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Had things gone a different way, it’s possible George Lucas would never have sold the Star Wars franchise to Disney and instead made a sequel trilogy on his own. Lucas definitely had stories mapped out for his versions of Episodes VII, VIII and IX, even if Disney reportedly never made use of those treatments in any meaningful way.

However, with the release of recent books like Pablo Hidalgo’s Star Wars: Fascinating Facts and Paul Duncan’s The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, we’re starting to get a much clearer picture of the story Lucas might have told. In some ways, his sequels would have been dramatically different from what Disney delivered, while in other ways they’re strangely similar. Here’s a rundown of everything we know about the plot of Lucas’ abandoned Star Wars sequel trilogy.

Note: This article was compiled with the help of several resources, including IGN’s previous reporting and io9’s breakdown of The Star Wars Archives.

Leia Was the Main Character

Disney’s sequel trilogy is structured in a way where each movie emphasizes one veteran of the classic trilogy and culminates in their death. The Force Awakens is Han Solo’s last ride, The Last Jedi shows us Luke Skywalker’s heroic sacrifice and The Rise of Skywalker is General Leia’s sendoff (as much as was possible given Carrie Fisher’s tragic death).

Lucas apparently would have handled his trilogy a little differently. In Star Wars Archives, Lucas describes Leia as the focal point of all three movies. Her conflict would have centered around the struggle to rebuild the Republic and avoid the corruption and needless bureaucracy that enabled the rise of Palpatine’s Empire in the first place.

Lucas tells Duncan, “I had planned for the first trilogy to be about the father, the second trilogy to be about the son, and the third trilogy to be about the daughter and the grandchildren.”

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That quote also seems to confirm Leia and Han’s children would have played a big part in the story. We can probably assume those children become members of their uncle Luke’s New Jedi Order, but at this point we can only speculate as to what role they would have played in the conflict and whether any of them would have flirted with the Dark Side a la Ben Solo in the Disney movies or Jacen Solo in the Expanded Universe of Star Wars novels.

Lucas also reveals he would have settled the ongoing debate about which member of the Skywalker family is truly the Chosen One the Jedi prophesied. Spoilers: It wasn’t Anakin or Luke, but Leia.

Interestingly, Lucas never seems to bring up Han himself. Given Harrison Ford’s well-known reluctance to return to the franchise, Lucas may have been downplaying Han’s role under the expectation that Ford wouldn’t want to be a part of the sequels.

The Time Period

While we don’t know exactly how much time would have transpired over the course of the trilogy, Lucas indicates in The Star Wars Archives that his Episode VII would have been set a few years after the events of Return of the Jedi. Similar to The Mandalorian, which is set five years after Episode VI, this setting would have explored the chaos and lawlessness that exists after the fall of the Empire and as the New Republic begins asserting control. Even as Leia is trying to establish a new and better form of government, her brother is beginning his quest to rebuild the Jedi Order.

“It starts out a few years after Return of the Jedi and we establish pretty quickly that there’s this underworld, there are these offshoot stormtroopers who started their own planets, and that Luke is trying to restart the Jedi,” said Lucas. “He puts the word out, so out of 100,000 Jedi, maybe 50 or 100 are left. The Jedi have to grow again from scratch, so Luke has to find two-and-three-year-olds, and train them. It’ll be 20 years before you have a new generation of Jedi.”

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Lucas seems to imply his sequel trilogy would have unfolded over the course of several decades, allowing him to show the fruits of Luke’s Jedi-training labors and Leia’s politicking. It would also have been interesting to see how he would have handled the challenge of de-aging Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher in Episode VII. Perhaps ILM would have pioneered the art of CGI de-aging before Marvel Studios?

Similar to how the original trilogy was shaped by Lucas’ strong opposition to the Vietnam War, the sequels would have been inspired by the aftermath of the Iraq War. There would have been no First Order-style replacement for the Empire. Instead, Lucas wanted to explore the challenges of reconstruction after the war has ended.

“‘Okay, you fought the war, you killed everybody, now what are you going to do?’” said Lucas. “Rebuilding afterwards is harder than starting a rebellion or fighting the war. When you win the war and you disband the opposing army, what do they do? The stormtroopers would be like Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist fighters that joined ISIS and kept on fighting. The stormtroopers refuse to give up when the Republic win.”

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Darth Maul Was the Main Villain

Among many other things, the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars is notable for reintroducing Darth Maul, revealing Palpatine’s original apprentice survived his battle with Obi-Wan and has been nursing a grudge ever since. Maul went on to play a pivotal role in later seasons of The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. But as Lucas reveals, Maul’s return was meant to lead into even bigger things. He envisioned Maul as the central villain of the sequels – a crime boss who unites the criminal underworld and fractured remnants of the Empire against the New Republic.

“There’s a power vacuum so gangsters, like the Hutts, are taking advantage of the situation, and there is chaos,” said Lucas. “The key person is Darth Maul, who had been resurrected in the Clone Wars cartoons—he brings all the gangs together. [Maul]’s very old, and we have two versions of him. One is with a set of cybernetic legs like a spider, and then later on he has metal legs and he was a little bit bigger, more of a superhero.”

Not only would Maul have returned for the sequels, he would have had a new apprentice in the form of Darth Talon. Talon was first introduced in the Dark Horse Comics series Star Wars Legacy, which is set more than a century after the events of the original trilogy. Presumably, Lucas’ goal was to reimagine the character for this earlier setting. Lucas describes Talon as “the new Darth Vader” and the one who does most of the fighting in place of her aged master.

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Obviously, some elements of that Maul storyline made their way into the franchise in other forms. Maul does eventually become the kingpin of the Crimson Dawn criminal syndicate, albeit during the Imperial era rather than the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. His cameo role in Solo: A Star Wars Story hints at bigger plans for the character in this pre-Episode IV era, though it remains to be seen where Maul will show up next. We’ll also have to see if Talon ever becomes an official part of the Disney Star Wars canon.

Interestingly, this Maul/Talon alliance also seems to have inspired the plot of a canceled Darth Maul video game at LucasArts. Developed by Red Fly and codenamed “Damage,” this Batman: Arkham Asylum-inspired stealth action game would have put players in Maul’s robotic shoes. According to Game Informer, the project eventually evolved to focus on Star Wars Legacy characters Darth Talon and Darth Krayt before it was ultimately shelved in 2011. By this point, Lucas may have decided his sequel trilogy wasn’t happening and toyed with exploring his Darth Maul/Darth Talon story in other media.

Luke Would Still Have Died

One of the biggest similarities between Lucas’ sequel plans and Disney’s movies is that Luke would have apparently died in Episode VIII either way. Hidalgo writes, “Years before The Last Jedi began development, the treatment left behind by George Lucas in 2012 also had Episode VIII be the one wherein Luke Skywalker would die.”

We don’t really know much else about the circumstances of Luke’s death in Lucas’ sequels, or how big a role Luke might have continued to play as a ghostly, Obi-Wan-like mentor figure. We can probably infer from Lucas’ comments in Star Wars Archives that Luke’s death would be a huge blow to his fragile Jedi Academy, forcing a younger generation to rise up and finish what he started. That’s probably where Han and Leia’s children would have come in.

We do have to wonder if Luke would have met his end at the hands of Darth Maul and Talon. Lucas, always a fan of storytelling symmetry, might have appreciated giving Maul the chance at revenge against the late Obi-Wan by killing his prized pupil.

Mark Hamill previously revealed he read a treatment where Luke doesn’t die until Episode IX, so this does appear to be a plot point that was in flux.

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There Was a Rey-Like Jedi

According to Hidalgo, another key similarity between the two trilogies involves the focus on a young, Force-sensitive woman. Lucas originally wrote her as a 14-year-old girl named Taryn, with later treatments changing the name to Thea or Winkie. Hidalgo even hints Lucas’ sequels may have revolved around this heroine seeking out a missing, disillusioned Luke Skywalker, with Lucas apparently drawing comparisons to Captain Willard’s hunt for Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.

It’s unclear whether Taryn/Thea/Winkie was meant to be one of Han and Leia’s children or a loner like Rey. Also, the idea of Luke going into hiding after the failure of his New Jedi Order doesn’t really seem to gel with Lucas’ other comments about the sequels focusing on rebuilding the Order. This may be another story element that changed a great deal as Lucas continued to tinker with his treatments.

Will We Ever See the Lucas Sequels?

At this point we have a much better idea of the story Lucas was planning for his sequels. And even though it’s clear some of these ideas have trickled out into the Disney canon, fans may be wondering if we might see that story told in a more official capacity. Even C-3PO couldn’t calculate the infinitesimal odds of Disney commissioning a series of live-action movies based on Lucas’ story treatments, but could that story be told in the form of a comic or novel?

There is some precedent for this already. Shortly before the Star Wars comic book license shifted from Dark Horse back to Marvel, Dark Horse published a limited series called The Star Wars. That series adapts Lucas’ original Star Wars screenplay from 1974, back when the saga revolved around Annikin Starkiller and his master, Jedi Bendu Luke Skywalker. It’s not impossible to imagine Marvel or Lucas Books doing something similar with Lucas’ sequel treatments – publishing a hypothetical, alternate universe take on what might have happened after the original trilogy.

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That said, adapting those stories wouldn’t be quite as straightforward as it was with The Star Wars. As far as we know, Lucas never got to the point of turning those treatments into full screenplays. Nor is there any sign he commissioned concept art or designs for the sequels. By comparison, The Star Wars artist Mike Mayhew had a wealth of art from designer Ralph McQuarrie upon which he could build. There might be no good way of conveying Lucas’ vision without Lucas himself being directly involved in the project. And he seems pretty happy to leave Star Wars behind him at this point.

That’s to say nothing of the fact that Disney has shown little interest so far in pursuing stories that aren’t part of its new Star Wars canon. Older Expanded Universe stories are still being reprinted under the “Legends” branding, but no new EU tales have been published. And given that at least some of Lucas’ ideas seem to be reflected in the new canon, Disney may fear spoiling future projects by revealing the full scope of those abandoned sequels.

Still, if Disney senses there’s real money to be made by adapting the Lucas sequels into a finished product, they’ll probably get around to it sooner or later. This is the way.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Zack Snyder has revealed that he initially thought that his cut of Justice League would be released as two movies, one month apart from one another.

As Screen Rant reports, Snyder recently sat down with TheFilmJunkee crew to discuss some very early plans that he had for his version of Justice League, which is releasing in four parts on HBO Max next year. In the interview, Snyder said one of his original ideas was to split his four-hour cut in half to release it across two movies, with a month between each installment.

“The studio had seen the director’s cut, but even the director’s cut of the movie was shorter than my cut,” he admitted. “This is my cut of the movie, but there was a cut that I created that I said this is too much for the studio. The mandate was, make the movie two hours long. I cannot show them a four-hour version of the movie.

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“If I show them a four-hour version of the movie,” he hypothetically explained. “I did have this idea, ‘Oh, maybe we could just split it in half and make it into two two-hour movies.’ My first idea was like, you showed two hours, and then there’s like, maybe a month, and then the next two hours come out. That was one of my ideas.”

Instead, it was agreed that the Snyder Cut of Justice League would be released as a multi-part series, cut into television show-like chunks, with each one being an hour long. Snyder admitted that the change in direction turned out to be the correct course of action, as he specifically structured the story as “six chapters,” which “leant itself” to the miniseries format.

It is, however, understood that all four parts will be released as a single four-hour movie sometime after the Snyder cut of Justice League debuts on WarnerMedia’s streaming service. Despite its massive runtime, Snyder recently revealed that, out of the four hours, there’s probably only going to be about “four minutes or five minutes of additional photography for the entire movie.”

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Although there might not be much in the way of additional photography, there will be plenty of differences between the Snyder cut (which is being dubbed the “director’s cut”) and Joss Whedon’s 2017 theatrical release. For more, read our complete breakdown of all of the major differences, including the new Steppenwolf design, Jared Leto’s Joker reprisal, and Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke reshoots.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Microsoft CFO Tim Stuart has said the company expects shortages of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S to continue through the first quarter of 2021.

Speaking at the Jefferies Interactive Entertainment Virtual Conference (transcribed by Seeking Alpha), Stuart was asked about resupplying after Xbox Series pre-orders sold out, and explained that demand is huge right now, adding, “frankly, gaming is just exploding”.

The upshot appears to be that supply won’t be able to truly meet demand for some time yet. “I think we’ll continue to see supply shortages as we head into the post-holiday quarter, so Microsoft’s Q3, calendar Q1 [the period ending March 31, 2021]”, said Stuart. “And then when we get to [Microsoft’s Q4, April-June 2021], all of our supply chain continuing to go full speed heading into kind of the pre-summer months.”

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Stuart expects to see supply begin meeting demand during that April-June period. “We’ll have supply cranking over the next, what, 4, 5, 6 months. And that’s when I expect to see really that demand profile start to be met, which will be really, really great.” Stuart says he expects to see “real velocity kick up” once both Series X and S consoles are widely available to all.

It’s clearly been a good launch for Xbox, with Series X and S seeing the largest launch in Xbox history, and the company has promised that more consoles are being made available as soon as possible.

If you’re still looking for a new Xbox, here’s where to buy the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S when they come back online. If you’re one of the people with a new Xbox console, here are 7 things to do first with your Xbox Series X. Be sure to check out all of IGN’s Xbox Series X guides when setting up your new console.

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

As well as his in-game character Johnny Silverhand, Keanu Reeves the actor is also canon in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe.

CD Projekt Red Senior Quest Designer Patrick Mills revealed the “lore-friendly” news on Twitter. Mills is referring to a lyric in the new Run the Jewels song ‘No Save Point’ created specifically for Cyberpunk 2077.

In it, Killer Mike raps “That’s righteous, huh? Slapping palm, holding a pump – Keanu Reeves, cyber arm under my sleeve.” Given that Run the Jewels are appearing as in-universe group Yankee and the Brave, the reference has to be in tune with the game’s lore. So how can Keanu Reeves exist in the same timeline as Johnny Silverhand?

The KR lyric is lore friendly. It’s an in universe cultural reference to KR, a little known Collapse-era actor who bore and uncanny resemblance to Johnny Silverhand, and in the years following Johnny’s disappearance, was frequently mistaken for JS. https://t.co/AxpPvlww97

— Patrick K. Mills (@PKernaghan) November 14, 2020

Mills’ explanation is that Keanu Reeves was actually a “little-known Collapse-era actor who bore an uncanny resemblance to Johnny Silverhand.” Mills says that Reeves was mistaken for Johnny Silverhand following the Rockerboy’s disappearance.

What this means is that Johnny Silverhand and Keanu Reeves both exist in the Cyberpunk universe. It’s all a bit confusing, but it’s a neat nod and a good workaround for the potentially troublesome lyric.

Speaking of Keanu, we’re due to learn more about Johnny Silverhand in this week’s Night City Wire episode. In other Cyberpunk 2077 news, CD Projekt Red recently reconfirmed the game’s new December 10 release date after rumours of another delay began to swirl.

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on PC will be updated with achievements, noting that a previous statement from the company saying that achievements were intentionally omitted is “inaccurate”.

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Currently, the Ubisoft Connect PC launcher page for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is missing the section for achievements. When the situation was made the topic of a Ubisoft forums thread, a Ubisoft support staff member responded stating: “Achievements are not not available for this title on PC, and this is an intended change.” They went on to explain that instead of achievements, Ubisoft Connect would offer expanded challenges.

But in an update to that forum post, Ubisoft has stated that the “response above was inaccurate”.

“We are aware that achievements are not available for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla players on PC – this was unintended,” says the response. “We are actively working to enable achievements and will keep you updated when more information is available.”

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Ubisoft has yet to clarify when achievements will be added to the PC version of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, but at least players now know that they will arrive sometime in the (hopefully near) future.

For more on Ubisoft’s latest viking romp, check out our pick of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s essential skills, how its main location is more real than the writers originally thought, and our full review.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

After a lengthy gap, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot‘s latest DLC episode finally launches this week. A New Power Awakens Part 2 will focus on the revival of Frieza, with the iconic villain now able to transform into a vastly more powerful Golden form. Goku and Vegeta will battle back with a new transformation of their own, Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, or Super Saiyan Blue for short.

According to lead producer Ryosuke Hara, the ultimate battle with Golden Frieza is based on the setting from the Resurrection of F movie but the DLC has its own original story to match the setting and outcomes of the base game. For example, you’ll be able to fight the Ginyu Force once again if you resurrected them with the Dragon Balls during the main campaign.

Another big feature is the introduction of Horde Battle, which pits players against Frieza’s entire army. Hara explained that the battle system for this mode had been tweaked, with several adjustments to the enemy AI, SFX, skills, and more being added so that the experience will be both challenging and fun.

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“One example is the Z Combination,” Hara said on the PS Blog. “When launching this skill in the Horde Battle, you will be able to wipe out numerous enemies at once. And the number of enemies you’re able to take out depends on the amount of combos you’ve been able to connect before launching the Z Combination. So combos will mean a lot more compared to what they do in regular battles.”

Hara also confirmed that the final DLC episode will launch in 2021 and is still undergoing development. Where that third chapter takes place is still a mystery, but there’s no shortage of content available. Chronologically the next major arc would be the Future Trunks saga, followed by the Universal Survival storyline, and the last film releases so far, Dragon Ball Super: Broly.

The latest Dragon Ball adventure scored a 7/10 in our Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot review. “If you’re looking for an enjoyable way to see the life and times of adult Goku through a new perspective, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will grant your wish,” wrote critic Heidi Kemps.

NOTE: I’m showing you the deals retailers have announced for Black Friday. Unless otherwise noted, the prices are NOT YET LIVE.

Black Friday is basically here. Lots of early deals are already live, and Sunday saw the Walmart Black Friday sales flier preview drop, with loads and loads of truly excellent video gaming deals. We’re going to keep updating this page through Black Friday and into Cyber Monday savings, so go ahead and bookmark it now and keep checking back.

Walmart also confirmed it will have PS5 and Xbox Series X available for online purchase at 7 PM ET on November 25.

What to Expect From Black Friday Video Game Deals

Good news: this year is chock-full of Black Friday video game savings. Walmart confirmed a huge selection of first-party Nintendo Switch games will be $30, plus tons of other $30 games for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Click a link below to instantly jump to the section:

• Nintendo Switch Black Friday Deals
• PlayStation Black Friday Deals
• Xbox Black Friday Deals

Black Friday Nintendo Switch Deals

In addition to all the great games on sale at Walmart for $30, the Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle with 3-months of Nintendo Online is coming back this year. The bundle has a slight upgrade this year, as it now includes the latest version of the Nintendo Switch, the HAC-001(-01), which has roughly double the battery life of the original model of the Nintendo Switch. Best Buy has also confirmed it’s carrying this bundle, and Nintendo has advertised it as its Black Friday deal at every retailer, so it’s just a matter of time before we see placeholder pages start to appear at other retailers.

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Walmart also advertised the following games at $30 once the clock strikes 7:00 on November 25. These prices are NOT yet live! These are unheard of deals on Nintendo Switch games. I don’t even know where to begin with recommendations. For $30, any one of these games are an absolute steal.

Just like the rest of Walmart’s deals, these Nintendo Switch Black Friday game deals kick of November 25.

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Black Friday PS5 Deals

We know for a fact Walmart will have PS5 available for order online starting at 7 PM ET on Wednesday, November 25. There’s no deal on them, but their availability is about as exciting as we can expect for Black Friday on the year the consoles release. It’s not going to be easy to get yourself a PS5, but I can personally attest to the fact it is possible to order and receive a PS5 from Walmart, because that’s where I got mine. Just keep trying until it works. Even when it says “Out of Stock” at the checkout, it might be a glitch or hiccup in the system. I believe in you.

Given the fact Walmart is kind of a big retailer, I expect we’ll see other stores offering PS5 (and Xbox Series X) orders as part of their Black Friday promotions.

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Black Friday Xbox Series X Deals

If you’ve been striking out on Xbox Series X, the good news is Walmart will offer them, online, beginning November 25 at 7 PM ET (same as the PS5). If you’ve tried your luck with Walmart in the past for next-gen, you know it’s kind of tough. But like I said about PS5, just keep grinding away.

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Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and this is his fourth year covering Black Friday and Cyber Monday for IGN. You can find him on Instagram.

In a new study by Oxford University, it has been suggested that video games can be good for your mental wellbeing. What makes this particular study interesting is that it was the first of its kind to be done using actual play-time data, allowing the Oxford team to link up psychological questionnaires with the total time spent playing games according to cloud saves. Past studies about the mental effects of video games relied on test subjects to self-report how much time they’d spent on a game, which resulted in inaccurate results.

For the test, Nintendo’s leisurely Animal Crossing: New Horizons and EA’s quirky Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville action game were used.

“This is about bringing games into the fold of psychology research that’s not a dumpster fire,” lead researcher on the project Andrew Przybylski explained to The Guardian. “This lets us explain and understand games as a leisure activity. It was a quest to figure out is data collected by gaming companies vaguely useful for academic and health policy research?”

Przybylski added that if researchers continue to factor in gameplay data from a larger pool of publishers and developers instead of relying self-reported hours from test participants, the results would reveal more behind the lifestyle of playing video games.

“You have really respected, important bodies, like the World Health Organization and the NHS, allocating attention and resources to something that there’s literally no good data on, Przybylski said. “And it’s shocking to me, the reputational risk that everyone’s taking, given the stakes. For them to turn around and be like, ‘hey, this thing that 95% of teenagers do? Yeah, that’s addictive, no, we don’t have any data,’ that makes no sense.”

In other scientific studies, new research from CQUniversity in Australia suggested that there’s a correlation between players who purchase loot boxes and those who battle with more serious gambling problems. In testing that resulted in more obvious results, a Newzoo study found that up to 80 percent of all gamers eat food or drink regularly while playing games.