Original trilogy cast members including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher reprised their roles, co-starring alongside franchise newcomers Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, and Oscar Isaac.

[1][2] A Time magazine story in March 1978, quoting Lucas, stated there would be ten Star Wars films after The Empire Strikes Back.

"[28][29] In August 1999, at a press conference to discuss The Phantom Menace, Lucas described the "nine-year commitment" required to make a Star Wars trilogy.

"[32] In 2007, Lucas described making the films at that age as "an idea that seemed amusing at the time, but doesn't seem realistic now", and suggested that "off-the-cuff" comments he had made in earlier years had been misconstrued as absolute statements.

[36] Lucas considered directing Episode VII for a May 2015 release[37] and then selling his company,[38] but decided to leave the franchise in the hands of other filmmakers, announcing in January 2012 that he would step away from making blockbuster films.

[c] After making an appearance at Star Wars Celebration VI in late August, Lucas took Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher to lunch and asked if they would be willing to reprise their roles for the new films.

[76][77] Episode VII writer and director J. J. Abrams later revealed that the same year, Disney had given him a mandate to discard Lucas's story and "start from scratch".

Bob Iger's memoirs, published in 2019, recount that Lucas was upset after hearing the plot of The Force Awakens in meetings, specifically about elements that were derivative of the original 1977 film.

[82] Episode VIII: The Last Jedi writer and director Rian Johnson's initial response to the script of The Force Awakens included the suggestion of minor adjustments to the ending.

[90][91] Several plot points of The Rise of Skywalker were pitched in an early 2014 story meeting between Lucasfilm executives (including Dave Filoni, Pablo Hidalgo, Doug Chiang, John Knoll and Kiri Hart) after the plot of The Force Awakens had been finalized, including the notion of Leia as a mentor figure to Rey, Leia breaking through to her son Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) and the notion of Rey as "the Skywalker" of the trilogy by metaphor rather than blood connection.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released on December 18, 2015, and introduces the 19-year-old orphan, Rey, who is drawn into the conflict between the Resistance and the First Order, a ruthless military faction commanded by Kylo Ren—the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo.

The Rise of Skywalker was released on December 20, 2019, and features the conclusion of the age-old conflict between the Jedi and Sith, with Rey confronting the resurrected Emperor Palpatine.

On the planet Jakku, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron obtains a map to Luke's location, but he is captured by First Order enforcer Kylo Ren—the son of Leia and Han Solo.

[102][103][104] The screenplay for the film was originally set to be written by Michael Arndt,[105][106][107][108] but time management and creative differences contributed to his departure from the project.

[118] In October, it was announced that writing duties would be taken over by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

[141] In September, it was reported that Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tatiana Maslany, Gina Rodriguez, Olivia Cooke, and Bel Powley were on the shortlist for two separate parts.

[147] In December, Hamill, Isaac, Christie, and Boyega were confirmed to reprise their roles as Luke Skywalker, Poe Dameron, Captain Phasma, and Finn, respectively.

[167][168] The film is set a year following The Last Jedi and depicts the return of Palpatine,[169] who has been secretly controlling the First Order from the Sith planet Exegol.

[172] In August 2015, Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of Episode IX,[173] and he, with Derek Connolly, began writing a script draft secretly titled Star Wars: Duel of the Fates.

[180] Following the death of Carrie Fisher in late December 2016, media outlets speculated on whether her role would be recast for Episode IX and whether the absence of her character would affect the film's plot.

[197] On July 27, the official casting announcement was made, including the return of Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Mark Hamill, and Anthony Daniels, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant joining the cast.

The same announcement confirmed Williams' return and that Carrie Fisher would posthumously portray Leia Organa using unreleased footage from The Force Awakens.

[205] On the inspiration for the First Order formed "from the ashes of the Empire", Abrams spoke of conversations the writers had about how the Nazis could have escaped to Argentina after World War II and "started working together again.

[214] The final scene of The Last Jedi depicts servant children playing with a toy of Luke, with one boy using the Force to grab a broom.

"[215] A writer for the same website interprets the end of The Rise of Skywalker as seeing Rey "bury the past" and rejecting "any power her grandfather held over her" in a completion of the hero's journey.

In an interview with Charlie Rose, Lucas likened his decision to sell Lucasfilm to Disney to a divorce, and outlined the creative differences between him and the producers of The Force Awakens.

[221][222] In 2016, responding to the complaints of derivativeness,[j] Abrams said, "What was important for me was introducing brand new characters using relationships that were embracing the history that we know to tell a story that is new – to go backwards to go forwards".

[238][249] In contrast, The Rise of Skywalker received criticism for its perceived retconning of the plot, characterization, and themes of The Last Jedi, attributed to appeasing a segment of the fanbase[250][251] to which the film had proved controversial.

[246][228][254] Some have commented on the apparent lack of planning for the trilogy's overarching story,[250][255] feeling that the films appear inconsistent and contradictory from the differing visions of directors J. J. Abrams and Rian Johnson;[252][256][257] the latter was alleged to have been given complete creative control for The Last Jedi.

[264] At Star Wars Celebration Europe IV in 2023, a new film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was announced that will follow Rey as she attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker.