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Post #1320757

Author
RogueLeader
Parent topic
Unusual Sequel Trilogy Radical Redux Ideas Thread
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1320757/action/topic#1320757
Date created
19-Jan-2020, 6:39 PM

I want to switch directions a little and talk about the First Order.

Over the years we have played around with how to portray the faction. Were they a faction hiding in the Unknown Regions, slowly rebuilding and biding their time?

After the whole “Final Order” thing with TROS, this is a route that I feel would work well for the trilogy, and be the least “complicated”.

I think the First Order should be portrayed as a faction that is composed of Imperial Remnants that have banded together under a new leader, Snoke, and funded by sympathizers and industrialists. Maybe the New Republic and the First Order are in a middle of a Cold War, but the Republic is unaware of Starkiller’s existence. And the Resistance is literally that, a resistance movement within First Order space.

After TFA, the First Order begins their invasion of the Republic, but word has yet to spread about Starkiller’s destruction, so most worlds back down under the threat of total destruction. The Resistance is desperate to get the word out and restore hope in a galaxy paralyzed by fear, but their allies either don’t believe them or they’re too afraid to take that chance. The First Order would likely do anything they can to deny it.

But after Luke takes a heroic stand against the First Order and the Resistance continues to fight, hope begins to return to the galaxy as they realize the First Order isn’t a strong as they appear. As the First Order tries to quell these uprisings, their resources slowly begin to dwindle. The First Order is losing.

Now we get into TROS. I personally don’t like the idea of the Final Order. I mean, the idea isn’t necessarily bad, but it so little explored or elaborated on in the film that I don’t think it is worth even keeping.

I think the set up could be more like this: the fleet we see on Exogol is a hidden fleet created by the Emperor during the Galactic Civil War. The Exogol Star Destroyers look like the ISD-Is, which were apparently replaced by the ISD-IIs between ANH and ESB. So maybe the Emperor decommissioned the ISD-Is and sent them to Exogol as a contingency, and between ROTJ and TFA they were modified by the Sith Cult under the command of the undead Emperor. So the Sith Troopers and all that are just new First Order units rather than a part of the “Final Order”, which any mention should be cut from the movie.

So, the crawl could mention that Kylo Ren is searching for a Sith Cult who protect the lost fleet of the Emperor. You could even mention that the Knights of Ren were on a quest to find them, to explain their absence in 7 and 8. Maybe they found a clue to their existence, which is what starts Kylo’s journey in 9. So the Emperor’s survival will not be mentioned in the crawl.

So securing resources is the primary motivation of the First Order, while Kylo’s could be to destroy the last remnants of the Sith, as part of his “let the last die” mantra. This would also have the added benefit of clarifying that the natives Kylo is killing at the beginning of 9 are Sith Cultists, ones who follow Darth Vader in particular.

This is a lot of detail, by I think this could be consolidated well in the crawl. You could simply say Kylo is looking for the source of Snoke’s power, but I think mentioning the fleet (as the Emperor’s lost or secret fleet) would be a clearer way to tie it into the First Order’s motivations and the stakes. I think mentioning the Sith Cult would be beneficial too, if it wouldn’t be too crammed with information.

Just to summarize, I think it would be better to differentiate the First Order from the “secret fleet” that we’re introduced to in Episode 9. So the First Order doesn’t operate extensively in the Unknown Regions, and they’re a more straightforward faction. Whereas the Sith Cult and the hidden fleet are the “hidden faction”, preferably not referred to as “The Final Order”.

EDIT: I like your thoughts about the Rey healing Kylo shot reorder Idir!