I was thinking that it would be an interesting idea to splice the Canto Bight footage/plot into a larger Star killer base narrative. Maybe the exterior shots of the base could be re colored on 1/2 of the matte to make a new matte where we have 1 planet with a diverse biome snow/tropical.
Rather than Star killer merely being just another super weapon, it would act as a hub of the Imperial Remnant’s power and population. Willing participants and loyalists participate in a Fascist regime because it benefits them, or maybe certain galactic inhabitants feel safer. The reason the Republic does not act is because of a potential M.A.D. situation.
Imagine setting this up in the crawl. A stalemate between the Republic and the remnant where the imperials argue “super weapons were bad in the hands of Palpatine, not reasonable people who just want safety that the Republic has not been able to provide with years of galactic rule.”
You could also cut in some of the kajimi footage from episode 9 (of troopers walking in the Snow,) into the Canto Bight footage to make an Imperial presence there clear. Even some of Snoke in his gold bathrobe would make more sense if you could imply that he is ruling a willing bunch of people.
If there was anything that was lacking explanation in these new movies it was an explanation of how the 1st order went from being portrayed as a small radical faction (like Nazis in Argentina) in VII to being the new empire. How did they pay for new ships? How did nobody notice a planet sized super weapon where Illum was? These new films require way too much supplemental material.
If you could frame Canto Bight as being just part of the Starkiller installation, now we have a super weapon that plays host to the supporters of imperial rule. The population knows its a super weapon, but since they are given bread and circuses they don’t care.
Wonderful idea, though fitting it in pacing/character wise into TFA would be quite the challenge.
I like the creativity of this idea, but if the base were home to a large civilian population, it would cast the Resistance in a pretty terrible light to nuke the whole thing.
Technically they’re backing the bad guys so I’d probably give the resistance a pass on that.