I think on the surface the OT and ST are similar, but given time for the canon to explore that time period (which they have been avoiding as to give as much creative freedom to the filmmakers as possible), these the two era can potentially feel quite distinct.
I think the political situation in the buildup to the war can be grounds for a very compelling story about politics and espionage. The show Resistance does get into that a bit. Spies within the Senate, and unknown threat in uncharted space.
Check out Bloodline and the Poe Dameron comic if you haven’t already.
I think this new war has a lot of potential to set itself apart from the Galactic Civil War as well. The Resistance can literally fit on the Falcon, even the Rebellion was better off in its worst condition. How will they recruit help? How will they actually fight the First Order? Will they use even more dirty, guerrilla tactics rather than open battles like the Rebellion did?
The First Order are invaders rather than the de facto government, how will they treat their citizens and the Resistance compared to the Old Empire? Will they be more radical? More aggressive? You also have the dynamic between the old guard and the new, the Imperials vets vs the First Order generation and how they perceive each other.
One of the reasons I’m becoming more invested in Resistance is they have characters dealing with FO occupation and not all of them think it’s such a bad thing. It’s exactly the sort of complexity I’d want from this era, answering the essential question, how could another empire rise to prominence? Because not everyone thinks they’re the bad guys, or fully understands their severity.
And for me, one of the most interesting things is the fact that the leaders on both sides are in fact mother and son. The family drama has manifested into a galactic-scale war, even more so than the Galactic Civil War if you think about it. I definitely think it is possible for this conflict to stand out from the OT, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how they handle it in IX and further media.
This is a great observation but it pains me. In my mind it’s very hard to imagine that the Leia/Ben dynamic wasn’t envisioned as a cornerstone of IX. And I’m sure there’ll be elements of that in the finished product, but unfortunately I doubt there’ll be much Carrie material to work with in that regard.