Star Wars' New Jedi Order Movie Needs The Yuuzhan Vong
Many were surprised in April 2023 when Disney announced Daisy Ridley's return as Rey in a new "Star Wars" movie. The film — one of three announced at "Star Wars" Celebration 2023 — will follow the formation of a new Jedi Order under Rey, but no other details have been revealed as of yet. Ridley's return was surprising enough at the time, but even bigger twists will surely come when the movie is eventually released. As the first entry in a whole new era for the "Star Wars" timeline, there's virtually limitless potential as to what could happen.
Of course, if you're a longtime "Star Wars" fan with knowledge of the old Expanded Universe — now known as "Star Wars" Legends — you might already have some ideas. After all, it's not the first time the franchise has used the "New Jedi Order" tag. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a series of novels by the same banner name was released. Meant to continue the saga after successful EU texts like Timothy Zahn's "Thrawn" trilogy, the "New Jedi Order" series introduces a terrifying new foe in the Yuuzhan Vong — alien invaders from outside the "Star Wars" galaxy who lead a bloody war against the Jedi and their allies.
The Yuuzhan Vong War is one of the strangest and most infamous arcs in the Legends timeline, but that doesn't mean that Disney should leave it on the shelf. In fact, the Yuuzhan Vong could be exactly what Rey's own "New Jedi Order" film needs.
Disney's New Jedi Order could be the future of Star Wars
It's safe to say that Disney's time as steward of "Star Wars" hasn't gone exactly how many would have hoped. The sequel trilogy wrapped up with a controversial-at-best reception, and "The Rise of Skywalker" (which brutally ignored "The Last Jedi") was disliked enough to discourage future movies for some time. Since then, the company has been focused on building out serialized stories for Disney+, but those, too, have frequently come under fire. From criticisms of the special effects and writing in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" to a gradual decline in excitement around "The Mandalorian," the modern wave of "Star Wars" TV shows has also been plagued by issues.
That may be why the three movies announced in April 2023 all deal with completely different points in the timeline. Why not put out as many ideas as possible and see what sticks after the fact? Of the three, the "New Jedi Order" movie may have the best chance of spawning a new subseries. No canon (of note) has been established after the Skywalker Saga, so literally anything could happen.
Of course, the movie has to be a hit first. The next 20 years of "Star Wars" could revolve around this new, post-sequels era, but that requires excitement, new ideas, and lots of room to grow. And that, dear readers, is exactly where the Yuuzhan Vong can help most.
What happens in the EU's Yuuzhan Vong War?
There are probably a lot of contemporary "Star Wars" fans who know absolutely nothing about the Yuuzhan Vong. Maybe you hopped on more recently. Maybe you've always been a fan but never knew where to start with the old Expanded Universe books. Whatever the reason, let's look at what actually happens in the "New Jedi Order" arc and why it could be perfect for a reboot.
In the Legends timeline, the first couple decades after "Return of the Jedi" mostly deal with Grand Admiral Thrawn, Palpatine's resurrection (yes, it happens there too), and the formation of the New Republic. All in all, it's more similar than you might think to what happens in the Disney continuity. But just as things seem to be getting back to normal and Luke's new Jedi Order is taking off, the whole galaxy is invaded Borg-style by the Yuuzhan Vong.
Unable to be directly seen or affected through the Force, the attackers throw much of the established "Star Wars" cosmology into question. They resent the use of technology and achieve advancement through (often brutal) physiological augmentation, and their tactics as conquerors include the extensive use of torture. Over the course of five years, they tear the known galaxy asunder in a campaign that claims the lives of major characters like Chewbacca, and Han and Leia's son Anakin. In the end, though, they're defeated by Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order and its allies.
Disney has already (sort of) made the Yuuzhan Vong canon again
You could argue that the Yuuzhan Vong War is far too obscure and bizarre of a storyline for Disney to bring back into the modern canon. However, the company has shown time and time again that it's happy to reboot Legends storylines instead of drafting new ones. Palpatine's cloning resurrection and the rise of a Shadow Empire, Han and Leia's son turning to the Dark Side and waging war across the galaxy, Thrawn's impending return in the upcoming "Ahsoka" series — all of these arcs are essentially taken and reformed from major EU plotlines. So why couldn't Disney do the same thing with the Yuuzhan Vong?
In a way, the company already has. After Disney took the reigns, Timothy Zahn was brought back into the fold to pen a new series of Thrawn novels for the current canon. In those books, readers are introduced to the Grysk — a race of conquerors and warlords from the Unknown Regions who assimilate their enemies through brainwashing and other dark means. Many fans have interpreted the Grysk as being a less bizarre version of the Yuuzhan Vong for the new canon. However, there are still some big differences between the two.
For starters, the Yuuzhan Vong come from outside the "Star Wars" galaxy entirely, and they're basically unaffected by the Force, which makes them a particularly deadly foe for the Jedi. These unsettling, otherworldly qualities are what set them apart, and they're what Disney needs to bring back.
The Yuuzhan Vong could solve Disney's Rise of Skywalker problem
Whether or not the Grysk are actually meant to be the new canonical stand-ins for the Yuuzhan Vong, they're not right for the part. Nothing about them is strange enough to set them apart from other "Star Wars" factions, and since they've only appeared in novels, most of the fandom is still unaware of their existence. That means that the real Yuuzhan Vong could still return in canon on the big screen. And that's exactly what the franchise needs.
The big challenge on Disney's plate as it brings "Star Wars" back to movie theaters is the rotten taste left in everyone's mouth by "The Rise of Skywalker." The supposed climax of the Skywalker Saga came out feeling like a messy, focus-tested, reactionary trainwreck with very little of substance for fans to grab onto long-term. Bringing back Daisy Ridley and continuing Rey's story is a big risk for that very reason.
So what does the "New Jedi Order" movie need? A twist so big and distinct from what's come before that it severs all connection to the sequel trilogy. The Yuuzhan Vong are so different from anything else in modern "Star Wars" that they'd effectively wipe away all memory of Palpatine's shoddy resurrection. Lingering in a controversial past will do Disney no favors. Instead, it should look to the future, giving Rey and her Jedi a whole new storyline as they battle the greatest threat the galaxy has ever seen.
How the Yuuzhan Vong could appear during Rey's New Jedi Order
The great thing about the Yuuzhan Vong is that they don't require any extensive setup. They're literally alien invaders from another galaxy. When they arrive in the Legends timeline, they catch everyone by surprise, dealing a devastating first blow in the war. And since they can't be detected through the Force, even the Jedi couldn't foresee them.
That makes them super easy to introduce in a movie like the "New Jedi Order" project. Rey could just be peacefully building her temple, training up the next generation of Force users, when suddenly, the galaxy is under attack. No prolonged exposition. No references to ancient Sith prophecy or some canon comic book nobody read. Just a big, bold initiating event that throws the galaxy into a whole new era.
In the old EU books, the Yuuzhan Vong have a bit of a religious vendetta against the Jedi. That could fit perfectly with the new movie, as Rey's reconstruction of the order could be what incites the attack. A new Yuuzhan Vong War would be an open invitation for other older characters to be brought back, but it could also be an opportunity to fill the "Star Wars" universe with new faces. It's the perfect way to wipe the slate clean and reset things to a new status quo in the wake of all the sequel controversy. Would it also probably upset some people? Sure. But this is "Star Wars." You're always going to upset some people.