Some of the biggest criticisms of the time period that takes place between Return of
the Jedi and The Force Awakens is the lack of grand
scale in storytelling and the worldbuilding of the
galaxy, especially concerning the First Order origins, and later Palpatine and his Final
Order.
However, we thought of a way that would fix both of these problems, while also tying up
the stories of Thrawn, Ezra, Ahoska, Rae Sloane,
Eli Vanto and many others, whose narratives have been left to an unknown fate at the time
of this video.
Also there will be major spoilers to The Rise of Skywalker after this point.
First, some quick background context for those who are unfamiliar with the state of the Star
Wars galaxy post Return of the Jedi in Canon.
After the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Civil War continued on for about another year, finally
ending with the Battle of Jakku, which saw the destruction of a large portion of the
Imperial Fleet and the signing of the Galactic Concordance,
resulting in the surrender of the main Galactic Empire’s government to the newly formed
New Republic.
Following the Galactic Concordance, no major conflict took place in the known galaxy and
it remained relatively at peace for close to
30 years until the attack from the First Order.
Because of the 30 year peace period before The Force Awakens, this does not allow writers
to create any grand stories involving campaigns
against Imperial warlords and the like, or create
proper stories that can compellingly depict the origins of the First Order and Final Order
within the known galaxy, as there can be no prior
conflict with them against the New Republic.
Due to these reasons, this new story would have to take place in the Unknown Regions,
where not only did the First Order and Final Order
originate from, but also was the home of the powerful Chiss Ascendancy, the isolated alien
empire where Thrawn came from.
Through the new Star Wars books, it was made clear that Palpatine had a grand ambition
in learning the secrets of the Unknown Regions
and eventually ruling the Chiss civilization living
there once he became aware of its existence.
It was one of his reasons in forming a close bond
with Thrawn who came to serve the Empire.
Thrawn on the other hand saw it imperative to forming a possible alliance with the Empire,
in hopes of using its vast resources to help
the Chiss Ascendancy in the case of a major attack
from outside the galaxy; as well as learning everything he could of the Empire, in the
worst case scenario of the two becoming enemies in the
future.
Of course Thrawn’s mission in doing this got cut short when he and his fleet were sent
into hyperspace by Ezra and the Purrgil space creatures.
It’s currently unknown where they were sent to, however, it is likely that their
destination was the unknown regions.
Nonetheless, following Palpatine’s first death aboard the second death star, he likely
was resurrected on the hidden Sith planet Exegol
deep within the unknown regions.
Operation Cinder that was initiated following his first
death saw portions of the remaining Imperial forces
retreat into these very same unknown regions, where they would form the foundation of the
future First and Final Orders.
This massive movement of Imperial warships coming into the Unknown Regions would have
likely caused conflict with the Chiss Ascendancy, who would essentially have been their next-
door neighbors.
While little is known about the Chiss in current canon, in Legends they were known for being
a highly militarized society that was wary of
all outsiders, especially those that posed a potential
threat to them.
And a large formation of Imperial warships right next to their territory would have
especially raised a bunch of red flags for them.
On top of that, Palpatine would likely have attempted to take over the Chiss Ascendancy
from within the Unknown Regions, hoping to use
their already established worlds as ship building yards, which would explain how the First and
Final Order were able to muster up such a massive fleet without using Imperial shipyards
from their lost territories in the known galaxy.
Assuming Thrawn was taken into the Unknown Regions by Ezra, it would make sense for him
to lead the Chiss against the aggressive attacks
from Palpatine’s forces, as not only did he have
the most knowledge of Imperial tactics due to his prior service, but he saw firsthand
of their cruelty toward planets that they subjected
and understood full well the danger they posed to his
people.
Thrawn would also have the help of his longtime aide and friend Eli Vanto, who was entrusted
by him personally to travel to the Chiss Ascendancy before the events at Lothal.
This Chiss Sith war would also open up the possibility of an Imperial civil war within
Palpatine’s own forces within the Unknown Regions themselves.
As mentioned earlier, Operation Cinder saw the retreat of what is believed to be
a huge portion of the Imperial Forces following the
battle of Endor and Jakku.
While most of the high-ranking Imperials that came into the Unknown Regions were sycophants
of Palpatine, there were many of them that were not.
One of them was Grand Admiral Sloane, who held an idealist view of what the Empire
was supposed to be across her entire career: a
military power that brought genuine peace and order to the galaxy.
She likely would never have supported the rise of the eventual First Order,
and especially not the Final Order that Palpatine personally led.
So an Imperial civil war with characters like Sloane, Gilad Pellaeon, and other moderates
going against Palpatine’s sycophants like Brendal
Hux and Enric Pryde is another conflict that should
be explored during this time period within the Unknown Regions.
And then finally we have Ahsoka Tano and Sabine.
Following the fall of the Galactic Empire, they both went on a mission to find Ezra.
If Ezra was taken into the Unknown Regions along
with Thrawn, then their destination would put them right in the middle of the Chiss
Sith War we have laid out.
The story potential with the three of them being in the middle of such a conflict is
unlimited, and it would also explain why Ahsoka and Ezra never met Luke Skywalker, as they
were all in the Unknown Regions while the New Jedi Order was being built.
Also knowing Ahsoka, the moment she would become aware of Palpatine’s existence on
his Sith planet, there’s a good chance that
she and Ezra would go on a mission to stop him,
possibly allying themselves with the Chiss as well.
Additionally, a war within the Unknown Regions itself could be unlike anything we’ve seen
before in Star Wars, as the way hyperspace works is very different to how it works in
the known galaxy.
Hyperspace travel is far more difficult and dangerous, sometimes requiring the help of
Force Sensitive to travel through uncharted space safely.
These added obstacles could create countless unique battle scenarios and tactics
that have never been seen before.
And then you have the unlimited potential of exploring all the undiscovered aliens,
creatures, and civilizations that reside within the Unknown
Regions, that would likely be dragged into such
a massive war between Palpatine’s Sith Empire and the Chiss Ascendancy.
Once again, the potential story and world building possibilities are endless if such
an event were to actually take place.
Let us know what you think of these laid out ideas for what we hope to see Star Wars tell
in the near future, and if there is anything you’d
change or add upon what was said!