Ideal possibility: 30 years later. That would be consistent. There are decades between the first and second trilogy. I would like to see Hamill, Fisher, Williams and. . .in a surprise cameo Ford in episode 7. In THAT film they should allow Chewbacca to die and at the end of it Han dies. It would be asking a lot for a 70 year old man to commit to 3 movies.

The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia is at least bringing it back to Mark Hamill movies.

First off, great show, if I have one criticism, it wasn’t long enough. Listening to a group of people who are so passionate about Star Wars was a joy. One thing this announcement has done has left everyone buzzing. All I want to do since is talk about Star Wars, express my opinion, listen to others; I find it hard to explain it, oh hang on I think I just did…buzzing! Well here’s my two-cent worth…for what it’s worth.
My knee-jerk reaction when I first heard the “Disney-Star Wars” news was PROTECT THE EU! Like many E.U. fans – I presume – I have become quite attached to the ever-expanding universe, and the thought of Disney coming along and re-writing it, appalled me. I thought, if the scrolling intro to the Episode 7 started with…”1,000 years have passed since the death of Emperor Palapatine,” then Disney could leave the E.U. timeline along, avoiding alienating fans, and still allow the E.U to go on after the Legacy era.
But the next day – after most knee-jerk reactions – I reconsidered, and thought maybe that might not be the best approach. If there was a chance of seeing Luke Skywalker on the big screen wielding his lightsaber, or seeing Han Solo shrug “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” as he turned to Leia, just one more time, do I think an opportunity like this should go by without at least being explored, the answer would have to be no. So what are the chances of this happening? I think quite high. We’ve already heard reports that, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill are willing to return, so why not.
So what does lie, or, should I say not lie, ahead? I would like to make three points before going any further.
1. Lucas hasn’t passed over the Start Wars mantle to Disney to stamp all over it. The eighteen-month negotiations weren’t on the lines of, Disney: George, we like to buy Star Wars. George: Eh! No freaking way! Disney: We pay you $4 Billion. George: Ok where do I sign? No way would Lucas pass over Star Wars to Disney – or anybody else for that matter – if he didn’t like what he heard, if they didn’t share his vision. And as Lucas has been kept on in a consultancy roll, he will still have some influence on the new films.
2. Disney haven’t paid $4 billion to be constraint to what’s in, or isn’t in the E.U. novels. They would be foolish not to use the mammoth collection of reading material in some way or another, but don’t expect the films to be based on what solely can be found in the E.U.
3. One word, Skywalker. The prequels were based around Anakin, the original trilogy around the Skywalker twins, Luke and Leia. So keeping with this trend, and with Lucas influence, the new Trilogy has to be about the next generation of Skywalkers.
With all this in mind – I think – there are two possible entry points to the Star Wars universe timeline for Episode 7. It is a fair assumption they will be set after ROTJ, so we are looking at either within the E.U. timeline, or after the E.U. timeline, i.e. after the Legacy era, 45 years after ABY.
Before trying to predict when, let’s discard a couple of options that may be on the table. This is kind of a response to your link to John V. Hansen, excellent and compelling article. I can only think of one reason for Disney going post Legacy era – 45 years after ABY – and that would be to accept what came before in the E.U, as canon, that everything (all the major plots anyway) happened in the E.U. novel, and that Episode 7 is a continuation of the Star Wars story from that point. I just can’t see this happening. This would mean, no Chewbacca, no Jacen, no Anakin, and picking up with Jaina at the age of 36. You have already skipped over a generation of Skywalkers, which I don’t think fits into Lucas vision. I just think the 45 year gap is too long, too much has happened. Some could argue, the Solo children could be made younger, or not to kill off Jacen and Anakin, but if you’re doing this, you are already stepping all over the E.U. so why set the movies so far after ROTJ. And how would you explain the absence of Chewbacca. Such an iconic Star Wars character – if killed – deserves to be killed off on the big screen in a blaze of glory, and not using big yellow words in the opening credits of Episode 7. I just won’t stand for it, and to be honest I don’t think a lot of Star Wars fans will either. So would Disney then not kill off Chewbacca, which then brings me back to my earlier argument, why set the movies so far after ROTJ if you’re going to discard a lot of what’s in the E.U. novels?
So if the new movie isn’t going to be set post E.U. novels, then this just leaves within the current E.U. timeline. So, will Disney stay loyal to the E.U. fans and use just what is in the Novels, or, actually base the film on one of the books or Trilogies, I think it’s safe to say the answer is no. This – again – brings me back to an earlier point, Disney haven’t paid $4 billion to be tied to what is, or isn’t in the Novels. I would be shocked if they didn’t use some of the material that can be found in the novels, which Lucas has done before – Coruscant being the prime example – but don’t expect Episode 7 to be based around one or some of the novels, like Timothy Zahns’ Thrawn Trilogy, but I would not rule out Thrawn making an appearance, or at least being referenced.
Another point I think is the Solo and Skywalker children, or more importantly their names. From John V. Hansen article he states “Lucas requested that Anakin Solo be killed off so as not to have two Anakins running around in various books” If this is the case – and I have no reason to doubt Hansen – I can’t see a second Anakin making an appearance in Episode 7, and if this is the case, I think it’s safe to say Ben can be ruled out as well, not to say we won’t see Luke handing over his lightsaber to a younger version of himself, it’s just that his/her name won’t be Ben.
I’m a big E.U. fan, but I think a lot of what has gone on in the E.U. novels is going to be discarded, especially post New Jedi Order. Disney has big plans for the next installment to the Star Wars saga, what this will be remains to be seen, but I think it’s a safe bet, it’s going the be brand new, something we haven’t seen, or read before – and this does pain me to say – may be a good thing.
Time now to gather my thoughts, use the force, and try and predict what may lay ahead…and that I think is a post for another day.

May the force be with you.
Fransulo

qhturdzykerhiybrtwhd, , mfDbyfx, , KxobRLt, , hEluBWz, , eiFHNPt, , igrgmGq, , dNiiHHn, , WguVfya, , UHnWeDE.