Hello there!
As the title indicates, this project seeks to bring the Dark Empire audio drama closer to the current Star Wars canon by crafting Dark Empires: The Canon Edit.
The aim of this fanedit is to align the events of Dark Empire with the narrative established by the live-action films and series. It’s a reimagining that bridges the gap between the Original Trilogy and the Sequel Trilogy, setting the stage for Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
What to Expect?
• How the Emperor Returned: This fanedit ties Palpatine’s resurrection in The Rise of Skywalker to the groundwork laid in Dark Empire. His essence transfer power is highlighted, and various of his other clone bodies are shown, making his return more plausible and consistent with the sequels.
• New Force Powers: The story introduces advanced force abilities like the mentioned essence transfer, the Force storm, and Force projection, powers that resonate with what we see in the sequels.
• A Darker Luke Skywalker: This version delves into Luke’s struggles with darkness, echoing themes explored further in The Last Jedi.
• The Solo Legacy Reframed: One of the key changes is the removal of the Solo twins. Instead, the unborn child of Han and Leia is recontextualized as Ben Solo, aligning with the canon storyline.
This fanedit reimagines Dark Empire as a piece of the Star Wars cinematic universe, respecting the original work while ensuring it fits snugly into the galaxy far, far away.
It is a “labor of love” for fans who want to see the EU’s greatest stories find their place in the current cinematic canon.
The complete list of cuts and additions:
• Chapter 1
-I added “A long time ago…” (I borrowed it from Everest Production’s fan made LoT audio drama, the line was read by a voice actor who was imitating Palpatine’s voice, which I think fits well with this particular story);
-I trimmed the opening crawl (to avoid any mention of the Solo twins).
• Chapter 2
-I trimmed the dialogue between Luke and Leia (removed the mention of the twins and the future generation of the Jedi);
-the last scene was removed (as I felt it was too much out of character for Han to decline helping Lando).
• Chapter 3:
-I removed the entire first scene (as it had too many mentions of the twins, and, it was also a straight followup to the scene from chapter two I had removed);
-removed one mention of “the children” from another scene.
• Chapter 4:
No editing/changes needed, I left it as it was.
• Chapter 5:
I trimmed one dialogue, removing the mention of Mako being the one who had introduced Han to the smuggling business (as it contradicts Han’s origins presented in “Solo”).
• Chapter 6:
I cut the cringy dialogue of Luke and the Emperor from the first scene.
• Chapter 7:
Removed the mention of the Solo twins.
• Chapter 8:
No editing/changes needed, I left it as it was.
• Chapter 9:
-I removed the mention of the Solo twins in the opening scene;
-I decided to keep the line “you will train all my children” as it can be interpreted in a more general way (like in a “one day, if I have more children, you will train all of them” sense);
-I had to remove the last scene (too many mentions of the Solo twins and the “third child”);
I also added two scenes (trimmed and blended together) from “Empire’s End” #1, using them as an open-ending epilogue of the story. The scene foreshadows the Emperor’s return in Episode IX.
It provides an explanation of why Palpatine disappeared and stayed in the shadow during the next twenty years, setting up the events of TROS.
As he explains, Luke destroyed all his best clones, therefore he was forced to take one that was genetically unstable and is now in decay. He also says he will journey to his “place of power” which, in the context of the Sequel Trilogy, can be interpreted as Exegol.
May the Force be with you!