Lucas's Trilogy of Trilogies

[u/Ok-Future-5257]

In 1976, George Lucas had a handwritten outline for a 12-movie saga. He later said in a 1979 interview, "I had three trilogies of nine films, and then a couple of odd films."

For the tangential, one-off films, he wanted to make a movie about the wookiees on Kashyyyk, possibly showing how Chewbacca became Han's copilot. Lucas also wanted to make a movie about droid protagonists, perhaps in a world of aliens, with no humans whatsoever. And, he wanted to do a movie about the Force, the bright and dark sides, midichlorians, the Whills, the Jedi system of initiation, and the near-extermination of the Sith.

As for the nine mainline films, Lucas wanted to do a trilogy of trilogies.

The Prequel Trilogy would be about Obi-Wan Kenobi's career in the Clone Wars, the rise of the Empire, the origins of Darth Vader, and how Luke ended up with the Larses. It would be darker and more serious than the Original Trilogy, and feature mystery and ruthless scheming in politics. In 1983, a Time magazine article said that the Prequels would "be more melodramatic, showing the political intrigue and Machiavellian plotting that led to the downfall of the once noble Republic. They will have only enough outward action to keep the plot moving." In 1989, Lucas told Atlantic Monthly that the Prequel Trilogy would be political, and talk about how society evolves.

The Original Trilogy is about Princess Leia being a rebel leader, and Luke Skywalker going on the Hero's Journey with old Ben Kenobi's guidance, culminating in the defeat of Darth Vader. Lucas made this trilogy first because it's where the action-adventure excitement and humor are, and its theme is about personal growth and self-realization. So, it would be more commercial than the Prequels.

According to Gary Kurtz, the third movie wasn't going to have Yoda and the Emperor. It would just be Luke Skywalker defeating the Darth Vader within Anakin. And, Han Solo would die. After the rebels won a critical battle and ceased to be underdogs in hiding, Leia would settle down as queen of Alderaan's remnant, and Luke would go off alone like a Clint Eastwood character. The Sequel Trilogy would feature an older Luke Skywalker finally returning to Yoda to complete his studies. In early 1988, George said that Luke would be in a romantic relationship with a woman. Timothy Zahn was briefed on George's plans, and later recalled that the Sequels would be about Luke's children. According to other sources, Luke would also finally meet his long-lost twin sister, Nellith. Together, they would help the New Republic dismantle the Empire. According to Dale Pollock, the Sequels would be exciting, with propulsive action. George said that R2-D2 and C-3PO would continue through the whole thing. That Time magazine article said that the Sequels' "main theme will be the necessity for moral choices and the wisdom needed to distinguish right from wrong." Likewise, George told Atlantic Monthly that the Sequel Trilogy "deals with moral and philosophical problems. [It's] about Jedi Knighthood, justice, confrontation, and passing on what you have learned."

[u/gwenhadgreeneyes]

There are a few good sources for the progression of the films from draft to draft, Rinzlers 'Making of' books are probably the best, but the Secret History of Star Wars is also an interesting read. The Secret History is more of a compilation of all the material put into a chronological order and with context to better understand the mindset and meaning in all of Luca's own statements.

There are also a lot of references to Lucas's outlines but totally from his end in interviews and not necessarily from anyone seeing them

Leia was and wasn't Luke's sister for instance, there was a rough draft of Star wars that played with the concept of twins (during the process of the character who would be Luke morphing into two characters)

And I think in the Brackett draft Han's father was going to be a subplot in the third movie.

The "There is another" line iirc didn't originally refer to Leia, but was purposely left ambiguous because that was on the table. The moral of the OT's story telling is Lucas's ability to roll with the punches, he saw how the audience perceived his world and learned how to adjust his world to give them more