Star Wars sequel trilogy suggested Hamill could have a cameo role in "Episode IX", which he imagined filming by 2011. A "Time" magazine story in March 1978, quoting Lucas, stated there would be ten "Star Wars" films after "The Empire Strikes Back". Gary Kurtz was also aware of proposed story elements for "Episode VII" to "Episode IX" before 1980. In 1980, at the time of the release of "The Empire Strikes Back", Lucas said there were seven further "Star Wars" films he wanted to make. He said he had "twelve-page outlines" for those films. In an interview with Jim Steranko in "Prevue" magazine published
Star Wars sequel trilogy decided to end the saga as six films. This prevented him from developing a sequel trilogy during that time-frame. In an interview published in the February 1999 issue of "Vanity Fair", Lucas said: "When you see it in six parts, you'll understand. It really ends at part six. I never had a story for the sequels, for the later ones." In early May 2002, just before the worldwide release of "" and while Lucas was working on the script for "Episode III", rumors of "Star Wars" episodes VII, VIII, and IX were posted on the Internet. In reply, Lucas noted