SPOILER The opening scene

So if a stormtrooper eats a hot dog for lunch & gets a yellow mustard stain on his white armor suit, that makes him; a mustardtrooper? .....

When I was a kid in the 1970s, I heard & read(on cardboard trading cards/Topps) the "orange flappy things" were insignia to denote the "sandtroopers" squad leader.
Kinda like how in the 70s era sci fi series/films BattleStar Galatica, the evil cyborg troopers had a "gold" cyborg to bark orders to relay data to the squads.

 

More than likely, that is what they originally were meant for... and until ESB I don't believe any distinction was made. They were simply all "stormtroopers"

With ESB, we saw the epic battle on Hoth, and a "new style" of stormtrooper, which really was just the classic trooper with cold weather gear added. After that, I do remember there started being a lot of buzz about the different types, and naming them.

 

I don't see why the 30 year wait to rob the grave is such a big problem.
It's only a wait from our point of view.

Because we don't know where the robber is setting off from, what they are looking for, and how long they have been looking for it.
Another (speculative, of course) take on the grave robber is that he is something beyond of the cultures we have seen.
Picture this: The Jedi Council don't seem too clear on this prophecy about there being a chosen one deal. When Qui-Gon brings it up, they are hardly excited, in fact they border on being dismissive. And even when presented with evidence which suggests it *might* be Anakin, training him as a Jedi is still out of the question initially.
Beyond actually struggling to accept that Anakin may be the "chosen one", they also seem to have only vague ideas about what he should be doing if he is. Restore balance to the Force? Destroy the Sith? Have tantrums?
So, my point is - it is clearly an ancient prophecy, one which has kind of fallen off the Jedi agenda a bit by the time of the prequels... and don't forget, some of these dudes are centuries old. Is it necessarily a Jedi prophecy? Is it just a prophecy regarding the Force... from a different time, predating Jedi and Sith? I mean, "the Whills" were namechecked during the production, although that never made it to ROTS.

So, what if this grave robber is something else? From some religion, or cult, or race, who have their own belief in the same prophecy?
Here's the rub - what if they've somehow got wind of the chosen one being discovered? What if this guy's been trying to track down the chosen one all this time, only to find out that he was taken in by some weird monks, got dragged into a war, and is now dead?
He might be pretty pi**ed off...
Just a thought.

 

You are talking about the third order theory, of which I feel I have been the chief supporter, while others rightfully think I'm crazy (mostly cause I am crazy)

My take on the third order, which you can alter or ignore at your choosing, is that they have been behind the scenes for nearly the entirety of the Jedi/Sith war. They come out every once in a while to pluck out artifacts they deem important, such as I don't know the lightsaber of the chosen one? They believe the point of the chosen one was to cause the Jedi and Sith to be equal in number, so when Anakin killed himself and the emperor it was a pretty big shocker to them. In VII they feel that they have to restore the Sith order by any means necessary because they think that will restore balance to the force. I believe Driver is a part of this order and the rumored flashback is explaining what they are.

 

I hope Disney aren't interfering in the production of this movie. I've read a number of things about what happens when a studio gets too involved.

 

Its always an interesting idea, when you have a group of people each with their own agenda, that there comes another person (or group) along that effects each of them with a totally different agenda... muddies the waters nicely while everyone is running around trying to figure out how the new character fits in, and he simply doesn't... he is there doing his own thing for his own reasons...

I haven't read anything so far about them interfering... certainly they have their own agenda, which is to make long term money. The best way to do that is to have a smash hit that excites the audience and leads to a lot of tie-ins and merchandising... and if they are smart, they will realize the best way to do that is to be a little hands-off

They seem to be doing well with Marvel... lets hope the trend continues

 

Well Disney banked about $760mil with the sci-fi/Marvel hit; Guardians of the Galaxy(so far)....
But let's get back to EP7:
I was thinking of another TESB "clue" when Obi-Wan says; "He's(Luke) our only hope." Then the blast/exhaust lights up Yoda as he replies quietly: "no, there is another".
COULD it maybe be the "another" isn't Luke's twin sis: Leia, as many fans/film scholars thought for decades BUT the as of yet unknown "grave robber" or main character of EP7? Yoda might know this individual. A rogue Jedi?
A Padewan who couldn't stick it out? A Jedi Master in hiding?
That could bridge the Jedis to this "Achient Fear" or maybe Yoda had a ace up his sleeve if Luke was in fact turned or worse killed by Vader & Palpatine.

Hmmm.....

 

It's their movie, so they kind of have to interfere.

And they've got $4.5 billion riding on this. So of course they're going to want it the way they want it.

 

It gets me slightly angry when I see this posted in various forms. Considering that they put together the best team possible to give you great Star Wars across the board. I am sure that if there were story concerns, those issues would have been addressed in the sale processes where most issues were likely identified. Bob Iger has a goldmine in his hands with the several different properties why would he micromanage Star Wars now?

 

What's the point in getting angry? It's the truth. At the end of the day, this isn't fan fiction, it's business. And in business, when you make an investment you expect a return.

It's obvious that all story concerns were not settled during the sale process because of everything that went down afterwards (the switch from Arndt to Abrams/Kasdan, the delay of filming, the talk of re-writes, etc.) But so what? As long as the final product is good, it doesn't matter how many changes were made.

 

1) I said I was slightly angry, about the fans constantly posting about Disney making film story decisions. Sorry if that didn't come off clearly.
2) I am talking about concerns that Disney had as far as it was concerned not JJ Abrams and Kennedy. (The Film Makers)
3) Changes in writers happen all the time in the film industry. We don't know how many drafts Arnt Submitted and actually how much change JJ and LK did to what he wrote. It could be a ton or just polishing up. This all in fact backs up my point that Disney is allowing the "Film Makers" to make the decisions about what we are going to see on screen. The fact that JJ and Kasden were doing the rewrite is a positive aspect because JJ is the director and LK was hired early on as a consultant because of his familiarity with SW.
4) So the initial concern was that Disney was putting their hands too much into the pot. I can tell you the more you support the new stuff coming out will insure that they don't. I have read somewhere that they will allow LFL to make SW until they prove they can't. So give Rebels a chance and get your friends and family to try it out. This way the people who love SW like you continue to give us quality.

Edit 5) Personally I think their biggest concern at this time is Hasbro. LFL makes its money with Action Figures. Right now we are 4 episodes (movie and 3 posted to the XD app) of Rebels and those figures are lost at sea.

 

Speaking of Troopers, I'D LOVE TO SEE SWAMP TROOPER (pic from Jedi Outcast II)

 

So any update with the OP?