Published Feb 11, 2026, 5:00 AM EST
Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot.
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Star Wars may have hit a rough patch during its sequel trilogy era, but it is officially prepared to move onward. Star Wars’ sequel trilogy was necessary and inevitable for the franchise as it nudged the series’ continuity forward into a new era, and yet it is arguable that a big reason why it didn’t make an agreeable splash overall is that it was tethered too inseparably to the original trilogy’s legacy characters.
Of course, this doesn’t suggest that future Star Wars projects are lesser if they include legacy characters; it simply means that stories can’t wholly rely on legacy characters to uphold them or be one of the sole elements that everyone remembers about them, overshadowing everything else, and for the wrong reasons.
For instance, while one viewer might adore Luke Skywalker’s Mandalorian cameo, another might see it as nostalgia bait. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like Star Wars movies and games will have to worry about that stigma in their following installments.
Star Wars’ Movies Are Jumping Ahead to the Future
The Mandalorian & Grogu will not be immune to legacy characters and potential original trilogy nostalgia bait, seeing as The Mandalorian has dabbled in a lot of that kind of content itself. As for what movies are on the horizon in a galaxy far, far away, they seem incredibly promising in terms of producing original stories that are eager to flee from the Skywalker Saga’s prolonged influence:
- Star Wars: Starfighter is reportedly taking place five years after Star Wars: Episode 9 - The Rise of Skywalker. This, alongside it allegedly having no legacy characters, should guarantee that it is completely original, and that’s far more exciting than Star Wars: Starfighter’s star-studded cast.
- Rey Skywalker’s new Jedi Order movie is the most likely to continue harping on original trilogy legacy characters, as it will be the movie that is most explicitly tethered to the sequel trilogy. In particular, Rey considers herself a Skywalker now, and the Skywalker Saga may persist for as long as she is around to carry that iconic family’s legacy now that Luke and Leia have passed away.
- James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi-era movie will apparently be set over 25,000 years before the Skywalker Saga. If so, there is surely no need for an original trilogy legacy character to be teased or foreshadowed.
- Taika Waititi’s Star Wars movie is supposedly aiming to be separate from movies or eras that have come before it, which implies it may have nothing to do with the Skywalker Saga. If it is truly original and distinct, while still paying homage to the lighthearted, fun flavor of the original trilogy, it will hopefully not need to lean on legacy characters in any capacity.
Andor: A Star Wars Story managed to not have any gratuitous cameos or legacy characters who weren’t essential to the plot. For example, characters like Senator Mon Mothma, Saw Gerrera, K-2SO, Senator Bail Organa, and Director Orson Krennic are all legacy characters due to having appeared before in previous Star Wars projects with considerable roles, but they all make perfectly logical sense to appear, whether they were crucial in connecting the show’s plot to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or would’ve been a paramount character in the context of the show’s timeline and events.
But, while cameos and legacy characters can be featured without them being the sole focus, that’s typically not how they are employed. This is why multiple Star Wars movies claiming not to have legacy characters is so thrilling, since it means that there hopefully won’t be any cameos for a poorly developed cast of characters or story beats to hide behind.
Star Wars Games Are Jumping Back to the Past
Star Wars games are in the same boat. There are a ton of Star Wars games that, with any luck, are hopefully releasing before 2030, and none of them appear to be clinging to the Skywalker Saga in any meaningful way:
- Star Wars Zero Company takes place in the twilight hours of the Clone Wars. Jedi appearing wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility, with Anakin Skywalker being a Jedi General, though it’s unlikely that Star Wars Zero Company’s story will have the Skywalker Saga be its narrative throughline.
- Star Wars: Galactic Racer takes place sometime after the events of the original trilogy, and isn’t expected to have any story-related content that could connect in any way to the Skywalker Saga.
- Star Wars Jedi’s third game, if it is indeed a direct sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, will presumably take place before the original trilogy. This series’ timeline is getting eerily close to that of the original trilogy, however, and a third run-in with Darth Vader would make it hard to argue that the Star Wars Jedi games aren’t leaning a little bit too much into the Skywalker Saga.
- Star Wars Eclipse takes place during the High Republic era, roughly 200 years before the events of the prequel trilogy.
- Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, if it is indeed set within or at the end of the Old Republic era, will take place more than a thousand years before the events of the prequel trilogy.
Is Star Wars Finally Ready to Move on from Its Skywalker Saga?
Overall, it does look like Star Wars is finally ready to retire the Skywalker Saga and its influence on the story. How successful or beloved this new era will be is anyone’s guess.
Movie(s) Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
Character(s) Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
English (US) ·