The Young Cassian Andor/”Star Wars Rebels” Movie
The Crawl idea: Some dissidents join the rebellion others are born into it without choice. Cassian Andor, a freedom fighter from the age of 6, has dedicated his life in resisting the Empire, but there is a complicated cost to trading a childhood for revolution. It is with he and a new generation of young rebels that the hope for the galaxy resides…
The Concept: So we know two things: one, Cassian Andor, Diego Luna’s character from “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” has been doing dirty work for the Rebellion since he was a young boy and it’s been suggested his parents died for the cause. And two: “Star Wars Rebels,” the computer-animated series on Disney XD, also lives in a time period before ‘Rogue One.’ “Star Wars Rebels” even had a number of shout-outs, both explicit (hi Chopper!) and subtle, in ‘Rogue One’ that hinted at connective tissue. The Rebels are roughly the same age as the team in ‘Rogue One’ and they seem to be pretty instrumental in the climactic attack on Scarif. So why not make a movie that explores the backstory of Cassian and some of the smaller ‘Rogue One’ characters, while also integrating the characters from ‘Rebels’ in an amalgamated new tale? This narrative could turn into a spy movie gone sideways. A simple reconnaissance mission gone bad — via a double agent in the Empire — leaves brooding, disenchanted survivors (Andor) to team up with some of the ‘Rebels’ to return to the scene of the crime and yet encountering a greater evil in the works. Yes, it has echoes of ‘Rogue One’ characters tasked with completing a dangerous mission, but it needn’t be as downbeat suicide mission, with the strengths of the individual characters played up and emphasized (characterization felt marginalized in ‘Rogue One’ due the various reshoots and sprawl of the story). The original concept for ‘Rogue One’ was described as “Mission: Impossible” meets “The Hunt for Red October,” not at all what the Gareth Edwards-directed movie morphed into ultimately. Let’s see that movie, but with the ‘Rebels’ characters and Cassian. Shave off Diego’s mustache and we’re good to go and set the story approximately five years before the events of ‘Rogue One.’
“Seven Samurai” Meets “X-Men: First Class”
The Crawl: Years before the rise of the Empire, the Jedi Knights act as guardians of peace and justice throughout the galaxy. As new generations of Jedis are born and trained, a secret order of Sith Lords await in hiding to strike. When a young Padawan and his master suddenly disappear on a mission, a group of disparate knights break rank and set off to find their brethren. A dark past catches up with some of these warriors of honor…
The Concept: When the idea of anthology films (later dubbed “Star Wars Stories“) was first conceptualized by Lucasfilm and announced by Disney, speculation turned to a “Seven Samurai“-style film about a band of misfit Jedis who patrolled space following the fall of their sacred order. It was said that Zack Snyder, before becoming firmly enmeshed in the DC Films boondoggle, was pitching the project and that the studio was eager to announce it as one of the very first of these standalone films. But then nothing came of it. Which is a shame because the concept is fascinating. But what if you jettisoned Zack Snyder (sorry, dude!) and grafted a story similar to “X-Men: First Class” where the band of misfits includes a younger generation, maybe one master and even an exiled Jedi who hasn’t turned to the Dark Side despite his differences with the main Jedi order. Set decades, perhaps even a century before the prequels, there would be absolutely no crossover with the Lucasfilm hexology aside from Yoda, the Jedi master who lived for 900 years. This film would depart from the usual clash of the Rebellion and the Empire and dive into Jedis vs. Sith in a less political, more personal way. There’s obviously precedent for the idea,too, since George Lucas has stated that Akira Kurosawa‘s films heavily inspired the original trilogy. They say at Disney good ideas never go away, they just simmer until they’re ready. Hopefully that’s the case here.
More Stories In A Galaxy Far, Far Away…
There are myriad related chronicles you could tell, such as spinning off the ‘Clone Wars’ with the further adventures of Obi-Wan and a young Anakin Skywalker before he turns to the Dark Side. You could do a “Logan”-style movie where a dejected, outcast, older Jedi returns for one more mission to save someone in peril. Then there is everything that took place in between the stories of ‘A New Hope,’ ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ and ‘Return Of The Jedi.’ Sure to be rich material mined eventually, is the relatively new “Star Wars: Aftermath” book threequel. The films tell the stories in the thirty years in between ‘Return Of The Jedi‘ and ‘The Force Awakens,’ but with decades of time and distance from each movie, there’s plenty of space to play within this post-Death Star era. And then there’s the video game “Star Wars 1313,” and the “Star Wars Underworld” television series that George Lucas was developing about mobs and crime organizations that surely lays in the vaults somewhere. Whatever happens, it’ll be exciting when Lucasfilm truly begins to explore their galaxy and stretch beyond everything they have created thus far.