Why Don't the New Star Wars Movies Have the Main Family From the Books

As most humanity knows by now, the latest teaser for Episode 7: The Force Awakens came out last week. Aside from some great new visuals for Star Wars fans to salivate over, there was also a great deal of attention paid to family. Borrowing from the original trilogy, we hear the voice of Luke Skywalker saying once again,  “The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it. You have that power too.” Also, we got the iconic return of Han and Chewie with the former uttering the satisfying words, “We’re Home.”

Yes, we are in indeed almost home and we only have to wait until Christmas 2015. However, this trailer brings up an interesting question. According to a 2014 article by IGN, the extensive Star Wars Expanded Universe is no longer canon after the acquisition of Star Wars by Disney and these story arcs are now labeled “Legends.” The official canon is now solely comprised of the six feature films and The Clone Wars TV franchise. That means the basic treatments that George Lucas had slated for Episodes VII-IX were tossed out. Thus Disney is building once more from the ground up, because they did not want to be constrained by the Expanded Universe.

However, if all of this backstory is no longer canon it brings up interesting questions about the upcoming film and what the Skywalker/Solo family dynamic will look like. All we know for now is that Luke, Han and Leia are coming back. But is Luke talking about someone specifically when he utters, “You have that power too?” Or is that reading too much into his words?

What happened in the books?

In the Expanded Universe, as many Star Wars fanatics already know, it looked like this:

After the events in the Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker ended up crossing paths with a former Emperor’s Hand, the Force-sensitive, fiery red-head Mara Jade. To make a long story short they ended up getting married and their son was named Ben Skywalker in honor of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Meanwhile Han and Leia were married after the events in Episode 6 and they had three children. First, twins named Jacen and Jaina and a third child named Anakin Solo. These are the basics of a very in-depth storyline that has been elaborated through a lot of literature. (Spoiler Alert: Jacen Solo became a Sith Lord named Darth Caedus and Chewbacca actually died saving Han’s youngest Anakin Solo in an intergalactic war with an alien race called the Yuuzhan Vong. I know, I know, but it’s in the books so just go with it.)

Buzz that Adam Driver would be playing Jacen followed rumors that he would play a Sith Lord (like Jacen). Then photos were released showing Daisy Ridley sitting between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher at the first table reading, possibly implying they were her parents, and that she was playing Jaina. But that was all wishful thinking. Their characters have been given different names and it is clear by the photos released yesterday, that they will be playing different roles entirely. There is little doubt now that Jacen and Jaina will not be making their film debuts. 

Similarly, appearances by Mara Jade, Ben Skywalker, and Anakin Solo now seem essentially out of the question. However, what were Luke, Leia, and Han doing the last 30 years? You would guess that Luke might still be married and the Solos might have kids in that amount of time again.

Could it be possible since the film is supposed to focus on Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac, that the old timer will get less camera time and thus less of their prior history explored? Also, will any of the original cast be killed off, because at 71 I’m not sure Harrison Ford would be fit to act in a whole new trilogy to begin with.

Although the newcomers bring an exciting new energy to this revamp of the franchise, you can bet that fans want more juicy tidbits about Luke, Leia, and Han, not to mention C3PO, R2D2, and Chewie. The masses would be very displeased if these figures are given cameo-like roles. That would not be good enough and I think, as a Star Wars fan himself, J.J. Abrams knows that.

Either way, although purists might be worried (including myself), it will be interesting to see what director Abrams and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan have up their sleeves. At this point we can only continue making wild predictions and hope for the best. Now we just have to wait eight excruciatingly long months to find out what is really going to happen. Be still my beating heart! We’re almost home after 32 years.