SPECULATION Elements that will tie the trilogies together

+ Mustafar. Anakin fell and Vader was born there, so I think it would be cool if Kylo Ren falls and Ben Solo rises there too. The whole idea of Mustafar is just awesome to me. You could show a destroyed Vader's castle, some KOR action and Kylo battling Rey.

This is my best pick for tying everything together. => Kylo's fate will be decided there where Anakin's fate was also decided. #Poetry

 

I actually hope Kylo beats Rey. Careful! I'm quoting myself now:

Anakin's force ghost should wander around in Vader's castle like, well, a ghost. xD

 

I'd love for Rey to visit Dagobah. Not to train or anything but just a feeling of being drawn there and learns something. Maybe Obi Wan decides to show up and gives advice

 

To truly tie the trilogies together, they need to do more than simply visit PT or OT locations imo. Wherever they go needs to have significance to the main characters of the ST, not just to viewers who want a nostalgia trip.

Personally, I would love Anakin to speak with Kylo. Obi-wan to make an appearance as well.

I really don't want to mention that other guy that cheated death... but..

 

I was just about to give you a great, until I read the last half of your post.

I completely agree with your assessment of locations. I am not, however, a fan of FG appearances beyond Luke.

I would stick to places of significance, historical importance within the SW universe. I think more than the place, is the ideas behind those places, those conflicts and the wisdom imparted by Jedi of old. I can't imagine a scenario where I wouldn't find a FG Anakin apparition somewhat corny, contrived and disappointing. However, a hologram could maybe work. I personally like the idea of FG only being visible to force users with a direct and deep bond with said FG. That's just my feelings on it though, I'm sure this issue is likely divisive among much of the fandom as well.

 

Aliens, please, more aliens from all eras and planets.

 

It depends on what is meant with "elements in IX that will tie all three trilogies together". If by that we mean a major reveal or big conclusion that will address some missing piece of the puzzle left hanging from the PT and the OT, or some surprise involving the previous trilogies that will culminate in some significant and grand finale, that's one thing. If it's nods, and references, revisits and the natural continuation of threads hanging in there from the previous trilogies, than it's another thing.

In other words, IX may be the third act of a three trilogy play, and "everything" will be resolved, explained and tied together there, which seems too big of a task for just one movie. Or, it may be just references, nods, revisits and continuation of the events around the Skywalker family.

I would say that TLJ already has plenty of references to the PT. All that Luke talk with Rey about the fall of the Jedi, Sidious coming to power and the redeeming of Anakin, it basically summarizes the PT (and some significant parts of the OT) in a few lines of dialog. TFA ties things more directly with the OT. Leaving more questions for sure, but still has plenty of nods and references to the OT. What happened with Han, Leia (Luke we did not know).

So, for me personally, I guess they will touch on the "Balance of the Force" subject, which seems to be the big thing hanging around since the PT days. Has balanced been finally restored? Does it come and go in cycles, and the ST is just one more iteration, or something big and different will happen now?

The other subject is the Skywalkers themselves, of course. The three trilogies are all about the Skywalkers, and the force, and the Sith. But it's centered on the Skywalkers. So, perhaps some reveal will be made here that will "tie everything together".

Or, it's just nods, references and the final fate of the Skywalkers. Personaly, I don't see this "tying all trilogies together" as the need to revisit people and locations from the PT and OT. I'd very much prefer some big reveal, conclusion and finale than just having us revisit old places. But nothing against that of course It's always cool to see references to old places.

 

We have strong indications that we might return to Yavin4, which would be great and very coming-full-circle'y. A Rey & Kylo showdown or chase on Mustafar would be great as well.

More importantly, however, if the trilogies are really going to be tied together, we need the stories to connect and inform one another; revisiting locations wouldn't be enough. There are loads of story points that could come back in 9, as themes and background flavor if not fully fledged arcs, including: a return of Battle droids and/or clones (possibly only as a future threat that FO has invested in), Plaigeus (hopefully not as a sudden, 11th hour villain, but more as contextual exposition, if at all), slaves of Tatooine and Naboo royalty (which SW is technically rooted in), rise of the republic (again), Trade Fed etc (siding with the Resistance this time?), Legacy of Leia and/or Padme inspiring victory/support for the Resistance, Death Star3 (I know, we'd all hate that but it could technically be used again to tie it all together - hopefully not, though), a Palpatine plot somehow (seems unlikely because of the contingency, but still), explanation of Anakin's immaculate conception, a strong R2-D2 arc, space gangsters & star cowboys (more as a theme, really), Yoda having an important role, return of the/a jedi order (probably as an aftermath to the whole thing), and many many things beside.

By the Whills! I'm so stoked for 9 :-D

 

I think it’s likely that the element to tie things together is R2. Maybe some encoded information involving Anakin and Padme deep in the robot’s mysterious archive.

 

Endor. Ever since seeing the concept art for TFA, where characters dive into a lake, to retrieve something from the sunken Emperor's throne room, I'm interested in seeing something like that.

Maybe in ep9, characters from both sides learn there's a secret buried there, which could turn the tide of the battle. So it's gonna be a cat and mouse game in a sunken, Rapture-like (Bioshock) environment to retrieve said secret. There might even be a dark side presence there, perhaps even a remnant of ol' Sheev himself, which could try to influence both Rey and Ben during their quest.

Hell, let's throw in some of those Palpatine bots, tying the films to something seen in Shattered Empire, Battlefront 2 and the Aftermath trilogy. Maybe through this, we get some exposition about Palpatine's Contingency plan, which eventually gave rise to the First Order.

 

I think that to truly tie the Sagas together, this has to focus more about the Force (Rey vs Kylo) then the War (Resistance vs First Order).

What made ROTJ unique wasn’t the Rebels defeating the Empire, it was Luke sacrificing himself to redeem his father. A standard blockbuster would have focused on the big story and give the fans a rebel victory. But that’s too easy and predictable (like 99% of most blockbusters these days).

Lucas sometimes doesn’t get enough credit for telling a different story then your average blockbuster as the real read meat is the personal story which is a metaphor for the big story.

I still feel if JJ can craft some ending that essentially balances the force (maybe Rey and Kylo both die for the greater good), then that will be a metaphor for peace after 9 movies. If this movie ends with something that happened in the OT/PT regarding the characters or the macro story, then this Trilogy will just be an epilogue to 1-6 and not a true 1-9 story arc.

 

This rug

 

A lot of great points! I always looked at SW as a character study, and that’s what makes it unique compared to the standard blockbuster. That’s why I pull my hair out when fans get caught up in debating Death Star 2, Starkiller Base, Tracking Hyperspace, etc. Those are all what I call ‘backround’ action plot points that fill out the movie cause you can’t have a 2 hour drama.

Why I continue to keep coming back to this franchise is the characters and their story. I think the Rey and Kylo ‘light and dark’ dynamic is really interesting and I HOPE it is really explored in Episode 9 and is the MAIN story/theme. The resistance vs First Order should the ‘backround’ action plot point and I’m cool with that. But if the main story is essentially the Resistance vs First Order and the victory for the good guys, then I’ll be severely disappointed with Episode 9 because there will be no depth to the story like ROTJ when it was really all about Luke/Vader, not Death Star 2.

 

Like so many others, I too was up for Ben and Rey to be brothers, or cousins. My hope was for them to be brothers. However, TLJ has gone in a different direction, so I think that ship has sailed a long time ago. Nothing is impossible though, so there can still be twists and reveals in IX about this. If that comes good, but personaly I've come to terms with it, so I choose to believe that what we got in TLJ is the truth.

You and Trevor raise great points about the PT and OT being centered in a main protagonist, and his relation with the force. Anakin in the PT and Luke in the OT. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to assume that Ben is the next man in the ST, although this time he shares the stage. While Anakin was good at heart and went down and Luke was also good at heart and didn't go down and brought his father up, we found a torn protagonist in the beginning of the ST. Ben is still torn in TLJ but we feel a pull to the light. What will happen to him in IX is a complete mystery at this point.

What is new in ST is the inclusion of a co-protagonist. Many assume Rey is the main protagonist, but is she? Well, by the sheer numbers alone, yes, she is. She has roughly double the screen time in both TFA and TLJ, so there's little doubt she's the main character of the trilogy so far. So, being this the Skywalker saga consisting of 3 trilogies your points about Rey having more to do with the Skywalkers are sound.

However, consider this. In Episode I it was not Anakin who had more screen time, it was Qui-Gon Jinn (35.30m vs 23.30m). Could something like this happen in IX? Could Ben have more screen time than Rey in the last movie? And if so, what was Rey's part in the ST and in the Skywalkers saga as a whole? Well, first of all, she is the Awakening of the force itself. The opposite to Kylo, the anti-protagonist pattern we see in many other films. The opposites face each other, they interact and then either they both die or join. I suspect that's what we'll get here. Kylo is an anomaly. Rey is the Force response to this anomaly (and we could say an anomaly on herself). A super force wielder, Kylo, was left alone in the universe without capable opposition. Rey's purpose is to confront Kylo and the two will have to come to terms, whatever that means in the end.

So, I see no need to go back to the cousins or brothers path. As I said, I was on that boat myself, but I think that ship has sailed, and now we must explore what comes ahead. The PT was centered on Anakin, the OT was centered on Luke. The ST is bipolarized around two characters, Rey and Ben. Rey was the main protagonist in both TFA and TLJ, I'd say more in TFA. In IX it may be Ben to get the center stage again. And even if he doesn't, and we still get Rey to be the main protagonist, she served as the tool and catalyst of the ST to help Luke finish his hero journey towards becoming the great Master Jedi of non-confrontation and self sacrifice and to possibly help redeem Ben or at least help him put an end to his misery. Leia will get her last stand, and the Skywalkers tale will be over. Rey and friends will continue to the new trilogy. Or, we'll get a completely clean slate for the next trilogy, but I doubt it.

 

That would be quite a shocker if she actually had any part of IX given her feelings about the PT. I will go with mere coincidence but will be happy to be wrong.