I'm not familiar with the extended universe. Does something else happen later that would make for an interesting story?
Once the Ewoks finish dancing, is there really anything left to write about?
I read episodes 7-9, years and years ago. Basic concept is that the Empire is broken but some of the pieces are still thrashing around. Eventually what's left of the Empire gets it together, and the "Rebellion" (now in charge) needs to have a big ol' fight and stamp them out. Hijinks ensue.
The only thing that was really memorable about the stories were a couple of the new characters. "Grand Admiral Thrawn"...new big bad guy...and his pet assassin "Rukh".
Otherwise, I thought that the books were pretty repetitive. Lots of the same combat, over and over again. Might translate well to the big screen, who knows.
When I read the original review of the original movie in Time Magazine (spit!) back in '75 or so, it was discussed at that time as part of a triple-trilogy, with a total of 9 movies in the epic. You recall that the time-lag between Episode III and IV is more than just a few years. Luke and Leia are babies who are hidden away at the end of III.
Given this, I would expect that Episode VII would pick up about 20+ years beyond Episode VI. Hence my proposed casting.
I stand by it.