Tatooine Sons: A Star Wars Podcast · Tatooine Sons

Reconsidering the Sequel Trilogy: The Force Awakens (Season 7 Episode 15)

·48 min·3 clips

The hosts argue George Lucas had to let go, even if the sequel trilogy moved away from his plan.

1. Tatooine Sons revisits The Force Awakens while opening a larger look back at the sequel trilogy. 2. The hosts are Nate, Sam, and B&A, who speak as longtime Star Wars fans and family members on the same podcast. 3. The episode asks whether George Lucas’s original sequel-trilogy plan or Disney’s 2015 version better fits Star Wars. 4. The hosts describe Lucas’s outline as a story centered on Leia rebuilding the Republic and Luke rebuilding the Jedi Order. 5. They say Lucas’s version included Darth Maul, Darth Talon, and the criminal underworld controlling what remained of the Empire. 6. The plan also featured a 14-year-old Force-sensitive girl who finds Luke and later agrees to train with him. 7. Lucas’s outline, as read on the show, also drew from the aftermath of the Iraq war and explored the mythology of the wills. 8. The hosts say Lucas later expressed disappointment with The Force Awakens and felt betrayed by the final version. 9. Kathleen Kennedy is cited as saying only a few changes were made during development. 10. J.J. Abrams is mentioned as having concerns that Lucas’s younger-character approach felt too close to The Phantom Menace. 11. The hosts compare Lucas’s loss of control to Stan Lee, Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and the way other creators’ work changed over time. 12. They argue that Lucas’s decision to sell Lucasfilm meant the sequel trilogy was no longer entirely his to direct. 13. One host says Star Wars is fundamentally about family, whether blood family or found family. 14. They point to Leia, Han, Ben Solo, and Kylo Ren as the emotional core of The Force Awakens. 15. A key example is the bridge conversation where Han tells Ben he sees his son, while Kylo answers that Ben was weak and foolish. 16. The hosts also highlight Rey and BB-8’s first encounter as a moment that made the new trilogy feel approachable. 17. The tone is conversational, with three hosts trading reactions, memory, and disagreement across production history and personal fandom. 18. The format mixes film discussion, franchise history, and family banter, including jokes about Turbis and Porg naming. 19. Listeners who like Star Wars lore, sequel-trilogy debates, and family-centered analysis will get the most from it. 20. Listeners wanting a spoiler-light, plot-free overview of Star Wars may skip it.

As heard by us

A Star Wars conversation that turns franchise control into a question of letting go.

Tatooine Sons uses The Force Awakens as a springboard for a Star Wars conversation about ownership, creative control, and what it means when a creator has signed over the rights.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want Disney-era Star Wars debate with actual heart behind it.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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