George Lucas finally reveals his ideas for a Star Wars sequel trilogy – and why he never made it

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may have brought the sequel trilogy to a close – but we can’t shake the gnawing feeling about how George Lucas would have ended the Skywalker Saga.

Thanks to Taschen’s The Star Wars Archives 1999-2005, an incredible new coffee table book examining the complete story of the prequels, we now have an answer-of-sorts, and why the creator of Star Wars never brought his own sequel trilogy to the big screen.

“The movies are about how Leia – I mean, who else is going to be the leader? – is trying to rebuild the Republic… Luke is trying to restart the Jedi,” Lucas revealed.

But who would they be up against? After the fall of the Empire, there was a power vacuum – eventually filled in during Episodes 7 to 9 by the trilogy’s main villain – a resurrected Darth Maul. But he wouldn’t be alone.

“Darth Maul trained a girl, Darth Talon, who was in the comic books, as his apprentice. She was the new Darth Vader and most of the action was with her. So these were the two main villains of the trilogy,” Lucas said.

It all fell apart, however, due to an ambitious timeframe and Lucas’s desire to spend time elsewhere: “At that time I was starting the next trilogy; I talked to the actors and I was starting to gear up. I was also about to have a daughter… it takes 10 years to make a trilogy… I’d still be working on Episode 9! … Finally, I’d decided I’d rather raise my daughter and enjoy life for a while.”

For more from George Lucas, plus behind-the-scenes images, scripts, sketches, and so much more, The Star Wars Archives 1999-2005 is out now and available to buy in the UK at a RRP of £150 – and set for release in the US at a later date.