WHAT IS THIS?
It is no secret that the sequel trilogy left our fandom divided and has caused a great deal of infighting between us. Just open up Twitter and search for the hashtag #StarWars. Half of the fans loved the films, while the other half hated the films — there is hardly a grey area here. But only a Sith deals in absolutes.
Well, we here at After the Sequels™ embody what it means to be a Grey Jedi and can take the pieces of the sequels that we really loved and enjoyed and leave behind the rest. And if there is one general consensus amongst the fans, it is that Star Wars without the Skywalkers isn’t really Star Wars, and yes we mean the Skywalker bloodline. Touting The Rise of Skywalker as the end of the saga is the biggest mistake Disney has ever made. It is clear that they now have an issue in regard to what to do next when it comes to films on the big screen. And not having that Skywalker legacy as the anchor that drives everything within this franchise is a big reason why.
Like most fans of this franchise, we too were left feeling like The Rise of Skywalker got it all wrong. We went to the theater with hope that an actual Skywalker would rise from the ashes and bring about a satisfying ending. Many hoped that Skywalker, given that Luke had been hastily killed off in The Last Jedi, would in fact be Han and Leia’s son, Ben Solo. Most fans, from both sides of the chasm created by Disney, actually can agree that Adam Driver’s performance as tortured, manipulated, and (for all purposes) enslaved Kylo Ren was the highlight of all three movies. Kylo Ren felt like Star Wars to many. He reminded us of his grandfather, Darth Vader, and that connection — and his connection to the Skywalker family via our beloved Princess Leia — made it viable for us to believe. We felt he had the most complete character arc of all the characters in the sequels, thus the ending where he dies seemed misplaced and brought about with very little forethought or planning.
The creators behind After the Sequels™ understand that a large portion of our fans cares very little about the continuation of the sequel trilogy, in fact some fans want to see it completely erased from the canon. But that’s just not something we’re going to do. We will not just pretend that the sequels did not happen. Why not? You ask? Well, it is simply because we love ALL of the fans in this franchise. Those that love the original trilogy, those that love the prequel trilogy, AND those that love the sequel trilogy too. We strongly believe that the only way forward is in fact through. And we feel strongly about including the entire story presented “as is” so that all of those fans are aptly represented.
While a lot of the creators behind these films agree that the sequels were not planned thoroughly (or at all really!), poorly written, and not treated with the respect that this franchise demands, we also believe it all can be fixed. Coupled with great writers at the helm, we can have complete character arcs, great dialogue, and all the pew pew’s and swoosh swoosh’s that make sense in this fictional world we love. We aim to take the characters that the sequels introduced, blend them with legacy characters in a way that is respectful and dutiful, and bring in characters from the wide breadth of source material that exists in both canon and expanded universes that makes up Star Wars as a whole.
We want all the fans to love what we’ve done here and to appreciate that when we move forward, together, we can become a united voice that Disney Lucasfilm simply cannot ignore. And in that, we hope they take the ideas here and bring them to the big screen. We want them to! Because for us, this isn’t just a set of movies, it’s the pillars of our lives that hold together a trillion memories of our childhood and we want to see this fandom united again. Will you help us do that?
FOR THE LOVE OF GEORGE
Anyone that has read The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III 1999–2005 book for the prequel trilogy by Paul Duncan will tell you that George Lucas wrote a trilogy treatment for Episodes 7-9 that included Darth Maul and Darth Talon taking center stage as the villains of the story set against a backdrop of crime lords and thugs that plague the galaxy. It was a great idea! But many think that this idea was simply tossed in the trash and that George Lucas was disrespected by Disney executives, most especially Bob Iger. That’s not entirely the case. Not really.
See, we got to see the return of Darth Maul in George Lucas’ animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars which he helmed alongside his trusted Padawan, Dave Filoni. And although Darth Talon, as she is, might have proved to be too hot for TV (especially young viewers, let’s face it!), we did see Darth Maul take on his brother Savage Opress as his apprentice. In those story arcs, we saw the various crime syndicates that exist in the galaxy and how they could rise in power. To say we never got to see the story elements of that trilogy treatment would be false. We didn’t get to see it as the next installment of the Skywalker Saga, though. And a lot of fans would have loved it.
George is a legendary storyteller, and not just because he created Star Wars. Another favorite of the people behind After the Sequels™ is of course, Indiana Jones. Our director/producer, Maria Espino, actually has a Ph.D. in Egyptology because of Indiana Jones. She saw Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark when she was a child and decided right there and then that she could be an archaeologist. And she did it! That’s how big of an influence George is to the team here. George’s prowess with a pen cannot be measured and it was unfortunate that he found himself in a place where he felt he needed to sell the franchise that gave him his start, his baby, his beloved Star Wars.
We at After the Sequels™ want to honor the man, the myth, the legend, by continuing his story in the Skywalker Saga with great care, respect, and devotion. We want to meticulously plan our story, right down to the littlest of detail — just like George — and dutifully weave the threads of every part of his world into a beautiful, generally well-received, entertainment experience that gives fans the “feel” of Star Wars, of the Star Wars that George built. We, and many fans across our own galaxy, want to be — just like George. And this is our humble attempt at such a feat.
PRODUCTION
TEAM
Meet our production team!
As a film and TV series production, we are focused on taking traditional tried and true filmmaking practices and applying them to the development of our fan films and content. Our team’s focus is balancing storytelling within the confines of a digital world using new and forward-thinking mediums to do it. We aim to create our films and TV episodes in various styles, such as motion graphic animation, live audio dramas, performed live comics, and much more. Got an idea for something of your own? Contact us! We’ll bring it to life.
Art Team
Our amazing art team is the focal point of every single one of our films and TV shows. The idea of showcasing a film made entirely from conceptual art was formed by watching The Mandalorian TV show and seeing all the stunning concept art that was displayed during the end credits. It served as the inspiration for everything we do in this project. Character artists, environmental artists, animators, visual editors, musical composers, sound designers, and more do incredible work behind the scenes that rarely ever gets shown. It’s a travesty, we tell you! With After the Sequels™, we seek to right that wrong and these are the people that are helping us do just that. It is their work you see and hear.
Performance
Team
Meet our beloved cast!
Our actors all vary in age and background ranging from seasoned professional actors to those who are brand new to the field with this being their first project. These varying acting backgrounds will allow for mentorships to build as those with experience can take those with less under their acting wings. We are also heavily set on creating a sense of ownership for every single person within this team. It creates a sense of family among the cast.
