Again, it makes me wish that Trevorrow’s version had been made because at least it did not have Palpatine. Something like Kylo being betrayed by the First Order and having to work with the heroes, and maybe a Stormtrooper Rebellion for Finn’s plot, could’ve set up an ending where the war ends in peace and unification rather than destroying the enemy, which would have set it apart from the way ROTJ ends.
Jannah tells this story about how her entire regiment of stormtroopers laid down their weapons when they refused to kill their enemy. Imagine instead of being told this, we actually saw it.
After Hux and the First Order council depose Kylo Ren, they could begin kidnapping children tenfold as a reaction to the growing Resistance. The final mission could have been to go to the planet where they take these children and free them. Maybe they fail and are at the execution block, but the stormtroopers, witnessing their attempt to save the children, finally turn on their masters. I also think an ending reminiscent to Temple of Doom, with children reuniting with their parents, would have been rather powerful.
And hell, you could keep Palpatine to some extent and I still think it could work.
After Hux happily deposes Kylo, he realizes the old Imperial guard, like Pryde, are nuts and have a plan to resurrect Palpatine. Hux thinks this is crazy and this is what makes him help the Resistance.
Maybe the storyline with Rey and Ben could revolve around the Knights of Ren trying to resurrect Palpatine, but in this version he has no physical form. Snoke could’ve just been a Sith acolyte wanting to resurrect Palpatine as well. You could still have some kind of battle (or exorcism) between the Force ghosts and Palpatine’s Sith spirit that add importance to the Force ghosts and not undermine Anakin’s destiny. I think this could’ve carried this message of trying to resurrect the past in a more nuanced way than what we got.
Have Ben LIVE, and when he retakes control of the remaining First Order forces he could disband the regime and reunify the Republic his mother fought so hard to restore. Then he could go off and help Rey start a new Jedi Order, but with a strong feeling that it will be different this time. More balanced than before.
I know this kind of “what if” is pointless, but I think we can agree Abrams once again retread old ground with this film. I was a little forgiving with TFA, but he had no excuse with TROS.