What Should the Next ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Be About? Vote Now

One of the best Star Wars trailers to come out this year wasn’t for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It was a fan trailer imagining the life of Obi-Wan Kenobi, existing in exile following the events of 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.

That got us thinking: What should the next Star Wars stand-alone project be? So far, two have been announced, with Rogue One set for December and a young Han Solo movie expected for 2018. A third was to be directed by Josh Trank, who exited the project amid the disaster that was last year’s Fantastic Four. 

Vote for your choice in the poll below, and share your pitch over on Heat Vision‘s Facebook page. The best idea will receive a shout-out on Friday, when we will post a full-on debate about what this unknown third film should be. 

Ahsoka Tano: In the time period between her appearances in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels animated series, one-time Jedi Padawan Tano did something central to the whole Star Wars mythology: She founded the Rebellion with Bail Organa. Doesn’t that mean she’s earned her own live-action movie already?

Boba Fett: The bounty hunter has received a groundswell of support for a film chronicling his exploits before his ignominious death in Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi. Preferably something that demonstrates why he was such a feared figure across the galaxy in the first place, and avoids any more jetpack mishaps.

Chewbacca: A young Chewie would be adorable, but then again, it’s hard to imagine that the young Han Solo movie won’t address the Wookiee’s life before the events of the original Star Wars. It’s about time that Lumpy finally made his big-screen debut.

Darth Vader: He’s already appearing in Rogue One, and James Earl Jones could certainly provide the iconic voice for a solo adventure. For inspiration, look at the current Marvel Comics series, which explores his machinations between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back.

Jabba the Hutt: None other than Guillermo del Toro suggested a spinoff in the style of The Godfather starring Star Wars‘ kingpin of crime — and when del Toro speaks, fans listen.

Knights of the Old Republic: With the 2014 realignment of the Star Wars canon, almost all of the grand mythology of the franchise that took place before Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace disappeared into the galactic ether. This means that there’s space (no pun intended) for a new take on the Knights of the Old Republic series, which told of conflicts between Jedi and Sith thousands of years before the movies, with stories spanning video games and comics. After all, even for tales set in space, nature abhors a vacuum.

Kylo Ren: Seeing him in training with Uncle Luke may be something we get in the current trilogy, but there’s plenty of interest in that backstory and what went wrong with the Knights of Ren. 

Obi-Wan Kenobi: The fan trailer that set the internet ablaze last week paints a picture of a tortured Jedi struggling with his role in the downfall of the Republic — and his new duty to protect a young Luke. Ewan McGregor’s take on the character remains one of the most popular aspects of the prequels, so it could be his time to return.

Post-Clone Wars: Even the animated Star Wars: Rebels series jumps ahead in time from the events of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith to a point more than a decade later when the Empire is up and running and keeping the galaxy on a tight leash in order to please Darth Sidious. But just how things actually got that way remains a mystery. For instance, how did the former Republic respond to the disappearance of the Jedi? How did the galaxy realize that things had suddenly gotten a lot worse? How has this movie not been made already?

IG-88: if Boba Fett is worthy of his own solo movie, perhaps his key rival for bounty hunter supremacy is also deserving. Especially if fellow bounty hunters Dengar, Bossk and 4-LOM are involved — surely everyone out there is ready for a galaxy-spanning Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid-style romp?

Mace Windu: George Lucas recently gave his blessing to Samuel L. Jackson’s assertions that Mace Windu somehow survived getting blown off a skyscraper with Force lightning in Revenge of the Sith. Well, let’s see Jackson back that up: Where did he go? What did he do? We all know he’d never let the Empire secure its hold on the galaxy without a fight. Nick Fury can resist his enemies from the shadows — maybe Windu has it in him, too.

Quinlan Vos: A Jedi who appeared in the Clone Wars animated series, Vos is one of the few who turned to the Dark Side and managed to return. In the no-longer-canonical Expanded Universe, he fought alongside the Wookiees and survived the slaughter of the Jedi to maintain peace while the Empire rose to power. Could he do the same in the official version of events?

Wedge Antilles: The only pilot to fly in and survive every air and space battle of the original trilogy — from Yavin to Hoth to Endor. If Poe Dameron’s appeal comes in part from his Top Gun-style skills, Wedge deserves a shot at his own flick.

Yoda’s backstory: The ancient Jedi proved he could really kick butt in the prequels. How’d he become the master that he is? And how scrappy would he be if this were set back when he were a mere 100-year-old? 

Something from the Empire’s point of view: With these stand-alones meant to be one-off stories that we might not get in the mainstream Star Wars trilogies, it could make sense to flip convention on its head and get a film from the perspective of the bad guys for once. 

None! Forget these stand-alones: This is the sentiment that many Star Wars purists have expressed. But face it — that’s not an option right now, with Disney stating they plan on putting out one movie from a galaxy far, far away per year. 

Check back Friday for a full debate of these issues, and don’t forget to weigh in on Facebook.

As promised, here’s the best answer we received about last week’s debate on who the next Batman big-screen villain should be. Man-Bat/Kirk Langstrom may not be the obvious choice, but reader Ben Morse made a strong case for how it could bring together elements of the DC Extended Universe.

“Batman has to re-take Langstrom alive, as the Joker has poisoned the Gotham water supply with something based on Lanstrom’s research,” Morse wrote. “Batman hunts down Man-Bat and in doing so regains his own humanity. Run it in parallel with Harley finding her own agency against the Joker, and you’ve got parallel stories in light and dark. It uses the good bits of the existing franchise, and ties the plot off. After taking Langstrom, Batman realizes he can’t kill anymore.”