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Yeah, I don't think it's likely. Really the easiest characters from the EU to write in would be the ones from the Rogue/Wraith Squadron books, even if it was just the names of a few minor characters or a green accented X-Wing. Given this is a movie called Rogue One and doesn't appear to have as the climax an enormous space battle featuring 12 or less X-Wings against every man and his dog manning their fully operational battle stations, I don't think them taking the idea on at all is likely.

Although I would laugh if the apparent successful pairing of fighter pilots and intelligence agents leads to Mon Monthma musing that it might not be bad idea to experiment with towards the end of the film.

Sea Skimmer wrote:Seems like a real hackjob were going to get. Super implausible character, who has to be another English sounding white women of course for reasons, with the worst possible horrible traits for being a secret agent/spy/covert anything, and a bunch of really dumb looking fighting. I was hoping these side story movies would be where some more exoticism came back into the franchise but looks like nope. Certainly I don't see a trace. Frankly the moment I saw the moron with the staff I just gave up hope, I'll have to settle for being happy if it isn't a literal Force Awakens 2.0.

The fact that this is from the director for Godzilla, which could put most of its problems squarely on poor direction and a failure to give the audience what it rationally wanted is also filtering my expectations and opinions.

Agreed on all fronts, aside from the visuals this looks like another formalaic popcorn movie (even got the "rebel kid" stereotype down).

Sea Skimmer wrote:Seems like a real hackjob were going to get. Super implausible character, who has to be another English sounding white women of course for reasons, with the worst possible horrible traits for being a secret agent/spy/covert anything, and a bunch of really dumb looking fighting. I was hoping these side story movies would be where some more exoticism came back into the franchise but looks like nope. Certainly I don't see a trace. Frankly the moment I saw the moron with the staff I just gave up hope, I'll have to settle for being happy if it isn't a literal Force Awakens 2.0.

The fact that this is from the director for Godzilla, which could put most of its problems squarely on poor direction and a failure to give the audience what it rationally wanted is also filtering my expectations and opinions.

I think Gareth Edwards is a good director, certainly in regards to visual directing. The problem is the script is being written by Whitta, a Lucas-bashing fanboy that never really wrote an excellent script. This is someone that wrote "After Earth", so I don't expect a really good story.

Edwards needs an excellent script to work from. A lot of Disney's decision seems to be making their movies as OT-centric, or OT looking as possible. The idea of actually expanding the SW universe seems to be something they wish to avoid, mainly to avoid pissing all the PT-haters.

A New Hope was a pop corn movie so I'm not worried about that. Bad writing is always a concern, but for a good starwars movie, in my opinion, has more to do with how the cast can mesh together. Anyway, I truly hope they don't even glance in the vague direction of the old EU for stuff. I would much rather they go their own way.

They seem to be picking up all the bad stuff from the old EU.

ray245 wrote:They seem to be picking up all the bad stuff from the old EU.

True. The EU had its moments of shine (like some of the Old Republic timeline stories in games and comics), but Disney opted for the other half with the cheesy Imperial Remnant and Bulboutine wannabes.

NecronLord wrote:

The Romulan Republic wrote:Yes, I know that, of course. Seeing as how I, you know, have watched A New Hope.

But I get the sense that A New Hope covers a fairly short span of time, and presumably I imagine that disbanding the Senate would have been in the works for a while. If this film is set right before A New Hope or overlaps it a little you could work something about the disbanding of the Senate in their.

A senate plot isn't really likely. Disney has demonstrated they're extremely risk-averse with these films; the fans, critics and public didn't like the amount of politics in the prequels, so they're hardly going to give us more than at best, a glimpse, of politics, and really I don't imagine they'd show the senate floor or anything.

Eh, depends on if they're willing to change their game plan in response to new criticism. I've seen quite a bit of complaints about how TFA needed more world building or development of the Republic stuff.

Sea Skimmer wrote:

Adam Reynolds wrote:
I don't see how Thrawn and Mara could really fit into the new continuity. The new Empire dies too quickly from what we saw of the new timeline.

I see about 0.0% chance of Disney directly reusing those storylines, but it'd be easy to insert the characters with minimal changes or new composites (likely) based on them into a new storyline. That really wouldn't be hard at all, indeed given the way Rebels had Vader pulling random force using pawns out of his butt Mara's generalized background already exists in new canon. I don't think this would really be a bad thing since so much of Mara's later history simply cannot happen, and Thrawn while fun in a book was awful drawn out in term of actually doing anything. He could still come out of nowhere to raise hell but it would have to be different. Been a while since those books in any case.

Yeah, you'd have to rewrite the characters a bit, but they'd be useable.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that Thrawn's campaign to rebuild the Empire pretty much couldn't happen, since the Empire pretty much folded at Jakku, one year after Endor. I can see a few options:

1. If they haven't specified who the commanding officer was at Jakku, have it be Thrawn, and have that be his last stand.

2. Have Thrawn be a younger, lower-ranking officer than originally, who was not in a position to rebuild the Empire after Endor, and is currently in the Outer Rim somewhere building his forces and biding his time (TFA seems to show that their are parts of the galaxy that aren't really controlled by either the Republic/Resistance or the First Order).

3. Make him a First Order fleet officer, though I doubt original Thrawn would stoop to serving the First Order. He probably wouldn't regard it as a legitimate successor to the Empire. Still, it would give the First Order a major officer who isn't a frothing at the mouth fanatic (Hux), a coward (Phasma), or completely unstable (Ren).

Mara wouldn't have to change much. She'd probably be an Imperial Inquisitor instead of the Emperor's hand, but same shit, really. Their are evidently more Inquisitors than what we've seen on screen in Rebels (the main Inquisitors for the last season were the Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother, as I recall, suggesting their are quite a few others). You could still have her go after Luke for vengeance post-Endor but end up falling for him. She'd likely be Rey's mother if that were the case, and possibly one of the students of Luke killed by Kylo Ren (though it would be a shame to off such a character off-camera between films).

Yeah, I doubt Disney will go their (though I wouldn't be shocked to see new characters influenced by these two), but it could work.

The Romulan Republic wrote:1. If they haven't specified who the commanding officer was at Jakku, have it be Thrawn, and have that be his last stand.

They already have specified that it was some moff, not Thrawn.

2. Have Thrawn be a younger, lower-ranking officer than originally, who was not in a position to rebuild the Empire after Endor, and is currently in the Outer Rim somewhere building his forces and biding his time (TFA seems to show that their are parts of the galaxy that aren't really controlled by either the Republic/Resistance or the First Order).

This might be the best option honestly if one would have to resurrect Thrawn for the new continuity at all. I prefer him to stay within the realm of legends instead of this new canon.

3. Make him a First Order fleet officer, though I doubt original Thrawn would stoop to serving the First Order. He probably wouldn't regard it as a legitimate successor to the Empire. Still, it would give the First Order a major officer who isn't a frothing at the mouth fanatic (Hux), a coward (Phasma), or completely unstable (Ren).

Really doubt he would be a first order character so I share your doubts to that regard.

Mara wouldn't have to change much. She'd probably be an Imperial Inquisitor instead of the Emperor's hand, but same shit, really.

Highly doubt it. To be an inquisitor you have to be a darksider and Mara never was one. That is what set her apart from the dozen other force sensitive Palpy had working for him and is an important part of her character.

Yeah, I thought option one for Thrawn was probably obsolete now, but I wasn't sure.

I wouldn't mind seeing Thrawn adapted to the new continuity, but it would be easy to mess up and it wouldn't be quite the same as original Thrawn.

As to Mara, fair point regarding her not being full Dark Side. "Grey", maybe. Not sure weather she could work as an inquisitor.

I suppose you could just reintroduce the Emperor's Hand concept. The Inquisitors seem to work for Vader, so it makes sense Palpatine would have his own assassin who works directly for him. Sith aren't known for being trusting, after all.

I still think the unidentified Imperial fleet admiral fleet admiral is Thrawn, or some variation of him that fits this new continuity, since it was Grand Moff Randd who commanded the Imperial fleet at the Battle of Jakku before their surrender and signing of the Galactic Concordance. Moreover, the Wookieepedia cites the Visual Dictionary as stating that "Almost immediately afterwards, Imperial warships began jumping into the Unknown Regions." Could they have retreated to Chiss territory?

I'm also curious if the Galactic Concordance conceded any territory to the official remnants of Empire and who was left to rule it. Mas Amedda?

Galvatron wrote:I still think the unidentified Imperial fleet admiral fleet admiral is Thrawn, or some variation of him that fits this new continuity, since it was Grand Moff Randd who commanded the Imperial fleet at the Battle of Jakku before their surrender and signing of the Galactic Concordance. Moreover, the Wookieepedia cites the Visual Dictionary as stating that "Almost immediately afterwards, Imperial warships began jumping into the Unknown Regions." Could they have retreated to Chiss territory?

This doesn't make any sense though because Pseudo-Thrawns protege was there, as was the flagship of Pseudo-Thrawn. So honestly, the only way this would work would be if Pseudo-Thrawn had sacrificed his hand-picked forces, his flagship and his protege. Wouldn't any sane commander who wants to go rogue sacrifice anything else besiddes the forces most loyal to him?

I'm also curious if the Galactic Concordance conceded any territory to the official remnants of Empire and who was left to rule it. Mas Amedda?

Political hardliners, apparently and the Post-Jakku Empire is essentially collapsed USSR without an army. They do still hold territory in the core and other areas, but militarily they are finishedd.

Thanas wrote:

Galvatron wrote:I still think the unidentified Imperial fleet admiral fleet admiral is Thrawn, or some variation of him that fits this new continuity, since it was Grand Moff Randd who commanded the Imperial fleet at the Battle of Jakku before their surrender and signing of the Galactic Concordance. Moreover, the Wookieepedia cites the Visual Dictionary as stating that "Almost immediately afterwards, Imperial warships began jumping into the Unknown Regions." Could they have retreated to Chiss territory?

This doesn't make any sense though because Pseudo-Thrawns protege was there, as was the flagship of Pseudo-Thrawn. So honestly, the only way this would work would be if Pseudo-Thrawn had sacrificed his hand-picked forces, his flagship and his protege. Wouldn't any sane commander who wants to go rogue sacrifice anything else besiddes the forces most loyal to him?

If you're talking about Admiral Sloane, I think you're mistaken. She was at the Battle of Akiva, but I can't find any source that says she was present at the latter Battle of Jakku as well.

You may be correct in that, but the larger point still remains.

The Romulan Republic wrote:
Eh, depends on if they're willing to change their game plan in response to new criticism. I've seen quite a bit of complaints about how TFA needed more world building or development of the Republic stuff.

Highly unlikely, the people who mention these kind of criticism tends to be drowned out by the fans who finds very few faults with TFA. Not to mention there are way too many industry insiders who bashed the prequels as well, there probably won't be any changes until the whole Disney films starts to collapse upon itself.

Thanas wrote:You may be correct in that, but the larger point still remains.

What's the larger point if you subtract Admiral Sloane from it? Grand Moff Pandion kept trying to convince Sloane to turn control of the SSD Ravager over to him, apparently in some delusional belief that it could turn the tide of the war back to the Empire's favor.

Thrawn (if that's who he is) may have surmised that the New Republic would never stop looking for the Empire's last SSD so, as a calculated sacrifice, he allowed it to fall into the hands of Grand Moff Randd who promptly and predictably lost it in a futile last battle.

Galvatron wrote:Thrawn (if that's who he is) may have surmised that the New Republic would never stop looking for the Empire's last SSD so, as a calculated sacrifice, he allowed it to fall into the hands of Grand Moff Randd who promptly and predictably lost it in a futile last battle.

That's IMO awfully contrived, especially if he moved his people of it that would cause a lot of attention.

However, you slice it, Randd got the ship and Sloane was apparently not around for the battle. So whether or not you think my version of how it happened is contrived, it happened nonetheless. Also, keep in mind that the fleet admiral was already thought dead during the summit on Akiva so I don't think keeping secrets is a major challenge for him. Besides, I'm not suggesting that he took the Ravager's entire crew with him, just the ones that he deemed worthy (e.g. Sloane).

Galvatron wrote:However, you slice it, Randd got the ship and Sloane was apparently not around for the battle. So whether or not you think my version of how it happened is contrived, it happened nonetheless. Also, keep in mind that the fleet admiral was already thought dead during the summit on Akiva so I don't think keeping secrets is a major challenge for him.

No, I find the idea of Thrawn purposely losing his main strength to get into the unknown regions contrived. If he wanted to pull a disappearing act, there are easier methods without losing his fleet.

Besides, I'm not suggesting that he took the Ravager's entire crew with him, just the ones that he deemed worthy (e.g. Sloane).

Sacrificing 90-95% of a loyal crew is excessive, especially since flagships are already crewed with the best.

APlayerHater wrote:

Crazedwraith wrote: Han is clearly having a technical discussion with a repair droid on Hoth in ESB as well.

Depending on one's definition of clearly. As I recall it isn't on frame for very long and I can't remember whether it's speaking droid speech as beeps and boops, or in a language. I mean, the man can't even communicate with the hyperdrive on his own ship.

There are times when characters speak to droids, and the droids sort of wiggle or emote in response, but it would be a leap to say the humans 'understood' the droids.

It was beeps and boops, and he understood what the thing was saying near as I could tell.

And then there's Chopper on Rebels, who the main characters have zero trouble understanding.

I would be interested in seeing an Imperial sided story where the Order is basically melting down post Endor/whatever happens at Jakku. Various factions consolidating power on fortress worlds and essentially a gigantic mess of imperial military hardware being destroyed spectacularly in orbit and on the ground as the various eccentric personalities of the Empire fight over who has the largest hat. Shoot it like a war documentary with interviews of survivors and archival footage.
I didn't like Clone Emperor in Dark Empire, but I sure enjoyed the setup of the warmachine of the empire collapsing in on itself and taking a good chunk of the galaxy with it.

Sacrificing an SSD in a flamboyant and overly convenient "final battle" sounds exactly like the thing Thrawn would orchestrate to hide a strategic withdraw of much larger and flexible force. Put all of the ambitious loyal asshats on the SSD and its escorts and let the New Republic take significant losses trying to take them down. The NR claims victory and the Imperial Remnant can safely sign a treaty to hold important manufacturing and supply worlds while the bulk of the Imperial fleet in hiding can get resupplied and rebuilt in the deep core and unknown regions. Any competent loyalists that actually understood the doctrine he supported would make up the command structure of the fleet.

I wonder if the movie will delve into the defection of the Incom team that created the X-Wings. I am also curious if the movie will end with someone leaving to deliver the plans to Princess Leia.

biostem wrote:I wonder if the movie will delve into the defection of the Incom team that created the X-Wings. I am also curious if the movie will end with someone leaving to deliver the plans to Princess Leia.

Since there are X-Wings sitting in the hangar of Yavin base in the trailer, it is unlikely. Also, this is an EU thing and no one really cares, TBH.

Vympel wrote:

biostem wrote:I wonder if the movie will delve into the defection of the Incom team that created the X-Wings. I am also curious if the movie will end with someone leaving to deliver the plans to Princess Leia.

Since there are X-Wings sitting in the hangar of Yavin base in the trailer, it is unlikely. Also, this is an EU thing and no one really cares, TBH.

Wasn't there a line, (albeit from a cut scene), where one of the flight commanders asks if Luke can handle the fighter, (to which Biggs gives an emphatic "yes!") - I though that was referring to the then-new X-Wing, (though I suppose it could mean starfighters in general).

Vympel wrote:Since there are X-Wings sitting in the hangar of Yavin base in the trailer, it is unlikely. Also, this is an EU thing and no one really cares, TBH.

If only that were the case. But we're both on SB and we've both seen people with the idiotic "similar looking ships as reference = KOTOR RECANONIZED" so yeah...

I don't know why people are so fucking desperate to see the new stuff retreading old ground, but there you go.

biostem wrote:Wasn't there a line, (albeit from a cut scene), where one of the flight commanders asks if Luke can handle the fighter, (to which Biggs gives an emphatic "yes!") - I though that was referring to the then-new X-Wing, (though I suppose it could mean starfighters in general).

That says nothing of the "newness" of X-wings and has everything to do with the fact that Luke is literally a farmboy suddenly being made a fighter pilot with zero training or screening - formal or otherwise. They just gave him a flight suit and a fighter and sent him up.

I wonder if that X-Wing was a spare or if Luke booted someone else off the pilot roster. Anyway, given how people whine how SW ships fly like they are in atmosphere, seems Luke's time in a Skyhopper was good enough for Red Leader.