Star Wars Episode IX

When I was ten years old my family lived on Mare Island, which is where my first memories of discussing Star Wars begin.  The phrase "fan theories" hadn't been coined yet, because nobody had taken movies so seriously before.  Return of the Jedi's finale has sparked more "what happens next" conversations than any other movie ever made.  Luke's journey to becoming a Jedi is barely achieved, and the movie was over.  Han finds out that Leia is available, and the screen wipes to the closing credits.  Light sabers, speederbikes, the Forest of Endor, AT-STs, Chewbacca, and the Millennium Falcon... it was all over too soon.  So we started hearing rumors, and adding our thoughts; maybe we created the stories that evolved into the momentum that made it inevitable that the story would be revisited.  The reason I mention Mare Island, is that there is one distinct memory I have of my friend Brett telling me how the next movie was going to be all about the Empress; Luke, Han, and Leia's kids would have to fight to defeat her.  Good call Brett.

Our house on Mare Island