Incoming...

Darth Disney

Yep, that's right - the shocking news came out yesterday that Lucasfilm and in turn the Star Wars franchise has been handed over to Disney. Certainly a fair number of Star Wars fans will have turned to the dark-side over this revelation, but personally I am not too fussed. Firstly, the prospect of another Star Wars film in 2015 (as is rumoured) doesn't do anything to take away from the original saga, or even the prequel saga - if you're really that distressed, don't watch the film. Secondly, there are going to be more Star Wars films! I grew up on Star Wars, my dad took me to see the original saga when they were re-released in the '90's, just in time for the prequel saga to begin. Which I loved. Yes, as a young boy, the adventures of Anakin, Qui-Gon Jinn and Padmé were just as easily able to inspire me to swing lightsabers around in my back garden and try to use jedi mind-tricks on my younger sister. When I watch the saga now, of course I can see some of the weaknesses, but I can also see the depth of imagination and pure epicness that Lucas created, and one only has to look at the multitude of books, games and television shows that have branched from these six films to know that this droid, alien and jedi universe still has more to share. New, young audiences will be introduced to the lore of Star Wars in new ways, opening the gate for you to expose them to the original material. By the time these new films are released, most of the Star Wars fans old enough to actually have seen all of the films when they were shown in theatres will have to admit that they aren't likely to be the target audience, and will hopefully be able to see the films just to appreciate them as additions to the universe they already love. So, here are some of the things that I hope, as a Star Wars fan, are thought about when Disney get the ball rolling.

No more Clone Wars

Now, I was at first very sceptical about the CGI television version of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, following Jedi Padawan Ashoka and her master Anakin with various other Jedi as they fight the separatists between Episode II and III. But since actually sitting down and watching it from the start, I have to say I was mistake to brush it off so easily. The action is great, the writing is superb, and it allows Jedi and characters who had little screen time in the films to have their own roles in the Clone Wars fleshed out and explored - personally I was thrilled to see that Jedi Plo Koon, a personal favourite of mine, has a prominent role in a number of episodes. So, I think the Clone Wars era is in good hands - there's no need to make films around the same battles - let's have something new.

The Old Republic

Now, the majority of Star Wars fans who have sunk their teeth in to the expanded Star Wars universe will probably be rooting for films that are based in the time long, long, LONG before Darth Vader showed his face. The times of the Old Republic have both Jedi and Sith in abundance, so there would be plenty of action to be had, and there are plenty of conflicts and adventures to be told. Some fans may want the story of Revan and the Exile to be told, stories made popular by the Bioware role-playing games released a number of years back and linked to the MMORPG; The Old Republic that is available now. I would be cautious of this because...

Don't mess with the lore

The only way more Star Wars films can truly work without upsetting too many people is if they leave the history and storyline of the saga that has already taken place untouched. This can also extend to other popular storylines in the Star Wars universe, including that of the adventures of Revan in The Old Republic games and so on. By all means, do something new with new characters and new areas, but you couldn't suddenly bring in Han Solo's long lost son, or have a storyline that would conflict with another already in place. So whoever is working on the new films better make sure they have well-versed writers who can call out when something doesn't add up, because you can be as sure as hell the members of the Star Wars community on the internet will voice it furiously on their keyboards.

Less Jedi

Now, don't get me wrong, I love lightsaber duels and the force as much as the next guy, but everyone can admit that Han Solo was the coolest character in the original saga, not to mention the mysterious Boba Fett who was noteworthy enough to bag an origins role in the prequel saga and plenty of off-screen action since then. So I think maybe put the focus somewhere else. Sure, there have to be Jedi somewhere in the films, but just as much fun can be had with a cocky smuggler or a gritty bounty hunter. The original saga had Han Solo and Chewbacca, but the prequel saga didn't really have a cool non-Jedi character who survived all three outings. The animated series The Clone Wars does a good job of creating clone troopers with different personalities who we can actually grow attached to even without the use of a lightsaber, so I hope that any new Star Wars films will have at least a worthy support character not in touch with the force, if not a lead.

Good directing, good writing, good cast

It would be unfair to suggest that just because Disney is attached to Star Wars that the writing or cast choices are going to suffer. Look at the Marvel films - The Avengers was, in my opinion, the best film of the year so far, and I include The Dark Knight Rises in this judgement. Disney feature films don't mean that Zac Efron will be the new Jedi Knight, or that the films will suddenly become musicals, instead there is the opportunity for directors like Joss Whedon or Kenneth Branagh to take the helm, and bring in stalwart actors like Robert Downey Jr or Samuel L Jackson (...wait a minute...). So, as long as they keep Michael Bay far away from this franchise and manage to get actors and directors to do the universe justice, I have high hopes for the continuation of the Star Wars adventure.

So I guess we'll be hearing a lot about how the films are looking to develop in the next few years - I will be in my mid-twenties by the time it's released and probably more concerned with grown-up stuff like...I don't know...bills? I think that's what grown-ups are always talking about...I will probably stop referring to adults as 'grown-ups' as well. But anyway. I may have other concerns, but I will be eager to see what direction the films will take and whether or not I need to hurry up and have children so I can convert them to the light-side of Star Wars and not the dark-side of High School Musical, or whatever it is young people watch these days.