Han, Luke and Leia are deepfake AI creations, I don't think the public is going to want that. I think they should re-cast them and tell a great story with them. Obi-wan has been played by multiple actors and Ewan, Alec and James (Clone Wars VA) all did a great job and are loved by fans. I think we really need to stop acting like "you just can't" re-cast Han, Luke and Leia.


If they do decanonize the ST, I think they should do it in a way where they still sort of happened, but they just don't matter (make it work some how, if you have to pull a MCU-like multiverse thing to "move" the Sequel Trilogy out of the way, then just do that). I don't like the ST movies, but it sets a dangerous precedent to just hand-wave away 3 movies because they aren't good and lack fan appeal. A lot of actors and other talent worked on them and there are fans of those characters. Completely erasing it all feels a bit mean-spirited but at the same time, should the potential for good post-ROTJ stories be heldback for these movies? That doesn't feel right either. It's a mess.


To answer some of the questions posed in the OP:
1. Yes, I do think an Heir To The Empire-esque trilogy or Disney Plus series centered on Han, Luke and Leia should happen but I'm leaning more towards re-casting Han, Luke and Leia over deepfaking them. I'm not passionately against using deepfake OT characters though. I could see Lucasfilm being motivated by the chance to see what could be accomplished with that technology and this would be a good use for it.

2. Revisit George's outline? I am interested in this happening as well but not at the expense of an Heir To The Empire-like story being told. Ideally, I'd like to see both. I'm getting the impression Maul may not be completely dead (or they're just willing to ret-con his Rebels death) based off quotes that have come out following the release of his new series. Maybe George's plans for Maul and his apprentice may still see the light of day.
 
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Trunx81 said:
Recast trilogy set right after RotJ. With the Solo actor as .. well, Solo. And the winter soldier as Luke.
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I think this is the right idea. Just decannonize them, celebrate it, admit their mistake, and do a new sequel trilogy with the Solo actor and Winter Soldier and someone as Cary Fisher and HIRE SOME GODDAMN GOOD WRITERS and don't get sucked into fanservice, just tell a good story and move forward.

I don't like any of the characters in the sequel trilogy. I don't want to see Rey or Finn or Poe ever again. They're fucking terrible, and the three films are shit. The prequels, as hard as it is to believe, major flaws and wooden acting and silliness, are much better than the sequels.
 
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The main reason I think it should be de-canonized is just to save the characters of Luke/Han and to a lesser degree Leia.

I don't mind if they die or pass on the torch, or whatever. They didn't need to completely ruin the characters on their way out, though. I'm not saying that they should all be super famous and revered, but they don't need to be treated like yesterday's problematic trash. Luke going out in a blaze of glory could have been awesome if it wasn't done in such a stupid way for such a bullshit character (Rei). Han deserved better all around, honestly.
 
Before doing anything at all, they need to bring in real talent to write the worldbuilding of the actual new sequels and make sure they tie in perfectly with the old movies instead of introducing a hundred lore and logic conflicts, from tech to characters behaviors. They need a serious long term plan before shooting one single scene.

After that, yes, decanonize those monstrosities. The sequels are terrible from every point of view and add nothing that could be salvaged.

What pisses me off the most is that the story of a rogue storm trooper could have been really a great one as starting point but they turned Finn into a fucking simp of the cardboard protagonist. Insanity. Burnt it with fire.
 
EviLore said:
No one likes the ST. There's no down side.
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I have to admit, I still kind of like TFA. When it came out I really liked it, I mean yeah it was a derivative remake of ANH, but I felt it was a decent start of a new trilogy.

Then Rian Johnson made his movie and ruined any good feelings I had about the ST. I despised TLJ from the day I saw it. I remember my brother and I walking out of the theater in total silence, getting in the car, sitting there for a moment, and then just venting about how disappointed we were by it. As two people who grew up with the OT we couldn't believe how BAD TLJ was. To this day I still don't understand how any SW fan can like it.

And then the last film came out and was even worse somehow.

Yeah, Disney failed so hard with the ST, but I still do think TFA was a decent SW film.
 
Mengy said:
I have to admit, I still kind of like TFA. When it came out I really liked it, I mean yeah it was a derivative remake of ANH, but I felt it was a decent start of a new trilogy.

Then Rian Johnson made his movie and ruined any good feelings I had about the ST. I despised TLJ from the day I saw it. I remember my brother and I walking out of the theater in total silence, getting in the car, sitting there for a moment, and then just venting about how disappointed we were by it. As two people who grew up with the OT we couldn't believe how BAD TLJ was. To this day I still don't understand how any SW fan can like it.

And then the last film came out and was even worse somehow.

Yeah, Disney failed so hard with the ST, but I still do think TFA was a decent SW film.
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I had almost the exact same experience as you with my brother as well after TLJ. We were both so confused and torn because we both were pretty hyped for TLJ and really wanted to like it but because its such trash I guess it scrambled our circuits. I did somewhat enjoy early Mando and both Andor seasons but my attitude towards anything that takes place after ROTJ is pretty much "what's it matter, it turns to shit anyways."
 
They should de-canonize the prequels AND the sequels. The games and books that came after the original set of movies were the right way to go.

There is no way to capture the work of the people who created the original trilogy of movies. They were a set of people in a time and a place with ideas they had gathered through their life up to that point. That time and place does not exist any longer. The people that are alive still from the original creators are older and in an entirely different state of life now: You can't go back home again.

Let the dream drift away instead of forcing an reanimated amalgamation puke-zombie take its place.

Best case scenario: produce new books, comics and videogames, do different mediums but remember:

The work should stand on its own without the name Star Wars. Don't milk the blue titty milk. Have some dignity and respect.

Akira Kurosawa Samurai GIF by Turner Classic Movies
 
falconhoof said:

On February 19, 2027, we'll celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Wars with a re-release of the 1977 original back for a limited time, in theaters everywhere.

Part of Lucasfilm's yearlong 50th anniversary celebration, a newly restored version of the classic Star Wars (1977) theatrical release — later renamed Star Wars: A New Hope — will play in theaters for a limited time.
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i want the 4K
 
Its too late.

Carrie Fisher is gone, Harrison Ford is way too old and Mark Hamill seems to be too busy dealing with his terminal TDS. All the sequel trilogy needed to do was have the entire original gang back on the Falcon for one awesome scene and it couldn't even get that right. Now the chance has gone. Star Trek may be dead but Star Wars isn't too far behind. The Mando film will prove that in a week or two when it flops ultra-hard.
 
Episodes 7, 8 and 9 me personally I think are good and earn the right of the Star Wars name, let's understand they're interesting movies with their goal to expand story, lore and to me when I think of 7, 8, 9 and what we saw they could do, the droid assets, Rey, ren, emperor pap etc. it's entirely different than the movies released in the 70s and 80s.

star wars rey GIF by ScreenJunkies
 
They and we could all just collectively... ignore them.
I can't even remember 90% of the third one already.

Trying to retain canon is like fighting entropy.
 
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Rogue One honestly isn't as good as people make it out to be. If you watch Rogue One immediately after Andor, the difference in quality (especially the dialogue) is pretty stark. It has a pretty good third act, but that's it.

It's also hard to watch Rogue One these days and not see Cassian as the real protagonist.
 
EverydayBeast said:
Episodes 7, 8 and 9 me personally I think are good and earn the right of the Star Wars name, let's understand they're interesting movies with their goal to expand story, lore and to me when I think of 7, 8, 9 and what we saw they could do, the droid assets, Rey, ren, emperor pap etc. it's entirely different than the movies released in the 70s and 80s.

star wars rey GIF by ScreenJunkies
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Bruce Willis GIF
 
Honestly, keep them cannon and keep it closed. Create a new family in a distant timeline further into the future so no one that was in the previous saga is gone. Like 200 years.
 
since both star trek and star wars had been ruined by the same people, they should put the final nail and do Star Trek vs Star Wars and it ends up being the worst of both combined. kill off everyone, and start new
 
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Heir to the Empire was so good, Zahn really nailed the characters, it FELT like Star Wars. Plus it introduced Thrawn, who ended up becoming my favorite SW villain ever.

Can't do anything with it now, everybody is dead or way too old.
 
Unfortunately there isn't anyone in Hollywood that has the worldbuilding chops to attempt anything that Lucas did. Zack Snyder had a go and look at how shoddy Rebel Moon turned out.

Best case scenario is to shelve the franchise and give it a well earned rest.
 
It's to bad really cause Force awakens had some cool ideas, defecting storm trooper who may be force sensitive, mysterious girl, with force sensitivity, cool hot shot pilot, main bad guy that was conflicted towards light side


But It did not know what to really do with them or the legacy chracters, first order was silly should have just been an imperial remnant,

Not having a solid outline of where the story was going really messed the next two movies up bad.
 
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I can't unsee them, so it would serve nothing but give a (much-deserved) ego stroke to the many detractors. But that would be admitting that people who didn't like them were right, and that can't be done by those who think they're on the *checks notes* right side of history.

Star Wars will forever be the perfect example of the motto "you either die a hero, or live long enough to become the villain" in entertainment media.
We had a legendary first trilogy, even if:
1) ANH was saved in the edit,
2) ROTJ already recycled the first movie's main idea,
3) SW at large was already old stuff by the time the EU books started releasing, and only one of the most massive marketing campaigns of all time managed to make the IP so relevant again. By the mid-90s, Star Wars was already mainly a book and video game franchise drawing inspiration from movies that were almost archaic.

Then we had the prequel trilogy showing everyone what happens when a single creator doesn't get enough pushback from the rest of the staff and goes wild with a lot of questionable choices.

Finally, we had the sequel trilogy showing everyone what happens when new people get handled the reins of an established IP and get the blessing of the official seal of approval on what would otherwise be just sloppy fanfiction. And by sloppy I mean the type of fanfiction I would have been embarrassed to conceive in my teens.
 
no.png


This shouldn't be that complicated.

All Disney need do: Get away from the Skywalker era. The sequel trilogy is...not great, but it doesn't really do any permanent damage to the Star Wars universe, other than leaving a bad taste in the mouth due to poor storytelling. The film audience is tired; we were dragged through three films with no designed, overarching narrative and have found the content lacking.

I love the original trilogy, but Ford and Hamil are done. Morbid, but: Hamil will probably barely survive whatever is created/released next and Ford won't, unfortunately. Luke/AI Leia/(maybe AI) Han don't need to appear in new stories. Any film ideas involving the principals in episodes 4-6 should be immediately ignored- these aren't practical. On a similar note, Heir to the Empire, unfortunately, will never happen, given the existence of a "canon" Thrawn, after Rebels, Ahsoka and whatever I'm forgetting.

As others have mentioned, you can't "decanonize" without confusing the general audience and risking further disengagement. This isn't DC: champion (ha) of reboot/multiple continuity mess. There is no Star Wars "multiverse." It's all connected and will continue to be so - but, this isn't really a big deal.

It would be pretty easy to simply move on. Produce a 3-part Old Republic series of films over six to eight years. Hell, develop a canon Revan series - the story is already written. Promote it as, "Before The Empire, before The Skywalker Legacy...an even longer time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." Get people interested again: It's something new, not another "How is Disney going to fuck up what came before?"-exercise.

After that's done, jump to a time period AFTER episode 9, beyond Rey, and do another trilogy. Create some MacGuffin Force thing in the Old Republic movies which turns up in the future films to tie them into some greater story.

Start with a blank canvas and move forward. There's a lot to work with which doesn't suck. The 7-9 stuff is easily jettisoned/ignored.
 
calistan said:
I think most people wouldn't notice if they said 'these films are actually from a different timeline'.

They should double down, do some crossovers with other sci-fi 'franchises' that have been milked to death.

Aliens vs Stormtroopers would be a good start. Then maybe have a novice girlboss Jedi face off against a Predator (they already kind of did that one, right?)
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Not before "Star Wars vs Star Trek".
 
Since they already confirmed a new trilogy with Rey...
  • Introduce some sloppy time traveling/multiverse McGuffin right on the first movie as a forgettable secondary plot.
  • Finish the new Rey trilogy with a big tragedy (basically kill every single living being on the new trilogy. Explode Coruscant/Deathstar on Tatooine level of universe destruction.
  • Post credit scene of the 3rd movie, some unknow asshole in a isolated planet, hiding in a bunker to escape the universe destruction, activates the device and reboot the entire thing right after ROTJ.
  • Hype and profits after 5 years
 
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Yes but I think most of it should be decanonized

Keep Rogue One, Andor, Skeleton Crew, Book of Boba Fett and The Mandolorian, those are the only stuff I enjoyed from Disney Star Wars outside of thier animated efforts. We shall see how The Mandolorian And Grogu does but everything I seen of it made me more positive on it
 
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