The three trilogies that have been collectively called the Skywalker Saga are considered to be at the center of the Star Wars IP. All the material, be it anthology films or streaming shows, is placed in the timeline directly in relation to the events of the films.
From the fall of Anakin Skywalker to the rise of the New Jedi Order with Rey Palpatine, all have been covered over the course of nine films. However, Geroge Lucas’s original plan for the core Star Wars saga was quite different compared to what we got as the final product. To begin with, the director had a 12-film saga in mind, instead of 9.
The original structure of the Star Wars films was very different
Star Wars was conceived with a very different structure as compared to what audiences saw on screen. The 12 films covered the entirety of the series in a very different light, with the Clone Wars being a 4 film saga. This was also the time when Darth Vader was a distinct character from Luke’s father, and Leia was not a part of the Skywalker family at all.
The original Sequel trilogy would have looked at Luke looking for his long-lost sister. However, a lot of the ideas that would have made up the later stories in the original draft were condensed into the Original Trilogy, such as Luke finding his sister and learning about his heritage. Leia was retconned as Luke’s sister, so as to solve some narrative problems for George Lucas.
The Sequel Trilogy, apart from having Luke look for his sister, would have seen him rebuild the Jedi order, while Leia fleshed out and consolidated the power of the Republic. This had a complete treatment in place before Disney decided to come in and do a retro-style film that was a retread of the first Star Wars movie, giving us The Force Awakens.
The original plan was to have Luke Skywalker become the Obi-Wan Kenobi for the next generation of heroes
While a lot of the story changed, Mark Hamill had a conversation pretty early with George Lucas about his appearance after his part in the story was over. Lucas told Hamill that it would be “just a cameo”, where Luke would be handing off the saga to the next chosen one, the new New Hope after him.
Having Luke taking over as an Obi-Wan Kenobi figure is something we saw happen in part of The Last Jedi, where the character went into exile, lost his faith in the Jedi order, and then regained to come back and face his former apprentice, before becoming one with the force to buy his nee protege some time to escape.
While the current version of the Skywalker Saga may not be perfect, George Lucas’ original idea for a 12-film franchise could have allowed a lot of the story to be fleshed out and would have allowed a lot of beloved characters like Luke, Leia, and Han to have satisfying ending to their arcs, as opposed to what audiences received at the Sequel trilogy,
