SPECULATION 30 Years Later...

If JJ chooses a modern approach and uses social commentary in the films then we could see:

-Disillusioned heroes no longer motivated by their "fight for freedom" ideals, struggling with their
dysfunctional family conflicts instead...

-After the Emperor's demise a marginally functional republic is rebuilt, new puppet senate
reestablished while seeds of corruption and struggle for power emerge...

-A sith covenant or x-empire renegade fleet, or even an entirely new warrior alien race plan a major
offensive as the republic systems squabble over their RIGHTS

-A powerful hidden enemy further destabilizes the situation with engineered riots and terrorist attacks.

However in case he goes with traditional myth, space saga adventure I could imagine this:

- The original three are at the center of newly reborn and just republic, running all over galaxy puttying
out fires, protecting the liberated systems from small attack runs from empire remnants

- Luke has a small but solid following, his next big project a permanent training ground, JEDI academy..

- The defeated empire's fleet regroups in the far reaches of the galaxy, the Emperor's protege, either a
genius commander or ancient lore keeper leads them. (Shown earlier in the film, a clear and present
threat for the audience to visualize)

 

I like the underworld question; intentionally Maul-related? Honestly I'm hoping for any excuse to go Vader vs Maul in Rebels but as far as the underworld, the Leia meeting with Hutts idea is interesting. The last 50 years hadn't been too kind on their council the survivors might not have been too upset that Jabba was taken out of their way to more control.

An unexplained (until spin-offs) youthful Boba Fett; I wouldn't be surprised by that.

 

Back in the day, let's say 1995-1997 or thereabouts, I ran a two-year long Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game campaign using the classic and out-of-print-but-still-available-here-and-there West End Games rulebooks. Such a great game, and we had such a blast!

Back then, there wasn't nearly as much Star Wars information as there is now, of course, and since I didn't read much EU stuff, we built our own vision of what post-Jedi times looked like.

Our story began about 15 or 20 years after Jedi, and while the Republic was reestablished, it did no longer govern the galaxy; most star systems had had enough of centralized galactic goverment, so when the players started out on a backwater planet, they gradually discovered that the galaxy had turned into countless factions fighting among themselves (and some living in peace). I remember we spent a deal of time navigating between star systems locked into space skirmishes between warlords, usually former Imperial generals and admirals who had taken their portion of the Imperial fleet and taken it home to build their own petty empires.

And I believe this could work for VII-IX.

(In the campaign, eventually there was a powerful individual that rose to unite these warlords and the wars in Star Wars erupted fully again, and yes, that individual was a Dark Lord who had been imprisoned in orbit around a not-so-nice planet, and freed when some information about the existence of the character was found and lost - and yes, two of the player characters ended up training as Jedi to counter this fellow - not saying this is a good solution, but I have a feeling we might see something like it, I don't know.)

Anyway, I really should be doing important stuff instead of hanging out in the cantina all day, drinking blue, ah, beer?

 

I hope the Republic is still up and coming, and that after what happened with the Empire, it is taking some convincing to get systems to pool their resources into one governing body. Seems more realistic.

 

Now with the rumor of a return to Dagobah coming up I just have to mention that in our campaign, the legendary hero Luke Skywalker was indeed nowhere to be seen - until the characters became part of the Alliance and learned that he was alive - on Dagobah
(In fact, in the aftermath of the destruction of Death Star II, the rebel heroes all relocated here, building a subterranean hideout - but Luke remained behind to train Force sensitives when the others went off to rebuild the galaxy)..

 

I don't know why people think:

A) That there would be a "New Republic" so quickly, if at all. Why? Well...
-Before the Republic collapsed, many star systems were seceding to gain independence (the Separatists.)
-The Empire WAS the Republic. People seem to forget this. The Rebel Alliance was not a remnant of the Old Republic, but rather insurgent group seeking to restore it.

B) That after the Empire collapses, that everyone would readily go back to big government. Thus the logical plotline of a long lasting Cold War between various factions in the Galaxy seeking to gain dominance in the power vacuum that's been opened.


Also, for the record, if you are one of the those people that honestly thinks that simply blowing up a semi-completed Death Star and killing the top two leaders of an Empire means that, somehow, the entire galactic empirical system should have collapsed and gone away, you are very naïve or just horribly uninformed.

Though I will grant you that 30 years seems a bit long unless there ARE multiple factions vying for control...not just the Alliance and the Empire.