Earlier this week I was informed that George Lucas participated in an interview with Vanity Fair and said explicitly that the Star Wars saga will only have six episodes, and that the reason for this will become clear when the Prequel Trilogy is complete. This has obviously disappointed many of those in the Star Wars fandom, including myself, who were under the impression that the Classic Trilogy was the middle chapter of a nine-episode epic.

I have no distinct opinion on whether the lack of an even longer-awaited Sequel Trilogy is a "good" or "bad" thing. I speculate that the reason for the saga ending with ROTJ is that everyone who has lasted since The Phantom Menace dies. Anakin/Darth becomes good, and dies; the Emperor is cast down a shaft, and dies; Yoda gets sick for no reason, and dies; as for Obi-Wan, he's already dead! In fact, the only characters that survive all six episodes are C-3PO and R2-D2.

In other words, the plot of the Star Wars saga runs like this: Anakin Skywalker, so strong with the Force is he, is raised as a Jedi. He turns to the Dark Side, and Obi-Wan attempts to turn him back from evil only to make matters worse and create Darth Vader. Remember Yoda: "Once you lead the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny!" After Anakin's fall and his transformation into Vader, Obi-Wan and Yoda agree that the only one that can turn him back is none other than his son Luke.

There is the other possibility, which existed in early drafts and a short-lived cartoon series. Perhaps Star Wars is a chronicle of the adventures of two misfit droids. But if my first theory is correct, which it probably is as popular opinion supports, the "Jedi" in the title Return of the Jedi is Anakin Skywalker. There is really no point in continuing the story beyond this point, since most of the main characters are dead. No, Luke is not the main character of the saga; Obi-Wan and Anakin/Darth are. the Classic Trilogy would then be about Obi-Wan and Yoda training Luke to confrot Vader after having failed themselves.

On the upside, if Lucas produces Episodes VII, VIII, and IX he may be able to give an epic saga a fitting epic conclusion. The end of ROTJ was simply not spectacular enough. ANH had the medal ceremony, ESB had the Millenium Falcon flying away from the Rebel fleet, and ROTJ had... Ewoks. Even the addition of Tatooine and Coruscant in the Special Edition did not live up to the "grand conclusion" trend. But the fact still stands: the story ends with Vader's death. A further attempt to extend the plot would be a useless gesture, and the Star Wars saga would turn into the Star Wars series.

Lucas also commented that there will not be licenses to make Star Wars spinoff movies, a move I fully agree with and the fandom has mixed feelings about. Personally, I have never accepted the licensed novels and comic books to be a part of the "official" Star Wars universe. As far as I am concerned, Dash Rendar, Mara Jade and Kyle Katarn do not exist; and the ROTJ novelization's statement about Obi-Wan and Anakin's final fight over a lava pit is not set in stone. I take Star Wars at face value, from what we see in the movies. It isn't Star Wars unless George thought of it. As much as I'd love to see the serialized adventures of Boba Fett, I wouldn't like it if it weren't George's work.

Case in point: Look at what happened to Star Trek after Gene Roddenberry died. The guys who took over messed everything up. First they launch Deep Space Nine, a spinoff that I think was created just to compete with the then-new success Babylon 5. Then they get the particularly commendable Next Generation off the air, and make a movie out of it where the Enterprise is shot down by Klingon rebels and Malcolm McDowell kills Captain Kirk. And now, Voyager (no pun intended).