SPOILER MakingStarWars Rumors and Speculation Thread (Part 1)

No offense but you should know then not to compare it to the roman empire. The Empire was an empire in name only. Palpatine was a dictator. Palpatine and Vader was the Empire, the rest were incompetent. They would have given a fight for a while but it would never last 30 yrs. BTW 30 yrs is not overnight.
You take out the fear factor of Palpatine and Vader, take control of the banks that financed the Empire, the Empire would be defeated 5-10 yrs tops.
The Empire under Palpatine & Vader lasted what 23 yrs? You think it would have lasted 30 yrs without them and the financial backing of the banks and loss of taxation of the planets that sided with the new Republic? Come on now.

 

Fantasy story narrative doesn't always follow logic, it follows what best suits the story.

 

Right. A GALACTIC empire is huge! Obviously larger than anything we have seen in real life history. I think the Empire we see in TFA will be the Empire but it won't be the same Empire. It will probably be structured differently and in the first of the 3 new films the dark force users may or may not have any connection with the Empire. Maybe they take over in VIII maybe they are already in power. Either way it is an Empire living in the shadow of Palpatine and Vader and that will always remain the same.

 

If anything I think the Empire we SHOULD see in TFA is an organization similar to ISIS

 

I agree about the financial aspect. Where is the Empire getting their funding? I can see a lot of systems staying with the devil they know. Perhaps the Empire minus the Emporer became a kinder, gentler, Empire. This is all to be seen. But let's not kid ourselves. The reason the Empire still exists 30 years later is because they are familiar to fans. Tie Fighters, Storm troopers, etc. All symbols for the fans. To totally erase those images from a new Star Wars movie would be a disaster.

 

Paul it's entirely possible and probable, given the scope of a galactic empire, for this conflict to play out for 30 years or more. Look at Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, which covers the collapse of an empire over millennia. The Empire is not just Palpatine and Vader. You can't run a galactic empire and rule over quadrillions of people through the force of personality! You need competent managers and a well-organized system of incentives to keep people in line, not just fear. You're underestimating how many people benefit from the Empire's rule -- everybody employed in it, but wealthy and influential citizens, etc. There are also people who would be angry at the Alliance for stirring up trouble, disrupting supply chains, causing the deaths of loved ones, etc.

As I said in my previous post:

Based on historical precedent, the banks are going to hedge their bets and fund all sides of every conflict. They win no matter who loses. In fact, the financial players backing the empire (assuming independent financiers can even exist outside a galactic-wide command economy) are probably the ones who encouraged the rebels to unite and fight in the first place. If there's war, there's a need for troops and fighting machines and infrastructure, etc, which means both sides are taking out loans and being indebted to banks.

 

Not having Tie fighters and Storm Troopers wouldn't be a disaster, it would be doing something original. If doing something original is a disaster stick a fork in it, it's done.

 

Losing a powerful ruler can be a catalyst to the collapse of empire.

After losing 2 Death Stars and how many resources (personnel and equipment) along with it...you would have to know how large the empire really is to determine if it fell.

The movies just don't show how large the empire really is.

Also, we don't know the story be Ep. VI and VII.

 

While I agree, Disney would not risk the franchise. They will evoke as much nostalgia as possible to get casual fans in the seats.

 

It's the size of a galaxy! The Milky Way has 500 million thousand stars. That's 500 million thousand "systems", to use SW parlance (assuming a solar system is a governing system, which as I type this I'm realizing is probably not the case), and an incomprehensible number of people under its rule.

Now much of the galaxy may be uninhabited, but we're still talking about something with a scale so large the assumptions and time scale analogies being used here aren't applicable. The Empire still exists in some form, though I agree not as strong or unified as we last encountered it (in the movies).

 

Why would you assume the New Republic would be able to get control of the Empire's finances? Based on the established Star Wars history where the Separatists and then the Rebels were able to finance their wars without taxing the entire galaxy, I don't think it's a stretch to think the Imperials could continue to fund their army with whatever percentage of systems remained under their power. And considering the ideology of the Republic (which you have to assume would be a reluctance to force anyone into joining their new government) it's not unreasonable to think the Empire could have survived in some form or another for 30 more years.

I don't know why you would assume everyone in a massive galactic empire aside from the Sith Lords at the top would be incompetent. I would think that for the Empire to have held together at all, at least some of the regional governors they refer to in ANH would have to be highly competent.

 

Paul you are also forgetting that the Empire was a restructured Old Republic. The Emperor was in control as Chancellor for 15 years before the Empire was named the Empire. During that time, the time of war and using his emergency powers he was able to build the support structure the way he wanted it. Running an empire or a galactic republic is more about the structure under the Senate/Emperor. The regional governors with control of the military structure have the ability to continue to rule and the desire. If they remain banded together they can no doubt keep the Empire running. To a degree. I suspect we will find the Empire smaller than before and the republic equal to or close to equal to in size.

 

I don't really think casual fans care to the point of affecting ticket sells, (im assuming that casual fans means people that have watch the Star Wars movies a couple of times and like them) if Tie fighters and Stormtrooper are in the movie.
I blame corporate for thinking that way.

 

No the Roman Empire is a perfect example

The Emperor as depicted in Tarkin is nothing more then a figurehead. Palpatine didn't care about day to day affairs, he wanted to sit in his temple and study the dark side, he left handling the actual running of an Empire to the Moffs. Vader didn't run the empire, he was Palpatine's enforcer, notice Vader didn't order the Moffs around and in fact he was subservient to Tarkin.

Another example could be the Achaemenid Persians and their Satrap system. Each Moff could be leading the galactic equivalent of a satrap with near total autonomy. The only reason I am reluctant to use the Persians is because I feel the Empire brought in Moffs who weren't native to the system to rule it.

Here's how I assume the Empire was set up based on the films. The Emperor is the central figurehead and all people are said to "serve" the Emperor but real authority was originally in the Imperial Senate, when the Senate is dissolved that gave total executive/legislative/judicial power to the Moffs. A Grand Moff handled intersystem affairs for a region such as the Outer Rim and they answered directly to the Emperor, chosen based on absolute loyalty to the Empire. Below them would be Moffs of certain sectors who hand affairs concerning interactions between planets and how the planet benefits the Empire as a whole (such as overseeing the Kuat Shipyards), below these Moffs would be Planetary Governors who handle affairs on their planet. For more populated planets such as say Corellia they may have even had the equivalent of mayors overseeing certain populated regions of the planet.

You take the Emperor out of the equation and all of the Grand Moffs and Moffs still have control over their areas. I assume the Imperial Legion at Endor was probably Palpatine's and Vader's personal legions and maybe some forces from the nearby sectors. It wasn't as if the entire military of the Empire as in just one place. So each Moff still has his own personal legion under his control. In the power vacuum with Palpatine's death as a figurehead it came to make alliances and plans to see which Moff ended up leading the Empire. I doubt Palpatine left an actual heir, he planned on living forever. The Imperials aren't stupid, they know if they all fight each other then nobody wins, what you have to do is back who you think will come out on top.

The meeting mentioned in this upcoming book could be a part of the greater reorganization of the Empire as a whole

 

This is what I am thinking as well. They will reorganize and become a more military reliant force now that their main source of intimidation is gone. Instead of spending time and funds on a large scale weapon like the death star perhaps we see better trained troops and multiple smaller but lethal weapons used by the time the Empire reaches TFA. Also, it mentions that some systems celebrate and perhaps openly embrace and support the rebellion. The Empire will most likely respond with force and probably cut down on the amount of people in leadership roles in order to keep things a bit more organized. Less chiefs more Indians.

 

I just think Disney is learning from GL's very own past. GL tried not having the Empire, Tie fighters and Stormtroopers in Episode 1, amoung other reasons. I think a lot of people were disappointed by this. And the backlash GL took over the PT is for sure something Disney would like to avoid.

 

So you liked Battle Droids? You liked droid ships that walked around the hangers and talked? Roger roger!
So far, that's been the alternative. Disney will not try that again.

 

If it has great writing, characters, performances, action, editing, cinematography, pacing, effects, ect there shouldn't be much of a backlash. They could make a Star Wars movie that has nothing to do with the other movies outside of the force, lightsabers, space and ships and i would like it if it was well done to my definition which is reasonable. I guess i'm in the minority on that.

I didn't have a problem with them until they started talking all goofy like, and one could come up with new enemy troops. Could be aliens, humans, droids, cyborgs a mix of that or whatever.