Okay. So what do we know about the story so far? Start with its origins.
The happy ending suggested by ROTJ was not to be. The fall of the Emperor has not resulted in the total collapse of the Empire or the immediate return of the Senate.
It appears far more like a galactic version of “Game of Thrones” where individual star systems and governments have pledged their support for one side or another ,where some have even started their own quasi military factions or looked towards independance. And this seems to have resulted in huge planetary wars for decades. We’ve seen the evidence for this in the battlefield wreckage in the preproduction art.
So the Empire has been split apart. So much so that Imperial Forces are having to distinguish their allegiances by splashing red paint on to their vehicles to determine which side they fight for (again in the artwork). Individually they still must control huge planetary system resources such as munitions and manufacturing facilities and are obviously still involved in developing new weapons. Its been a long drawn out conflict as invading fleets war over systems one by one and its exhausting everybody.
Against this unrest there is obviously of the great potential for piracy, black marketing trading, and general lawlessness ,conditions under which the Hutts criminal organizations would ideally thrive. There is large profits to made from scavenging battlefield equipment , running illegal arms shipments or running mining and smuggling operations, and much of the galaxy has fallen into dispute as trade routes are closed and isolated due to the predations of waring factions , marauders and rogue fleets. It’s a reasonable guess that any planetary systems under Empire control are even harsher to live on, with prisoner labour camps and martial law. Worlds under their control are savagely treated and ruled to exploit the resources they possess to fund the battlefront Imperial fleets.
The Jedi have not yet returned, at least not in any strength of numbers to exert any influence because it appears the Force has, with the extinction of Vader and the Emperor , fallen into quiescence. But it appears that an event ,whether it be a natural phenomena or the result of certain Sith artefacts being rediscovered and activated , will start to effect force sensitive individuals again.
And that’s about all we know so far.
Personally I think this is a fantastic background onto which to start mapping new story routes for the cast of characters ,both the old and new. Its dramatic, has the potential to cover a multitude of exciting options rather than just the old Empire verses Rebels story. The Sith origins background seems destined to be explored in detail and to be far more interesting than anything we’ve seen briefly covered before in the films AND there also appears to be an older alien species of force users that exert a stronger but arcane influence in this universe than previously imagined.
It all seems to have the greater potential for a far darker, more threatening and terribly gruelling story than the glib celebrations at the end of Jedi could ever have suggested. And I think that’s a brilliant strategy for restarting the SW universe.
The happy ending suggested by ROTJ was not to be. The fall of the Emperor has not resulted in the total collapse of the Empire or the immediate return of the Senate.
It appears far more like a galactic version of “Game of Thrones” where individual star systems and governments have pledged their support for one side or another ,where some have even started their own quasi military factions or looked towards independance. And this seems to have resulted in huge planetary wars for decades. We’ve seen the evidence for this in the battlefield wreckage in the preproduction art.
So the Empire has been split apart. So much so that Imperial Forces are having to distinguish their allegiances by splashing red paint on to their vehicles to determine which side they fight for (again in the artwork). Individually they still must control huge planetary system resources such as munitions and manufacturing facilities and are obviously still involved in developing new weapons. Its been a long drawn out conflict as invading fleets war over systems one by one and its exhausting everybody.
Against this unrest there is obviously of the great potential for piracy, black marketing trading, and general lawlessness ,conditions under which the Hutts criminal organizations would ideally thrive. There is large profits to made from scavenging battlefield equipment , running illegal arms shipments or running mining and smuggling operations, and much of the galaxy has fallen into dispute as trade routes are closed and isolated due to the predations of waring factions , marauders and rogue fleets. It’s a reasonable guess that any planetary systems under Empire control are even harsher to live on, with prisoner labour camps and martial law. Worlds under their control are savagely treated and ruled to exploit the resources they possess to fund the battlefront Imperial fleets.
The Jedi have not yet returned, at least not in any strength of numbers to exert any influence because it appears the Force has, with the extinction of Vader and the Emperor , fallen into quiescence. But it appears that an event ,whether it be a natural phenomena or the result of certain Sith artefacts being rediscovered and activated , will start to effect force sensitive individuals again.
And that’s about all we know so far.
Personally I think this is a fantastic background onto which to start mapping new story routes for the cast of characters ,both the old and new. Its dramatic, has the potential to cover a multitude of exciting options rather than just the old Empire verses Rebels story. The Sith origins background seems destined to be explored in detail and to be far more interesting than anything we’ve seen briefly covered before in the films AND there also appears to be an older alien species of force users that exert a stronger but arcane influence in this universe than previously imagined.
It all seems to have the greater potential for a far darker, more threatening and terribly gruelling story than the glib celebrations at the end of Jedi could ever have suggested. And I think that’s a brilliant strategy for restarting the SW universe.
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