George Lucas couldn’t stay out of the Star Wars sandbox for long and despite claiming he would never make another Star Wars film, he has announced he will be returning to the big screen with a new trilogy.

The Movie Blog says:

Announced today, George Lucas will return to Star Wars films announcing a different tack. This time Lucas will adapt a Star Wars story he did not write in a trilogy of films he says will excite and reinvigorate the fans.

The story in question is the Dark Horse Comic book series Star Wars Legacy, and the adaptation will be named The Legacy Trilogy.

Star Wars: Legacy is set 125 years after the film Return of the Jedi. The comics feature Cade Skywalker, a descendant of Luke Skywalker, who was trained as a Jedi but has abandoned the order. He apprenticed himself to the pirate Rav and lives among bounty hunters, smugglers and pirates. Cade has also dropped his last name. The series begins with an attack on the Jedi Temple and the overthrow of the Galactic Empire by a newly created Sith order.

Lucas hopes to give a new chapter and a new franchise that is distant enough from the existing timeframe. The tone will be darker and promises to be void of Lucas’ token kid friendly comic relief.

Some friendly reminders will be the very outdated but faithful R2-D2, and Mark Hammill who is in negotiations to appear as the sage Force Ghost that offers guidance to Cade Skywalker.

As a huge Star Wars fan I feel that tickle in my tummy that will soon burst into new movie madness and the fans that have struggled with Star Wars’ shortcomings may have little to bark about.

Lucas wants to admit that he has heard the fans, and he wants to give us another movie that we will love. Lucas will be consulting on this himself getting final say on everything, but he will not be writing or directing. He still feels this is his baby, but is willing to loosen his grip to bring it to the big screen.

There is so much potential for doing a serious dark world of Star Wars with no Jar Jar’s and no whiny kids. This concept of a far flung future not only canonizes the myriad of novels (previously in a gray area of canon), but also sounds like Lucas is taking a page out of the hotly anticipated Star Trek franchise, often seen as the other side of the coin to Star Wars.

Star Trek is receiving a wave of anticipation and renewed popularity with its own reboot/sequel and perhaps Lucas wants to step away from the restraints of his current trilogy limbo to give us a new story without retelling the old.

So get out your sleeping bag and lawn chairs and get in line. Star Wars is back on the big screen and things are about to get crazy!!