How would you handle TFA & Disney SW? Discuss.
Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:18 am
So I had this thought stirring in the back of my mind for a bit now. Let's assume in an alternate reality that LF grabbed a fan and put you in charge of being showrunner for the new movies? That was never going to happen, certainly, but let's pretend it was. TFA was the launching point to a new mythology, supposedly, so what they did there set the stage, and it still echoes even now. The successes and the failures. The highs and the lows.
I'll offer up my own viewpoint, then let you guys share yours!
For one thing, it should be fairly clear I would pick up where the EU left off. Yes. If fans or children get confused about the details to these new movies, you just direct them to the EU. Like Mr. Hidalgo did back under Mr. Lucas. Don't treat the fans or children as idiots. I would put Jaina Solo onto Jakku investigating an ancient evil for the New Jedi Order. That's where her part begins in this hypothetical alternate TFA. Finn would be a stormtrooper in the Imperial Remnant, rather than for the First Order. Poe Dameron would be a New Republic pilot. And instead of General Hux, I would use Jagged Fel. And if you actually want a new Wookiee figure for the kids, you got Lowbacca. Mr. Chee's comments here strike me as tone-deaf. That seems to be official LF policy. Or they don't care about the story group. Whichever you feel is more believable!
Kylo Ren is relatively easy to adapt here. He is really just Ben Skywalker grafted into their new lore. I found it strange he is Han and Leia's son, because you know, Han mocked him and Leia never met him personally. Luke makes more sense. He could even keep the title of Kylo Ren, although here he would be Ben Skywalker. I'd probably set this a little after Crucible or the FOTJ series. I think in this version, my Kylo Ren would've gone over to the Imperial Remnant and perhaps this can serve as the forerunner to founding the Imperial Knights of the Fel Empire. The Knights of Ren would function as the template for that then. This isn't altogether unreasonable, either, since Jaina Solo married Jagged Fel. And you know, in this version, Ben might have wanted to go his own path, something other than the Jedi, with how deeply ingrained into the history of the galaxy and his father in particular that it is.
And it is in the Imperial Remnant where the biggest problem comes from. Rather than Sharad Hett, I would tweak Snoke and his character design, somewhat. Change him into a Gen'dai Sith Lord. Gen'dai are extremely long-lived. So for my money, I'd have this one be around five thousand to six thousand years old. A Gen'dai Sith Lord who's witnessed all the serious galactic conflicts, the Great Hyperspace War, the Exar Kun wars, the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War, the New Sith Wars, and all the wars of the PT and OT eras. He would have history and I could easily see him being a kind of puppet behind the throne to Emperor Fel and hoping to corrupt this Kylo Ren to his own ends. I could even see Snoke in this version trying to pit Jagged Fel and Kylo Ren against each other. A different take on the films. And there would be genuine fear from the heroes that Kylo Ren, Ben could be following the path of Jacen Solo. Something they'd want to try and prevent.
Like, something similar to B5, with the Drakh running half of the Centauri fleet to draw revenge fire to their world, I'd say in this proposed draft, that Snoke is using his influence to take over half of the Imperial Remnant, running shadow operations similar to what we've seen in the KOTOR games. Using assassin droids, black-ops agents, or even Force users. The Sith Eternal could be tied into Snoke here, rather than given to Palpatine. And you know, given all the heavy-handed EU references they dropped into the various legions, this becomes the backdrop to why with a Gen'dai's longer life experience and so much history to this new character of Snoke. This could maybe make more sense why he names his regiments Revan Legion, Andeddu Region, and so forth, which I found cringey. You get fanservice that makes sense, like if possibly the latest generation of HK droids serving the Sith Eternal came from the progenitor unit HK-47 thousands of years prior, with upgrades over the years. At this point, you could make them like the Kull Warriors from SG-1. That was one of my biggest complaints about the old EU. That technology does not change over the millennia. It's one area Disney canon tries to be better in. So this would be consistent to that.
Han Solo would get an interesting death that Mr. Ford had always wanted. Rather than perish in a battle, I think he could die from an illness, surrounded by family in bed. That would end his character beautifully. This cynical, rugged smuggler who reformed his ways has a peaceful ending. Though, you know, I'd have tried to make sure that last reunion scene was shot, even if it is pushed back into TLJ. This would subvert audience expectations in a stellar way, rather than changing somebody's character since you don't want to make up your own. Although imagine if this Kylo Ren kills his own uncle. That would be an interesting twist on what Jacen Solo did. Perhaps it is not intentional. Perhaps it drives him over to Snoke.
If Luke must head to Ahch-To, it'll be in connection to the evil posed by this revised version of Snoke. Exegol would easily serve as a staging ground for Snoke's fleet here, rather than the fleet that Palpatine used, and it would tie more effectively into this proposed scenario because with a Gen'dai's longer life span, it would make sense he could have been patiently building this fleet for decades. In my alternate continuity, he is secretly pirating money and resources away from the Imperial Remnant as I see it, and has been doing this back to the era of the former Galactic Empire under Palpatine. As to why this Snoke hasn't conquered the galaxy in all of this time, maybe don't make him a Sith Lord at all. He could be more like Kreia or Vergere. I think after a few millennia in seeing history repeat over and over to greater devastation, you get kind of jaded. And if Palpatine must return, we could say that Snoke was present during the events of the DET and had a secret clone of Palpatine made for himself, that he transferred his essence into when he was taken out by Brand, that Snoke enslaved to his own purposes, with Sidious always secretly plotting to take over again. The Starscream of the Sith Eternal.
What would I name this new trilogy?
The Force Awakens
The New Jedi
The Rise of Palpatine
This is just the basis for where I would head, mind you. It's a starting point. These ideas are not fully fleshed out, but I think it shows you could easily have told a far better story with the EU if you're just going to keep taking from it rather than without it. Seriously, picture this. Finn could easily become a general of the stormtrooper corps, or you know, even switch over to the GFFA like he did in in Disney canon, and become the counterpart to that. Poe Dameron could have a greater influence on events in his part in investigating the Snoke connection to the Imperial Remnant. Snoke has far more menace to him than I feel he had with how his character journey wound up in TLJ. And Rey keeps her identity as Jaina Solo and is made Grand Master of the New Jedi Order. We could have the maternal themes that Mr. Filoni wanted in a mother counseling her daughter to the challenges in leadership. As in essence, this whole trilogy becomes about a central female character who faces the trials Luke feels makes her the natural successor to him. Saving Kylo Ren, Ben, would be like him saving Darth Vader.
That's just me, though. But I want to hear what you guys think about it. How would you handle being showrunner to a new continuity of movies? Would you keep the EU and build off it, or nuke the whole thing like they did? Do you think there is something I'm missing here, or do you agree with the points I had made above? Do you like how I would handle the new movies? Or do you think it's complete horse hockey? Please, share in the replies down below, and I'll talk to ya guys again soon.
I'll offer up my own viewpoint, then let you guys share yours!
For one thing, it should be fairly clear I would pick up where the EU left off. Yes. If fans or children get confused about the details to these new movies, you just direct them to the EU. Like Mr. Hidalgo did back under Mr. Lucas. Don't treat the fans or children as idiots. I would put Jaina Solo onto Jakku investigating an ancient evil for the New Jedi Order. That's where her part begins in this hypothetical alternate TFA. Finn would be a stormtrooper in the Imperial Remnant, rather than for the First Order. Poe Dameron would be a New Republic pilot. And instead of General Hux, I would use Jagged Fel. And if you actually want a new Wookiee figure for the kids, you got Lowbacca. Mr. Chee's comments here strike me as tone-deaf. That seems to be official LF policy. Or they don't care about the story group. Whichever you feel is more believable!
Kylo Ren is relatively easy to adapt here. He is really just Ben Skywalker grafted into their new lore. I found it strange he is Han and Leia's son, because you know, Han mocked him and Leia never met him personally. Luke makes more sense. He could even keep the title of Kylo Ren, although here he would be Ben Skywalker. I'd probably set this a little after Crucible or the FOTJ series. I think in this version, my Kylo Ren would've gone over to the Imperial Remnant and perhaps this can serve as the forerunner to founding the Imperial Knights of the Fel Empire. The Knights of Ren would function as the template for that then. This isn't altogether unreasonable, either, since Jaina Solo married Jagged Fel. And you know, in this version, Ben might have wanted to go his own path, something other than the Jedi, with how deeply ingrained into the history of the galaxy and his father in particular that it is.
And it is in the Imperial Remnant where the biggest problem comes from. Rather than Sharad Hett, I would tweak Snoke and his character design, somewhat. Change him into a Gen'dai Sith Lord. Gen'dai are extremely long-lived. So for my money, I'd have this one be around five thousand to six thousand years old. A Gen'dai Sith Lord who's witnessed all the serious galactic conflicts, the Great Hyperspace War, the Exar Kun wars, the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War, the New Sith Wars, and all the wars of the PT and OT eras. He would have history and I could easily see him being a kind of puppet behind the throne to Emperor Fel and hoping to corrupt this Kylo Ren to his own ends. I could even see Snoke in this version trying to pit Jagged Fel and Kylo Ren against each other. A different take on the films. And there would be genuine fear from the heroes that Kylo Ren, Ben could be following the path of Jacen Solo. Something they'd want to try and prevent.
Like, something similar to B5, with the Drakh running half of the Centauri fleet to draw revenge fire to their world, I'd say in this proposed draft, that Snoke is using his influence to take over half of the Imperial Remnant, running shadow operations similar to what we've seen in the KOTOR games. Using assassin droids, black-ops agents, or even Force users. The Sith Eternal could be tied into Snoke here, rather than given to Palpatine. And you know, given all the heavy-handed EU references they dropped into the various legions, this becomes the backdrop to why with a Gen'dai's longer life experience and so much history to this new character of Snoke. This could maybe make more sense why he names his regiments Revan Legion, Andeddu Region, and so forth, which I found cringey. You get fanservice that makes sense, like if possibly the latest generation of HK droids serving the Sith Eternal came from the progenitor unit HK-47 thousands of years prior, with upgrades over the years. At this point, you could make them like the Kull Warriors from SG-1. That was one of my biggest complaints about the old EU. That technology does not change over the millennia. It's one area Disney canon tries to be better in. So this would be consistent to that.
Han Solo would get an interesting death that Mr. Ford had always wanted. Rather than perish in a battle, I think he could die from an illness, surrounded by family in bed. That would end his character beautifully. This cynical, rugged smuggler who reformed his ways has a peaceful ending. Though, you know, I'd have tried to make sure that last reunion scene was shot, even if it is pushed back into TLJ. This would subvert audience expectations in a stellar way, rather than changing somebody's character since you don't want to make up your own. Although imagine if this Kylo Ren kills his own uncle. That would be an interesting twist on what Jacen Solo did. Perhaps it is not intentional. Perhaps it drives him over to Snoke.
If Luke must head to Ahch-To, it'll be in connection to the evil posed by this revised version of Snoke. Exegol would easily serve as a staging ground for Snoke's fleet here, rather than the fleet that Palpatine used, and it would tie more effectively into this proposed scenario because with a Gen'dai's longer life span, it would make sense he could have been patiently building this fleet for decades. In my alternate continuity, he is secretly pirating money and resources away from the Imperial Remnant as I see it, and has been doing this back to the era of the former Galactic Empire under Palpatine. As to why this Snoke hasn't conquered the galaxy in all of this time, maybe don't make him a Sith Lord at all. He could be more like Kreia or Vergere. I think after a few millennia in seeing history repeat over and over to greater devastation, you get kind of jaded. And if Palpatine must return, we could say that Snoke was present during the events of the DET and had a secret clone of Palpatine made for himself, that he transferred his essence into when he was taken out by Brand, that Snoke enslaved to his own purposes, with Sidious always secretly plotting to take over again. The Starscream of the Sith Eternal.
What would I name this new trilogy?
The Force Awakens
The New Jedi
The Rise of Palpatine
This is just the basis for where I would head, mind you. It's a starting point. These ideas are not fully fleshed out, but I think it shows you could easily have told a far better story with the EU if you're just going to keep taking from it rather than without it. Seriously, picture this. Finn could easily become a general of the stormtrooper corps, or you know, even switch over to the GFFA like he did in in Disney canon, and become the counterpart to that. Poe Dameron could have a greater influence on events in his part in investigating the Snoke connection to the Imperial Remnant. Snoke has far more menace to him than I feel he had with how his character journey wound up in TLJ. And Rey keeps her identity as Jaina Solo and is made Grand Master of the New Jedi Order. We could have the maternal themes that Mr. Filoni wanted in a mother counseling her daughter to the challenges in leadership. As in essence, this whole trilogy becomes about a central female character who faces the trials Luke feels makes her the natural successor to him. Saving Kylo Ren, Ben, would be like him saving Darth Vader.
That's just me, though. But I want to hear what you guys think about it. How would you handle being showrunner to a new continuity of movies? Would you keep the EU and build off it, or nuke the whole thing like they did? Do you think there is something I'm missing here, or do you agree with the points I had made above? Do you like how I would handle the new movies? Or do you think it's complete horse hockey? Please, share in the replies down below, and I'll talk to ya guys again soon.