I suppose we should consider the following to be a SPOILER shouldn't we? A STAR WARS trilogy is a rare occurrence, or at least, they used to be. There was sixteen years between the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy and ten years between the Prequel Trilogy and the Sequel Trilogy, but with Disney hoping to keep the franchise trucking along even after we're all dead, it's an easy bet that we won't have to wait quite that long for Episodes X, XI, and XII.
While speaking on The Star Wars Show, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said that the studio is already looking at the next ten years of STAR WARS stories, and in doing so, revealed a few of the characters we can expect to remain in the franchise post-STAR WARS: EPISODE IX.
We’re sitting down now, we’re talking about the next ten years of Star Wars stories and we’re looking at narratively where that might go; future stories beyond Episode 9, with these new characters, Rey, Poe, Finn, BB-8, but we’re also looking at working with people that are interested in coming into the Star Wars world and taking us to places that we haven’t been yet, and that’s exciting too because it’s a vast galaxy far, far away… The possibilities are endless.
I would hope that those endless possibilities include moving beyond ties to the original trilogy and giving us something new in the STAR WARS franchise. As for the story of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac) and BB-8 continuing past J.J. Abrams' STAR WARS: EPISODE IX, it's certainly not unusual for characters to jump from trilogy to trilogy, but it will be interesting to see what elements of their stories are being saved for the future. Will they continue serving as the main characters? Or will they take more of a back-seat as the slighty older mentors for a new crop of STAR WARS heroes?
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI will hit theaters on December 15, 2017.