“We’re not defeated yet. Not by a long shot.”

Official word has come down from on high: JJ Abrams is going to direct the next Star Wars movie. Geeks all over the internet have rushed (or been pushed) to give their opinions about this, whether Abrams is the right man for the job, what all it means, et cetera.

To me this announcement means one thing: the time is right. Make the Thrawn Trilogy!

For those of you who don’t know the reference, in the early 1990s Timothy Zahn wrote three Star Wars novels (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command) that carried forward the story of the main characters from the original movies after the end of Return of the Jedi. The books were very popular (personally, I loved them), and introduced a villain worthy of succeeding the Lord Darth Vader – and without a hint of the Force – Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn, the genius strategist and tactician who mastered psychology through the study of art.

When Lucas first announced that he was making another trilogy, many fans across the world hoped and prayed that he intended to make the Thrawn Trilogy. As we all know, he did not. And now, most would say that those books could not be made into movies, because the original cast are far too old to play their same roles these days.

But then Disney announced that JJ Abrams would direct the next Star Wars movie. JJ Abrams, the man who proved that Star Trek fans would support a Star Trek movie about the characters from the original series – played entirely by new actors.

If Star Trek fans will accept James Tiberius Kirk played by an actor other than William Shatner, how can Star Wars fans do less for Han Solo or Luke Skywalker?

Please, Disney. Please, Abrams. Bring the greatest of the Imperial Grand Admirals to the big screen. Bring us Talon Kaarde, and Mara Jade, and the Noghri, and a Luke Skywalker who is truly a Jedi Knight.

What do you want to see from the new Star Wars movie? And if they make the Thrawn Trilogy, what casting choices would you make?