The latest Star Wars trilogy generated a lot of conversation. Even though familiar faces were present and the legacy of the Skywalker family continued, the movies were incredibly divisive. Narrative choices felt conflicting, and the characters introduced seemed to not be given the opportunity to live up to their fullest potential. While these aspects of the Star Wars sequel trilogy were disappointing, they did left the door open for more.
As beloved as Star Wars is, the franchise’s mainline movies haven’t always been efficient at conveying characters’ histories, something other media has filled in. This is true with how the prequel trilogy bled into The Clone Wars TV show, and with the incredible history of Darth Vader that has been told through comics. While stories like these might not be the most direct way for Star Wars to build its canon, they do provide ways to add depth to characters; something that Star Wars video games have also done well.
The Sequel Trilogy's Heroes
Creating depth outside of Star Wars movies can be great, and shows like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett have continued to do this. Even though TV shows that focus around characters like Rey, Finn, Poe, and Rose might not be on the horizon, their stories could still be better developed through video games. The way The Rise of Skywalker ended left a lot on the table, and while some additional information has been provided since the film released, there’s still their futures to explore and narrative threads to pull.
Finn’s story as a Stormtrooper who defected might be the most notable, and felt like it had incredible potential in The Force Awakens. Audiences got to see him wield a lightsaber, and it seemed entirely possible that he could join Rey as a Jedi fighting the First Order. While fans didn’t get to see Finn train with Rey under Luke, hints that he is Force sensitive are present throughout the Star Wars sequel trilogy - The Rise of Skywalker’s novelization confirms that to be the case. In hindsight it’s a missed opportunity, but one that could translate well to Star Wars video games.
Exploring Finn’s training and growth could set up the series' future and what fans can expect, while also giving Finn the spotlight he deserves. Some of this training would undoubtedly happen with Rey, but given her budding skills a game could also explore Finn learning from other teachers. Characters like Maz Kanata could point Finn in the right direction introducing him to Jedi like Grogu, who might have survived the fall of Luke’s order; or Ezra Bridger, who’s part of another set of open narrative threads from Star Wars Rebels.
Finn’s future as a Force-sensitive person isn’t the only story that should be told. Rey could benefit from more character building, and other stories like Rose’s life after the fall of the First Order would make for an interesting narrative. Rose quickly rises to the position of commander in the Resistance and heads its engineering division, so her skills could be explored through a sequel to Star Wars: Squadrons as a way to look at the galaxy’s technology and pilots after the destruction of the New Republic.
These times immediately following events in the movies are bound to be turbulent. Each characters’ story could explore the period in different ways, providing a well-rounded look at the galaxy after almost 100 years of change. Dedicated games that help grow the characters fans met in the trilogy are important, but so is connecting them. With the future of the canon still up in the air, there’s no reason they can’t interact with each other through cameos or interconnected arcs learning from the mistakes of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
Star Wars' Future
Helping these stories bloom would also be a great step forward for Star Wars, allowing it to distance itself from the Skywalker family. For many fans, it feels like these characters and others present in the sequel trilogy deserve more, but they were still tied to the legends that came before. The movies leave many unanswered questions, but their contributions to the franchise are what will be the most important moving forward. It might be too late to say how things should be done, but there’s still time to dig deeper into events and characters through video games.
The time surrounding the Empire has been explored thoroughly, and events immediately after its fall like Operation: Cinder are seen in Star Wars Battlefront 2. Taking a similar approach by utilizing characters that fans already know from the sequel trilogy could be a great way to explore what audiences are still unfamiliar with. Places like Exegol are enticing, but the entirety of unknown space is now at the series disposal, waiting to be tapped into.
Even though Star Wars games aren't likely to focus on the series' future by jumping too far ahead, they can still address the immediate fallout of events like the end of the First Order. With EA’s exclusivity contract expiring soon, more games could enter development from an array of studios, which in-turn could flesh this time period out. It also creates space for the sequel trilogy’s characters to get deeper stories and see how their paths have changed now that the major threats present in the Star Wars universe have been defeated.