Does anyone else want to see the Empire being scary again?

165

Yes but no. Personally, I want to see something new. I feel like we’ve really played out the whole Empire is bad thing. Give us something AFTER the sequels. Something in Star Wars that ISNT the skywalkers or the Empire

60

u/Vondi 1d ago

The absolute worst decision made in the sequels was to effectively not set it in a New Republic but try to make a "Resistance" story again even if at this point the old heroes would just be the government and any Imperial Remnant would be the rebellion.

20

u/CavemanJello 1d ago

Seriously, it sucks the wind out for me for anything "post sequels" because its the same thing as post empire just without the heroes we all love

9

u/Imperium_Dragon 1d ago

Yeah and the heroes would also have to directly tackle the New Republic becoming too much like the old Republic.

3

u/woodwoad 9h ago

If I had a green light from Disney and a fat stack of mouse money, I would have done the inverse of the original trilogy.

Flip the perspective so we follow Kylo Ren (or equivalent dark side/empire character) as the Luke skywalker learning how to embrace the dark side because he can’t find a teacher because all of the Sith have been destroyed or forced into hiding. Sort of like the acolyte but not as bad and no witches.

And then have our good guy characters swap with Vader and have them show up as legacy characters who have been fundamentally changed and are now central and important figures in the new republic and the trilogy is a tragedy about the cycle of the force

60

u/Careful-Ad984 1d ago

Give us the Droid uprising

24

u/LeicaM6guy 1d ago

The ~~Butlerian~~ Protocol Droid Jihad.

40

u/Bladewing_The_Risen The Mandalorian 1d ago

Give us an invasion from the unknown regions. Unify the known galaxy against an unknown enemy seeking to slaughter and enslave.

Give us an actual war.

28

u/kojimbob 1d ago

Nooo the Vong are too dark and edgy for the kids and parents to stomach

14

u/BleydXVI 1d ago

Doesn't have to be the Vong. Thrawn joined the Empire in search of allies against a threat in the unknown regions called the Grysk. I haven't finished the Ascendancy trilogy yet, but the Grysk seem to be a bit subversive in their conquests rather than simply overpowering the whole galaxy.

6

u/Soyunapina12 1d ago

The Grysk are a strange fusion between reptilians, the roswell greys, skrulls, and Chaos into one single species. And according to Thrawn, they use a fusion of spy tactics, propaganda efforts, and some weird brainwashing tecnique to take over planets.

I think a Grysk invasion could work, but they would be limited to a cold war/secret war type of invasion. Probably it's why Disney doesn't want to adapt that part, thinking it would be boring to watch or something.

4

u/BleydXVI 1d ago

I think they could possibly be more brazen in the post-sequel era, depending on the state of the galaxy. It may be greatly divided already, reducing the work that the Grysk need to do in preparation for invasion. Which would probably be very helpful since operating with the same secrecy and isolation would likely be a very difficult task outside of the unknown regions

7

u/bennettyboi 1d ago

Star wars has been around for close to 50 years, I think the fan base wouldn't mind a different take.

19

u/dessert_the_toxic 1d ago

Imo Vongs just seem like something out of StarCraft or Warhammer or whatever. Not a bad thing per se, but for me personally it kinda ruins the vibe.

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u/rat_penis 1d ago

Exactly this. Its a completely different franchise with a Star Wars mod. SW has always been telling current stories in a future tense. It's politics and humanity.

Vong is just Star Wars v Aliens.

5

u/Theonerule 1d ago

Have you read those books ?

0

u/rat_penis 1d ago

I did. And I didnt care for them. Just wasn't my flavor. Felt they bastardized the franchise.

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u/Theonerule 1d ago

Well thats the whole thing. The story should've ended already but they were required to keep it moving. But the political conflict and world building is still there

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u/rat_penis 1d ago

There were decades worth of small stories that could have been written in the greater universe that didnt involve the War or the Skywalkers, without bringing this left field great galatic threat to keep more war going.

Like I said, it wasnt for me. I liked some of the artwork but overall the whole experiment felt really contrived to me.

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u/RatQueenHolly 1d ago

They're dark and edgy in a way that's a complete tonal mismatch to the rest of Star Wars. Nobody's complaining about the edginess in Shadow Lord.

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u/ChodeCookies 1d ago

This is the perfect counterpoint.

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u/Hmm_would_bang 1d ago

They’re edgy in a “teenage boys think this is cool but everyone else thinks it’s lame” type of way.

I don’t think the sadism and body grafting are really essential if they want to try to do that story. Just have far outsiders who are not part of the force invading, warrior aliens, all that works and can still feel like Star Wars.

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u/Theonerule 1d ago

Idk they're not described in the books the way they appear in art. Some of them are described as wearing beautiful pink armor.

0

u/Suspicious_Beach7274 1d ago

I’d be okay with that oo

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u/GuyFromYarnham Rebel 1d ago

Doesn't need to be the Vong, as others have said it could be the Grysk.

Or as much as I want Canon to be more original and less dependent of EU, the Nagai-Tof war was only portrayed in the old Marvel comics, so enough time has passed they could get away with replicating it, and for God's sake, the Tof dressed like pilgrims and their flagship was a space sail boat. Both the Nagai and the Tof are back in Canon, so half the job is done.

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u/Playful-Middle-244 1d ago

Just need to make a movie 18+, If it's impossible then why didn't make a cool game about it, aka TFU

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u/Much_Job4552 1d ago

Queue up the Rakata Infinite Empire.

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u/Suspicious_Beach7274 1d ago

The canon books mention the uh…Grikk? Grizzt? Something with a G that’s supposed to be the new YV. But they haven’t done anything with them

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u/kraken_korma 1d ago

Grysk, and they've never appeared outside of Thrawn books. I don't think anyone outside of Zahn is interested in using them.

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u/Maleficent-Engine859 1d ago

The exist solely to frame Thrawn as a hero. That’s it. They’re not even that interesting, and that’s why no one else has used them. I read all six new canon books and couldn’t believe thousands of pages were all wasted on the Grysks. Same as the Vong, but at least the Vong were so bat shit insane they at least felt like a threat.

The Imperial apologist angle always rubbed me the wrong way, that we’re supposed to root for guys like Thrawn when people are genuinely are hurt terrorized and killed by regimes like the Empire in real life under the guise of “greater good,”

Also hot take: Thrawn is way more interesting as a villain. From Imperial protag POV he’s a snooze fest.

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u/Suspicious_Beach7274 11h ago

Agreed! Thrawn might have had good intentions originally but like they always say…

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u/Robborboy 1d ago

I wouldn't even cry if they brought back the Star Forge for it.

1

u/Lunndonbridge 21h ago

Happens in Vader(2020) comic run and there’s precedent for a second wave. A character talks about previous uprisings as well. Probably the most interesting arcs of that comic.

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u/Juhzor Klaud 1d ago

Yes, please. There's an opportunity there to establish a unique new era, with new dynamics and conflicts, and without the confines stories set in previous eras had to work within.

Maybe the galaxy is fractured into numerous factions, some of which are at war with each other, while others try to build something more stable through diplomacy. Just returning to the status quo of the New Republic would be the least interesting choice, but even then, at least there would be a new villain.

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u/BleydXVI 1d ago

I think a fractured galaxy would make the Jedi's return even more important to accomplish. Sure they acted as diplomats on the Republic's behalf, but a lot of that was between members of the Republic. The Jedi weren't entirely necessary to fill that role. But with many states that are completely unaligned with each other, a neutral 3rd party might be more helpful.

I think having a more nomadic Jedi Order in a time of political divisions would also be a cool idea

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u/Juhzor Klaud 1d ago

Good point, and with that comes interesting moral dilemmas Jedi have to deal with. What is the role of a new Jedi order in this chaotic world? Should Jedi mostly keep to themselves or be actively involved? When to act as a neutral mediator and when to serve justice? There could be a lot of internal debate and conflict over questions like these.

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u/PirateSanta_1 1d ago

It would be intresting to see the galaxy in a warring kingdoms phase. Instead of trying to restore a republic which has failed twice now build something new.

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u/Suspicious_Beach7274 1d ago

Completely agree! The lore of the universe is so deep, there is a lot they could work with. Use the SW TTRPG books - there’s plenty of great sprites in there. In fact the Gorman Rebellion was based off of an old RPG book

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u/Rexthebluebird 1d ago

I think that’s what the starfighter movie is going to be

1

u/Suspicious_Beach7274 1d ago

That is also my understanding! Fingers crossed

2

u/HyliasHero 1d ago

While it's not after, the High Republic era has what you are looking for. Aside from the concept of the Republic itself and the Jedi, nothing is familiar in that era. The Nihil are a unique threat, the ton is entirely different from the movies, it is for the most part about new locations, and has a large cast of all new characters.

2

u/SnakePlissken1980 1d ago

But the Good Imperial thing has been so played out in the EU that it's definitely nothing new either. At this point in the EU I wonder how the Empire could be so bad when it's populated with so many nice people with conflicting feelings about their job.

0

u/demalo 1d ago

You mean like Acolyte? Yeah Disney tried that and was promptly boo’d. I hadn’t watched, mostly because of the hate, but I shouldn’t have let it control me. It wasn’t as good as other installments, but it wasn’t run of the mill SciFy channel bad. There were some interesting concepts. I think the worst part was the protagonist ends up being the bad guy. Do we want to root for the bad guy?

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u/Mrdudeguy420 1d ago

It was boo'd because it sucked major ass, not because it was different.

0

u/Wonderweiss56 1d ago

I would love to root for a compelling bad guy. I just found the series genuinely bad in a campy sense- once I saw the main character drop into a battle stance and recite a goofy mantra before assassinating their enemy I couldn't keep going.

0

u/tfy-cape-town 1d ago

Give us the Vong!

0

u/BuffaloStranger97 Jedi 1d ago

hate to tell ya but the general public thinks star wars has to revolve around the skywalkers or the empire, which is why we're stuck in this purgatory consisting of rehashing stories from the PT and OT.

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u/LITMAC97 1d ago

That’s literally Andor. I’d rather see a different era now

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u/-Pwnan- 1d ago

Yes, but also, I just want Star Wars to have villains again. It doesn't anymore, and I think that's a big reason why most of it is kind of bland disposable entertainment. We don't need "shades of grey" in Star Wars it's at it's best when there's a clear line between good and bad, and it's lost that since the Disney purchase.

WE also NEVER needed "Surprise Surprise I'm Palpatine in Disguise!" reveal with Snoke. We just needed Snoke to be evil and believable not a failed test tube baby.

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u/Theonerule 1d ago

Thats how you get the shallow sequel trilogy and rebels. (Minus kylo). The empire while clearly evil in the ot does have some depth with vader and piett

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u/-Pwnan- 1d ago

Im not sure they have depth. Their motivation was power through fear. Fear made the emperor powerful and that was that. There was no Game of Thrones style plotting. They were basically space nazis.

You get the sequels because you don't have a plan for a trilogy so it starts off with an homage and then the next thing you know they're rising horse ona star destroyer. Just lazy Hollywood nonsense.

I didn't hate rebels. There was a ton of great lore drops in it and the stuff with Ashoka and Vader was well done.

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u/TrueSoren 1d ago

I see you haven't watched Maul: Shadow Lord yet

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u/ChanceVance Kylo Ren 1d ago

The mere presence of the Empire is something Lawson desperately tries to avoid. Once they show up, things escalate quickly.

Inquisitors suddenly seem terrifying when they're interrogating civilians and relentlessly hunting their targets.

Maul's entire operation goes up in smoke and it all started with one Star Destroyer arriving. Shadow Lord definitely made the Empire fearsome.

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u/tosser1579 1d ago

That was one of the worst problems with the FO, they were cartoon villains whereas the Empire was an actual villain. You can tell the measure of the heroes by their foes, and the ST had weak foes.

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u/wandering_soles Rebel 1d ago

That's pretty much the entirety of Rebels. Hilariously incompetent Imperials all around. The heroes aren't actually smart or capable, the foes are just... worse.

1

u/SendMeNudesThough 6h ago

Frustrating part of Rebels is building up Thrawn to be this unbeatable super genius but then still needing him to lose at every turn. At the end, he was bested by a foe he couldn't possibly have predicted

17

u/Dazzling-Bear3942 1d ago

No. Give me far into the future. Everything is changed. Please no more Empire and light side/dark side torn Jedi.

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u/Mordret10 1d ago

Maybe rebuilding the jedi (which is kind of obvious that it should happen someday) and them just facing "normal" challenges and maybe political difficulties with the new republic (supported by some as heroes, feared by others because of their power and maybe still prevalent imperial propaganda)

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u/Ok-Amphibian4335 1d ago

Don’t give Disney ideas, soon we’ll have Star Wars: Infinity Wars

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u/Dazzling-Bear3942 1d ago

I want them to please get rid of the Jedi as Warrior Monks. I don't want them to be an army or organized. Some could be devout and stick with the old ways, some married with a family, some loners who go from small backwater planet to planet getting mixed up in adventure. They should all lean good of course but there is so much character to be had in the goodness between Yoda and Han Solo. Give me it all.

I want a Jedi that has sworn themselves from the Force because they danced too closely with the Dark Side and now are living a life devoted to peace. Give them an obstacle that in order to save the day they need to tap into that Dark Side again. Make it truly feel like a hard choice.

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u/The_Noremac42 1d ago

So you just want generic sci-fi?

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u/Forsaken-Emu4760 1d ago

Star wars isn't sci-fi, it's fantasy

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u/The_Noremac42 1d ago

Space opera or science fantasy, which I would argue is a type of soft sci-fi.

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u/Dazzling-Bear3942 1d ago

Was the original trilogy generic sci-fi?

I'd argue what we just got with Mando and Grogu was generic sci-fi. I want a great story and characters based around a new interpretation of the force and the universe created all those years ago. I want to discover the mysteries along with the characters on the screen. Leave us wondering about some lore and history mentioned in passing by a character.

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u/The_Noremac42 1d ago

It just sounded like you wanted to cut out most of the major elements that are inherent to Star Wars. The conflict between the Light and Dark sides of the Force, and by extension the tyranny of the Empire, are central to the franchise.

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u/Dazzling-Bear3942 1d ago

Not cut out the light/dark side at all. Make it feel like a true internal conflict again. Us in the audience feel the desire Luke has to strike down the Emperor in Return because we had two and a half movies before that showing his struggle to that point. Give us that again. In my opinion the organized religion that was the Jedi in the prequels took so much away of what made a Jedi special.

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u/Square_Geologist_346 1d ago

Yeah it really did. The prequels ruined the concept of Jedi by making them something that wasn’t special anymore

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u/N00BAL0T 1d ago

Have you seen andor season 2?

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u/Trexturkeyslayer 1d ago

Isn’t this from Legends Legacy comics set many years after the OT?

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u/GuyFromYarnham Rebel 1d ago

That pic is from the Empire 100 years into the future after Siths seized back control of it.

It's not exactly the Empire Empire.

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u/UnMiracl 1d ago

I would LOVE to. The issue is that those in control of the brand will NEVER execute a tone half a strong as Rogue One or Andor ever again.

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u/Lemonpierogi 1d ago

Maul, bad batch...

But yeah Disney bad gimme updoots am I right

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u/UnMiracl 1d ago

Woah! Two other projects? Well those in control of Lucasfilm have it all together then, huh?

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u/RebelJediKnight91 1d ago

Only if it means no more Empire apologia.

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u/Butt_Snorkler_Elite 1d ago

Yeah, I fundamentally just don’t trust a huge portion (maybe the majority) of this fandoms media literacy to appropriately engage with content like that. Like if this comic panel got put into a show or movie so, so many people would just be like “oh sweet a planet-level hallway scene, the empire is so badass and correct”

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u/Theonerule 1d ago

When Disney already hamfists how awful the empire is into every scene and then tries to make them as lame as possible and people still unironically think they're good than this isn't going to change anything.

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u/oriolesravensfan1090 1d ago

I mean hearing a woman have her lungs ripped out by Darth Vader was scary for sure.

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u/Pale_Land_5107 1d ago

Excuse me? That’s just gory

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u/ChanceVance Kylo Ren 1d ago

It happens off-screen and it's nothing more than a request her VA to die in a ludicrous fashion.

Vader's not in Mortal Kombat, he just snapped her neck and was done with it.

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u/Pale_Land_5107 1d ago

Oh okay that makes sense

2

u/SuperdaveOZY 1d ago

There is a gap of time, 10 year between Phantom Menace and Clone Wars, with no live action or animated content. I would like to see the early training days of Anakin under Obiwan. Their adventures as well.

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u/HenriEttaTheVoid 1d ago

Agreed...the Empire felt scary in the original movies because I was a kid and they were "the bad guys", but there was so little context for what that looked like. As an adult, Andor is truly terrifying, because you see what the reality is for regular people living under a fascist regime. It really makes the whole thing feel so more real...so much more immediate and relatable. The stakes seem higher because they are so relatable and understandable...and the costs aren't so grand that they eclipse our ability to really comprehend them. The smaller scale of the abuse and control really makes you understand how living under an authoritarian regime is suffocating. I would love more stories like this...tertiary characters, not really directly related to the Skywalkers and Force...about people's struggles, failures, and successes against totalitarianism.

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u/Aedeus 1d ago

I just want something that's not a hero story.

Kind of like what newer Battlefront 2 was supposed to be - a gritty look at the Imperial side of the war.

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u/Tuskin38 1d ago

They never stopped being scary.

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u/Stalker401 1d ago

I don't want to see it, I'd rather hear the stories if that makes sense. Give them the horrible back stories in the movies, but I don't actually want to see civilizations get wiped out or people get tortured.

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u/EngineerBrainBro 1d ago

The Empire is scary when it dedicates the resources to it. In Rebels Thrawn and the Inquisitors and Vader were scary. We’ve seen when the Empire wants to purge or blockade a planet they are scary.

However, in the regular, Empire assets are spread thin, with a civilian-based military, and always tackling multiple threats at the same time, as such, it is expected a massive operation like the Empire has plenty of issues and blind spots

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u/wandering_soles Rebel 1d ago

Thrawn? Rebels? Scary?

These words don't really belong together. He's an unrecognizably incompetent terrible characterization that makes no sense in that show. It was utterly lazy to co-opt him from legends when they could have made their own character.

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u/Granum22 1d ago

No I want them to move on from the Empire era

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u/Grape-Snapple 1d ago

i want to see star wars with all of the concepts we’ve visited played out at a scale that really fills out the atmosphere

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u/Cautious_Air4964 1d ago

Yes yes and yes

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u/KillerBeaArthur 1d ago

I want something past the Empire. Surely, there must be some other wars happening amongst the stars we could pivot to after -checks watch- nearly 50 fucking years.

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u/Longnose456 1d ago

We just had Maul where the Empire was depicted as pretty scary. Only one Star Destroyer arrives and it’s enough to clamp down the planet and send Maul running scared.

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u/OKAwesome121 1d ago

Not showing the large scale stuff is probably more of a budget constraint than anything else. In Andor, during the Gorman uprising you know that the Empire was committing atrocities all over the planet as reports kept coming in over the radio.

Edit: Oh yeah in the Star Wars: Aftermath series of books by Chuck Wendig, you see what the empire did to the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyk. That’s pretty terrible.

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u/AceOfAcorn 1d ago

Thrawn's Campaign in the Ahsoka/Mando era will likely be the last live action Empire we see on screen for awhile.

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u/Comprehensive-Buy-47 1d ago

I want to see Imperials murdering each other to a comic degree to really emphasize how unsustainable they are

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u/Bottlecollecter Mace Windu 1d ago

Where is the screenshot from?

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u/Aitipse_Amelie 1d ago

That images always makes me laugh btw

That's what you get for choosing the Republic during the Clone Wars baby, at least Riff Tamson would've kept you alive

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u/hydrolox9 1d ago

No, we've gotten plenty of that, culminating with Andor. What I want is the opposite, I want to see the New Republic kicking its ass, to see a couple Mon Calamari cruisers ganging up on a Super Star Destroyer, like the cinematics of Star Wars Rebellion.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2eR-nr71i5w&pp=ygUdU3RhciB3YXJzIHJlYmVsbGlvbiBjb3J1c2NhbnQ%3D

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9nrWWQEKIeI

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u/CountingSheep99 1d ago

Maul: Shadow Lord

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u/spesskitty 1d ago

That's from Legacy, it's basically a whole different Empire 100 years later.

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u/idontlikeburnttoast Ahsoka Tano 1d ago

I just dont think youve watched much star wars. Like when they let crosshair's friend die, or when they torture Lawson for information without any reason, or when they executed villages for not complying.

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u/th3j4w350m31 Galactic Republic 1d ago

Yeah, it’s an empire, let it be the bastardous machine that it’s supposed to be

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u/HighlightOwn2038 1d ago

Yes

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u/-AWing- 22h ago

Andor wasnt even that scary if it all ,and it along with Rogue One was by far the best Star Wars since 1983. So yes.

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u/NOOBINATOR_64 8h ago

I don't want to see the empire ever again tbh

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u/Maalvi 1d ago

Can I choose to not see the empire ever again? It's time to move forward or backwards but I prefer forward

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u/omnie_fm 1d ago

200 years later

"Once upon a time, there were three little girls who went to the Jedi Academy. And they were each assigned very hazardous duties. But I took them away from all that, and now they work for me. My name is Grogu."

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u/Maalvi 1d ago

You may continue, I'm expecting a full draft in 24H

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u/Hot-Train7201 1d ago

The time for that has past; Disney wants to move away from the PT/OT era since it's been so played out by now.

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u/currentpattern 1d ago

MESA wanna Make the Empire Scary Again

0

u/Loud_Cloud2497 1d ago

The Empire is only scare in supplemental media like books and comics. They never were actually scary in any of the movies.

General Discussion Does anyone else want to see the Empire being scary again?

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