By Cale William and Josh Bate
It’s an exciting time for Star Wars fans as Disney+ offers an entirely new platform to explore interesting stories and characters in the saga. Given the rumors of several Star Wars shows on Disney+ and the streaming service finally releasing in other countries recently, we thought this would be a good time to think about characters we’d love to see front and center of a new TV show on the streaming service.
1. Han Solo
2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story showed fans the origins of everyone’s favorite scoundrel, including his first encounter with Chewbacca and how he got into a life of smuggling and crime. The film ended on a cliffhanger, with the two likely going to Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine, something that would be amazing for fans to see fully realized in a long story telling format like a TV show. A Solo sequel could also tie up the Han and Qi’ra relationship, with the two now seemingly on opposite sides of the conflict after the events of the film. Moreover, the opportunity to see Han interact with Donald Glover’s Lando again is one that Lucasfilm and Disney may not be able to pass up. The opportunity to see more stories featuring Han leading up to his encounter with Ben Kenobi and Luke in A New Hope would be great to see and a Disney+ show may be the format to actualize these stories, as opposed to another theatrically released film.
2. Sheev Palpatine
Palpatine has plagued the Skywalker’s in 9 movies, even the ones that he doesn’t appear in. His work in the shadows to corrupt Ben Solo and restart his evil regime in the form of the First Order further cemented his position as the main villain of the entire franchise. However, his life prior to The Phantom Menace in canon is largely unknown in many respects. In a potential Disney+ show, the audience could see how Palpatine fell to the dark side, along with his training under Darth Plageuis and some of the political machinations he was involved in on Naboo prior to the start of the Skywalker saga. For years, George Lucas toyed with the idea of a Palpatine prequel show, so it makes sense if they decide to revisit this idea.
3. Ahsoka Tano
Given the rumors that Ahsoka Tano will appear in The Mandalorian, a live action show starring Ahsoka is now the subject of heavy fan and trade report speculation. After the events of Star Wars Rebels, there’s a lot of story potential with a Disney+ show following this fan favorite character into the era between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The plot could center around the former Jedi looking for Ezra Bridger, whose fate is unknown after the finale of Rebels. And could feature a number of other fan favorite characters relevant to Ahsoka’s continued journey. The plot could also be entirely new from the mind of Dave Filoni who, in all likelihood, would be involved in an Ahsoka show in some substantial capacity.
4. Lando Calrissian
While a Han Solo prequel show is possible, as is one that focuses solely on Lando Calrissian. Donald Glover’s performance as Lando was praised by critics and fans alike after the release of Solo, with some claiming his role in the film was its highlight. Since then, many, including Kathleen Kennedy herself, have suggested that Glover be given a center stage role in his own project. There’s an array of stories a Lando story could cover, including him collaborating with Han to go up against Crimson Dawn, the evil group led by Maul in Solo, or a new enemy entirely. He does also briefly mention his relationship with his mother in Solo, so exploring more of his past and how this led up to his role in Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back could be something very interesting to explore.
5. Zorii Bliss
Arguably the most exciting new addition in The Rise of Skywalker, Zorii Bliss is yet another character who could lead her own TV show. The adventures of a spice runner on Kijimi, along with the fan favorite Babu Frik, is an idea that many have suggested in the past few months. Plus, Star Wars fans have always been interested in the criminal underworld of the galaxy. This show could easily be set prior to the events of The Rise of Skywalker, potentially featuring an appearance by a young Poe Dameron. However, it would also be interesting to see what the galaxy would look like post Episode IX, particularly from the eyes of a shady character like Bliss.
6. Luke Skywalker
This one’s a long shot, but you never know with Star Wars. Luke Skywalker was the character that kicked everything off in a galaxy far, far away, with the Original Trilogy detailing his journey from farmboy to Jedi Knight. The next time we see Luke in live-action, besides the flashback to the fall of his Jedi temple, is 32 years later in The Force Awakens, meaning that a long period of time passed in between, one we haven’t yet seen much of in live action. Projects like Battlefront II, Shattered Empire and The Rise of Kylo Ren have delved deeper into the character’s journey during this 3 decade time gap, but there’s still ample opportunity to explore more of what Luke was up to at this time. The prospect of seeing Luke Skywalker, after the events of Return of the Jedi, setting up his Jedi Temple and restarting the Jedi would not only be amazing to see, but would also potentially set the stage for his relationship with Ben Solo/Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi. Who wouldn’t want to see a young Ben Solo appear again? Given the deaging technology available now and the usage of prior footage incorporated into the flashback of Luke in The Rise of Skywalker, it’s not implausible to suggest a mini series featuring the famous Skywalker could debut on Disney+ at some point.
These are just some suggestions for characters we think could get and deserve a Disney+ show. So far, we have The Mandalorian, Cassian Andor, and Obi-Wan, but it’s unlikely Lucasfilm and Disney will stop there. The Star Wars saga is vast and it’s great that there’s another platform now, beyond theatrically released films, comics, books, video games, etc., to provide more insight into beloved characters, locations, stories and more.
Images courtesy of Lucasfilm and Disney