Good ideas here, and thanks for the big write-up RL. Since I’m considering removing the incursion on the Resistance base entirely, that opens up the footage for such an attack on Hosnian Prime. It would also be a good opportunity to establish Rose’s sister and her sacrifice, foreshadowing Rose’s inclusion in the plot of TLJ. However, it might be beyond my abilities to essentially generate an entirely new scene, however cool it would be to see. I’ll keep it in mind, since it would solve a lot of issues going forward.

As for the look of the base being too much like a weapon, yeah that’s a problem. Since there’s a huge trench along the equator covered in metal panels, I could remove some of the panels and add flashes of light from them, as if they were docking bays where these Star Destroyers were being constructed. The giant gun-looking thing could be constantly venting smoke and lit from within with an orange light, as if it were just a vent or smokestack for these massive metalworks. Ironically that would allow me to revert back to the original shot of the smoking gun barrel in the X-wing approach.