All good points. I could have the crawl focus on the search for Luke and the concept that the galaxy is divided between the New Republic and First Order territories:

It is a time of darkness.
Luke Skywalker, striving
to restore the light of the
Jedi Order, has vanished.

Searching the galaxy for
the legendary last Jedi,
a fearless New Republic
task force has uncovered
a clue to Luke’s location
on the borders of the
fallen Empire, sovereign
territory of the sinister
FIRST ORDER.

Secretly supported by a
few honorable Senators,
leaders of the fearless
RESISTANCE have sent
their best pilot to recover
this clue, unaware that
they are ensnared in a
rising shadow of evil…

This format has some issues, since it doesn’t really make sense to introduce the Resistance without first introducing what they are resisting, and I can’t do that without talking about the search for Luke taking the Resistance to the borders of First Order space. It’s maddeningly circular.

I did try to make ‘mysterious’ work for the First Order, but it just wouldn’t fit on the line very well. I also think ‘sinister’ works with both being evil and with being unknown.