SPECULATION Death Star in Rouge One - Discussion

We all know the power of the Death Star s it's not really relevant to the story. The characters will know that the Empire is building a massive weapon claimed to have the power to destroy the planet. That's all the Rebels need to know to want to find the plans, it doesn't need to fire to complete the story.

 

I don't think it will. The whole idea of the Tarkin Doctrine was to rule by fear. So just having the Death Star was meant to cause rebels and sympathizers to quake. It's only fired on ANH because something so massive has to be done to shock the entire Galaxy into order, presumably. We know it didn't work, but I mean, if you had to go up against a MOON?! Scary enough.

 

And in "Lost Stars" it even disillusioned Imperials themselves ...

 

I like the idea that Geonosis was sterilized by a low-power Death Star blast.

 

Geonosis the planet of choice, good choice.

 

I quote Vader, Luke, and anyone else in star wars that screamed "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

 

I feel that showing the Death Star's destructive firepower for the first time should remain the privilege of A New Hope.

We see the capital crime of the Death Star and its punishment in the same film.

 

My first instinct, was, no, it can't possible fire, it would ruin the big moment in ANH. But thinking about it there are some fun scenarios in which it could occurr. I will elaborate further momentarily.

Where are the plans going to be stolen from?
Really, why would they exist anywhere else but at the construction site, or with Palps? My guess is it would be easier to infiltrate the construction site as some of the slave labour, and then tally ho it out of there. This presents opportunites to figure out where the site is, and also why the Empire is being a bully and carting off lots of slaves. Prior to being operational, lots of big construction projects trail run components. The DS could trail run, on a smaller scale, some of the weapons systems, even with only a skelton frame. The rebels could create a distraction by attacking the DS in order to help the infiltrators do their thing and then get away. There's opportinity there for some rebel scum ships to get blown away by the DS, or at the very least some epic space battles in and around the skeleton DS.

Maybe then the Rebels make it to their base plannet, or just the nearest planet, and the enraged Empire calls in the big guns and opens a can if whoop ars on the Rebels, and they fight to defend their base and or get the plans away, and thus win their first major battle.

 

The ANH prologue said rebel ships "striking from a hidden base have won their first victory", so the victory must have taken place away from Yavin IV.

 

Yeah, mate, that's right, I remember now. It also mentions that the plans were stolen durring the battle too.

So questions we want answered:

How do the Rebels find out about the DS, i.e. that it exists, where and how it's being built, plus enough reccon/intel to form a plan to get the plans?

Where is the hidden rebel base that they strike from?

Ok, so I guess its a little too ballsy to have a hidden base right under the Empires nose on Yavin? Although, striking from a hidden base doesn't mean they didn't travel to the DS., and as ANH does say 'Rebel spaceships, stiking from....' I hope this means epic spaceship battles. I wonder if the epic battle will involve planet and space components, like ROTJ., and what sort of skirmushes lead up to this battle. Has to be the climax of the movie right? This needs further speculation.

What's the objective of the battle?

Just a distraction to get the plans, or something more? Pretty big sacrifice, just to get the plans.

And just for my personal amusement, why the freaken hell did it take so long to build the original DS and, comparitively speaking, a fraction of the time to build DS 2.0? I mean, the Empire had the plans in the PT? Its not like they got bogged down in government approval processes or anything. So to speculate further, did the DS get damaged durring construction somehow? Work force problems? Did a critical weapons test fail and redesign and rebuilding was needed? Did some Reval Scum sabotage it?

Anyways, the speculation continue let.

 

I think it's fair to say that ANH made it abundantly that the "hidden Rebel base" did indeed refer to Yavin IV.

Is it too ballsy or actually clever "to have a hidden base right under the Empire's nose on Yavin IV"? I think such places are the best, when you don't want to attract unnecessary attention because these might be the last places the Empire would suspect a rebellion to put its main base of operations...

 

I had an idea for Rogue One about the Death Star powering up, but in a way that lends major meaning to the rest of the saga:

Imagine this: the Death Star's primary test in Rogue One could be none other than the planet Tatooine.

Darth Vader learns of this and, at the pivotal moment, uses the Force to cause the Death Star to malfunction.

Or, to look at it another way, Vader blocks or diverts the shot remotely (a la Kylo but obviously exercising power Kylo has yet to even wield or imagine).

Why? Not because of Luke Skywalker: Darth Vader does not know yet Luke is his son or Leia is his daughter.

It would be because of Shmi Skywalker: Anakin Skywalker's mother is buried there:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Funeral_of_Shmi_Skywalker_Lars

This could also lend great significance to Vader's "Don't be too proud" admonishment to Admiral Motti in Episode IV: A New Hope.

And then Vader's words right after that: "The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force."

It could be amazing, and he would then be speaking from direct experience at that point.

This could also reveal a glimmer of goodness still faintly present deep behind that deathly black mask.

I remember back to when, in Attack of the Clones he said, "I wasn't strong enough to save you mom."

Now he could be. He could save her from complete oblivion.

He could then simultaneously be a central villain and a secret hero in this story.

JediMasterRobert

 

Enjoying your ideas, but I don't think we'll see any bits of light in Rogue Vader. Would also make Luke less potent in the OT. He's in the peak of his darkside thrall, and the writers know too many fans want to see badass Vader carving a path of destruction and intimidation.

 

Thanks for your reply, Empire Jo.

I think Vader's badness will be indisputably on display in Rogue One. I understand people prefer to see and think about him in that mode, fully unleashing intensity.

I still think he could be even more powerful yet in this proposal of him disrupting the Death Star from eradicating the one thing left he has left in this universe: his mother's grave on Tatooine.

It would be strictly personal, this intervention, as only he would know, and it would reveal his Force powers to be greater than most people, perhaps even Emperor Palpatine, assumed.

When Vader tells Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, "If only you knew the power of the Dark Side," he's referencing something we've never quite seen in the Original Trilogy. This could substantiate that claim in an awesome manner.

Vader somehow powerful enough to effect the Death Star itself would be chilling, and I think this could only elevate Luke in the trilogy, because his own psychological, physical, and Force-derived effect on Vader would have to be even more powerful than we imagined.

JediMasterRobert

 

Very interesting idea and coincidentally that could be a very good rationalization why Vader and his Star Destroyer are still in Tatooine's vicinity when Princess Leia's ship suddenly shows up...

It was never revealed (not even in the ANH radio drama) how Vader could possibly know that Princess Leia would make a stop over Tatooine to pick up Kenobi. Unless she escaped Vader by making a jump into hyperspace and unless the Devastator calculated correctly her most likely destination, the very opening scene of ANH still begs for explanation.

 

That's a GREAT point!

The more I think about this potential subplot, the more I wish the Rogue One storytellers would give it serious consideration, as I believe it could be a solid opportunity to do something special with this storyline, with an ironic twist being that, in secretly helping to spare Tatooine of destruction, Darth Vader unwittingly allows his son and Obi-Wan, among other characters, to live.

And that, of course -- Luke, Obi-Wan, et al -- being around makes the entire original storyline up to Return of the Jedi possible.

This could also offer some potential screen time for a concerned Obi-Wan, who senses the Death Star's approach and even begins to race to where young Luke is, believing they might have to flee.

Perhaps this could even be an unexpected, unspoken, and unrevealed joint-venture between Obi-Wan and Vader, who both reach out (without necessarily knowing of the other doing so) through the Force to affect events enough to cause the Death Star to misfire, miss its target, or malfunction at this point. And just imagine their respective relief that Tatooine is saved.

Beyond this, I think there could even be some tangible resentment on Vader's part, who could be shown to consider the idea of the Death Star as unnecessary, given his abilities, even a form of competition somehow, as he deeply believes the Force is infinitely more potent than technology, giving further context and subtext to his comments regarding the Death Star in Episode IV: A New Hope.

JediMasterRobert