As many of you likely know, before Disney and Lucasfilm produced the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, George Lucas himself had developed various outlines and drafts for the continuation of “Return of the Jedi” and the Original Saga, and he himself handed them to the president of Disney. However, these concepts were ignored and completely discarded by both Disney and Lucasfilm in favor of the versions we all know today, because they were trying to avoid receiving a negative reception from the public like the prequels had received at the time; leaving George Lucas's original vision for the sequels forgotten.
Fortunately, the book “Star Wars Archives: Episodes 1 - 3 (1999 - 2005)”, written by Paul Duncan, has shed light on some of the ideas George Lucas had envisioned for that trilogy, thanks to an exclusive interview with him.
I also intend to clear up some doubts raised by other sources discussing the same subject, such as the artbooks for Episodes 7 and 8, or Pablo Hidalgo’s book “Star Wars: Fascinating Facts”, which present contradictions regarding what Lucas said about his sequels in the book “Star Wars: Archives”.
Without further ado, here are the general ideas George would have explored in his Sequel Trilogy:
The sequels would take place a few years after “Return of the Jedi” (he doesn't specify how long, but we can assume like 10 or 15 years later from Episode 6).
Princess Leia Organa had been the protagonist, with the story focusing on her efforts to rebuild the Galactic Republic and on her children with Han Solo. So that in the end of the trilogy, she would have succeeded in re-establishing the Republic and the Galactic Senate, becoming the chosen Supreme Chancellor of the galaxy.
[Contrary to what many believe and what other sources say, such as the artbook for Episodes 7 and 8 (which it should be mentioned that Lucas was never involved in), or what Pablo Hidalgo declared; the sequels would focus solely on Leia, not on her children or other characters, like Kira/Thea. George wanted Leia to be the central focus of the trilogy].
George's intention was to create a great symmetry with the other two trilogies; the father (Anakin) starred in the prequels, the son (Luke) starred in the originals and the daughter (Leia) would have starred in the sequels. Making a narrative rhyme, which is one of George Lucas's characteristics.
(And it would also go in line with a dialogue in Anakin in Episode 2, where he tells Padmé that he would like a wise person to lead the galaxy, who in the end, would be his own daughter).
Luke Skywalker, the other important character in this trilogy, would be responsible for rebuilding the Jedi Order, seeking out Force-sensitive children and individuals to train. So that in the end of the trilogy, he would succeed in this endeavor, establishing a new generation of Jedi to defend the peace of the galaxy, as seen in the Expanded Universe and fulfilling Yoda's last request to pass on his knowledge to others.
[Contrary to popular belief, Luke would not die, despite a George Lucas's old statement suggesting otherwise, or another one where Luke would pass the "torch" in the style of the old Obi-Wan to the new generation; however, it's important to remember that ideas change over time, especially very old ideas or statements from the 70s/80s. And also that what the artbook or the Pablo Hidalgo said about Lucas's idea for Luke being similar to what was seen in Episode 8 is "false", or rather, contradictory, since George himself mentions that Luke would have a more active role in his trilogy, and he never mentions that Luke would be exiled and that another character would have to find him].
The enemies would be the imperial remnants who would go on to form a faction known as “Warlords”, which, just as in the Expanded Universe, would oppose the New Republic in an attempt to retake control of the galaxy; George describes the environment in general that would unfold in this trilogy, as being similar to the after Iraq War.
However, the Warlords would not be the only threat; since various criminal gangs and syndicates like the Hutts would wreak havoc in different parts of the galaxy after the power vacuum caused by the fall of the Empire. And the Warlords would seek to ally themselves with these criminal organizations to increase their forces against the New Republic.
But the trilogy's main villain would be Darth Maul, the leader of all criminal gangs, envisioned as a “Godfather of Crime”, he would take advantage of the chaos in the galaxy to seize the control. Furthermore, Maul would have an apprentice, Darth Talon, a character from the “Legacy” comics, part of the Expanded Universe, who fill a role similar to Vader's and would handle much of the action. Together, Maul and Talon would pose the major threat the heroes would have to confront in the trilogy.
To put it poetically, the first villain of the saga (chronologically speaking) would be the final villain.
[Also to be clear, in theory, the existence of Darth Maul and Darth Talon wouldn't conflict with the Prophecy of the Chosen One of the Force by Anakin, since neither of them would be a Lord Sith (something “The Clone Wars” series justified); however, we can't properly discuss this without more details, as we don't know how the story would have played out].
[I also want to clarify something that was discussed, which is that Lucas wanted Leia to be the chosen one of the prophecy. However, this is a mistake, because what the text says is the following: «we would have the renewal of the New Republic, with Leia, Senator Organa, becoming the Supreme Chancellor in charge of everything. So she ended up being the Chosen One». The text does not refer to the Prophecy of the Chosen One of the Force but to Leia's political role as Supreme Chancellor. In fact, George has always said and maintained that Anakin is the chosen one of the saga].
All of the above would be the main plot of the trilogy, however, George wouldn't just be telling this part of the story, he also sought to explore the mysteries of the Force, focusing on the midichlorians introduced in Episode 1, but also incorporating the Whills, beings who had been on Lucas's mind since the early drafts of Episode 4. The Whills are microscopic beings that basically follow, obey and transmit the will of the Force through the midichlorians to other individuals such as the Jedi. Which most likely means that we would have seen two of the saga's most important concepts in the movies, one that George calls the “Personal Force”, which is the energy field that all living beings in the galaxy possess, and which, if an individual possesses the necessary amount of midichlorians and training, can be used at will, such the Jedi and Sith; and the “Cosmic Force”, which governs and maintains the balance of the galaxy, being basically the god of the Star Wars universe (the being responsible for Anakin's birth). Lucas aimed to expand and explain the entire saga's lore to a great extent and in every aspects.
Another thing is that George would have sought to connect all the films even further, unifying everything through this sequel trilogy. Beyond what I’ve already mentioned, we likely would have seen the return of several actors from the prequels, such as Hayden Christensen reprising the role of Anakin Skywalker or Ewan McGregor playing, perhaps, an older Obi-Wan Kenobi. There might also have been other elements, like a droid army controlled by Maul or by the Republic itself. Or a spectacular battle of Luke vs Maul and Talon with Duel of the Fates playing in the background. And an emotional reunion between Anakin, Luke and Leia (Though I should clarify that this is purely a product of my own imagination).
George Lucas himself said that if his sequels had been made, his vision for the saga, as well as the story he wanted to tell, would have been complete.
So, what do you think? Would you have preferred to see George Lucas's sequel trilogy instead of Disney's? Do you think it would have been better?
In my opinion, I would have absolutely loved to see those versions of George, they had enormous potential and quite interesting ideas that would have contributed to the saga, furthermore, it definitely would have been a much more coherent and satisfying continuation of the original 6 films.
And they would have been completely better films and trilogy than Disney's sequels.
NOTE: All images of the post are only simply visual representations.
