Every Star Wars trilogy has had its issues. Despite a vocal minority that seems to dislike anything they can find in the sequels, including things well established in the previous two trilogies, the sequels have had very few real issues. There is one issue that they have had, their reliance on Original Trilogy characters. Episode IX has the chance to avoid this, they just have to limit Luke to a cameo. Shocked? Lets look at what this means.
The Force Awakens introduced us to Finn, Rey and Poe as our protagonists and Kylo Ren, Hux and Snoke as our antagonists. They were dynamic and interesting characters that immediately engaged a majority of the fans. Unfortunately, they were all background characters the second that Han Solo showed up. The movie itself was a chase to find Luke Skywalker and Leia was set up as the leader of the “good guys”. Our new characters were ultimately set up to serve the story of the original trio. Forget the “it’s a remake of A New Hope” its not, but it is a story that relies on the nostalgia and the mythology around Han, Leia and Luke. It is Han’s movie more than the new characters’.
When The Last Jedi was released there was an opportunity for the new characters to step out of the shadow of our previous characters, and to an extent Poe and Finn did. Both had their own arcs and their story was about their growth. Rey was really more there to serve Luke’s story and to a lesser extent Kylo Ren’s story. Rey grew by becoming settled into who she was and knowing that she had found the family she had wanted. Ultimately though her story was really about bringing Luke back. The Last Jedi was as much about Luke Skywalker as it was Rey and Kylo Ren.
We know that it was previously stated that Episode IX was going to be Leia’s story until the untimely death of Carrie Fisher. While we miss the proper send off for Leia, this means that Episode IX can be a movie that allows the new characters to step out of the shadow of the Trio. This however requires that Lucasfilm avoids the easy trap of Force Ghosts, specifically Luke’s. Now I am not saying we shouldn’t see any of Luke as a ghost but he shouldn’t be more than a cameo. Anakin would be a better Force ghost for Episode IX to explore. Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo need to fully carry Episode IX and it should be their story and ONLY their story.
No matter what, the new characters have to be out of the shadow of Luke, Leia, and Han in IX or the Sequel trilogy is more OT 2.0 or Trio greatest hits than a sequel. That would be a waste of not only great new characters but of the opportunity those characters have had since they first appeared in The Force Awakens.
By @mazlow01 Follow me on twitter, and stay tuned to SpoiledBlueMilk for the best of Star Wars!