Will 'Star Wars' Say Goodbye To Legacy Characters?

Since acquiring Lucasfilm and the distribution rights to future Star Wars films, Disney has made no secret of their intent to churn out a new movie in the Star Wars universe every year for the foreseeable future. In addition to launching a new trilogy with The Force Awakens, the studio has also committed to numerous spin-offs, including the Han Solo stand alone film slated to be released in 2018. There's also been talk of movies featuring beloved characters like Yoda and Boba Fett. However, don't expect the nostalgia to continue forever, Gary Whitta (the screenwriter, who co-wrote Rogue One) spoke to ComingSoon.net and revealed that Lucasfilm hopes to eventually fade out legacy Star Wars characters. But don't get too freaked out just yet, he's talking about films that'll be made in 10 or 20 years, which still leaves plenty of time for all of our favorite old-school characters to show up in numerous films.

In the interview, Whitta said,

"One of the thing things we really want to do at Lucasfilm is create a universe and not keep relying on old legacy characters. We’ve got Rey and Finn and Kylo Ren, they’ve already introduced a new generation of characters. Whatever kind of Star Wars films they’re making 10 or 20 years from now, I don’t think they’re going to be relying on the same legacy story elements as we have in the past."

Though Whitta does make a good point, it's hard to predict whether fans will be interested enough in Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren to support both future trilogy films, as well as standalone movies in the same cinematic universe. I mean, sure, The Force Awakens was epic, but part of what made is so good was how they featured both characters that we know and love, as well as new ones.

"I’m speaking purely as a fan," Whitta continued, "I obviously have no idea what their plans are for the franchise. I did my small piece of it, but it makes sense to me that you don’t want to keep telling the same story over and over again. You want to tell new stories."

Also speaking purely as a fan, I'll admit that I love the legacy characters. I would totally buy advance tickets for both a Yoda movie and a Boba Fett movie right now. However, I do agree that it makes sense to tell new stories. Fortunately, we've got at least a decade or two before we have to worry about anything.