I’ve said this already but I would’ve had Mon Mothma be the new Sidious - pissed off because her unholy alliance with Palpatine in ROTJ (she killed the Bothan spies herself and passed on the false Death Star information in exchange for a seat at Palpatine’s side) was thwarted by the rebels. She would have been reconstituting the Empire in secret whilst corrupting Ben Solo with lies about his folks and glorious tales of his grandfather Anakin Vader.
And I would’ve had the New Republic using Star Destroyers and Tie fighters while the FO flies X-Wings and Y-Wings. Just to mess with the audience’s heads…
So… you’d have Mon Mothma be Force-sensitive? '😓
Sure, why not?
The reason I’m sold on this idea is that it provides a direct link to the OT without diminishing its achievements. Let’s be frank, the only possible post-ROTJ scenario is either ‘a new deadly threat’ or ‘the Empire reconstituted itself’. The ST basically reboots everything to pre-ROTJ status.
Having Mothma as Palpatine’s ally (or wife/partner) and the true source of the Bothan tapes plants a sinister seed in the heart of ROTJ without undermining it. It allows the victory to be as it was - with a New Republic flourishing as expected and Palpatine staying dead - but now there’s a valid fly in the ointment that leads logically to the ST. Mothma would be in a prime political position to not only gather allies for her revenge on the rebellion/New Republic, but she would also be perfectly positioned to bend the ear of Han and Leia’s son. In this version of the ST she would be presented as a shadowy hooded figure a la Sidious, with her true identity revealed in the 3rd film. She could even play the dual-role that Palpatine did in the prequels - liaising with Leia and co. in a fanservicey white gown whilst simultaneously being a Sith creep via hologram.
If you imagine this scenario and then watch the “many Bothans died” scene in ROTJ, it’s really dark…