More 'Star Wars' films to go beyond new trilogy--but which characters will make the cut?

I want an Ewok film. After announcing that is was purchasing Lucasfilm and launching a new Star Wars trilogy, Disney has parceled out yet another piece of information. It plans to make standalone films set in the Star Wars universe. They wouldn't have any bearing on the direction of the trilogy, but would take certain characters or worlds from Star Wars and build feature films around them. This actually
isn't a new idea. Though many people's exposure to Star Wars has only been the feature films,  there have been animated series based on Star Wars as well as lower-profile features. The Ewoks have actually already appeared in the 1980s made-for-TV movies The Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: Battle for Endor, and the animated series "Star Wars: Ewoks."

Disney spent $4 billion on Lucasfilm, and a single trilogy is unlikely to recoup that sum--even with merchandise included. Disney is also planning more films as a way to hedge its bets with the trilogy. The concern now is not the trilogy's success, but timing. It may be easier to get a spinoff off the ground than a pivotal launch to a trilogy. If Star Wars: Episode VII ends up not releasing in 2015, it's likely another related movie will instead.

Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, is working with J.J. Abrams, the director of Star Wars: Episode VII, and Simon Kinberg (X-Men: The Last Stand, This Means War) on ideas that won't end up stepping on the trilogy's toes. Just as long as they don't make a spinoff featuring the most-hated Star Wars character, Jar Jar Binks, I think everyone will celebrate a Star Wars spinoff that gets the big-budget, tentpole treatment.