OK...just hear me out. (And this article is CHOCK FULL OF SPOILERS...so, yeah...you've been warned.)
There is a logic to why Palpatine (in one form or another) might be prominent in the new movies, and why that's not so bad and why it's not really so far fetched of a theory. The idea of an ancient Sith entity whose lifespand has been unnaturally extended in an ultimate quest for immortality is well within the spirit and the mythology of the Star Wars Saga. And this means the possibility of a reincarnated Sidious is not necessarily far fetched.
One note...no reminders are necessary regarding the Extended Universe shift to Legendary status, and, thus, "non-canonical". We know. We get it. Not a problem. It is what it is. But for the purpose of this essay...what is important is to show these decades of legendary content relate to Lucas' original vision of his Galaxy Far Far Away, and what that can tell us about the general themes that may be a part of the Sequel Trilogy (Episodes VII, VIII and IX).
Let's start with what we know (or at least, what we reasonably think we know)...
• George Lucas reportedly wrote all nine treatments together in the 60s & 70s as one long movie. We know from interviews from the Maker himself that it was meant to be one single saga. And what did we learn from the films as released?
One note...no reminders are necessary regarding the Extended Universe shift to Legendary status, and, thus, "non-canonical". We know. We get it. Not a problem. It is what it is. But for the purpose of this essay...what is important is to show these decades of legendary content relate to Lucas' original vision of his Galaxy Far Far Away, and what that can tell us about the general themes that may be a part of the Sequel Trilogy (Episodes VII, VIII and IX).
Let's start with what we know (or at least, what we reasonably think we know)...
• George Lucas reportedly wrote all nine treatments together in the 60s & 70s as one long movie. We know from interviews from the Maker himself that it was meant to be one single saga. And what did we learn from the films as released?
- The saga was about universal themes of good versus evil. Personal sacrifice for the greater good. Luke was willing to sacrifice himself, if it meant the redemption of his father. This was the only way he knew he could prevent Vader from continuing his reign of terror throughout the Galaxy. Anakin had a similar goal. He was willing to turn his back on the Light Side, his friends and all that he held dear if it meant the salvation of his true love. With this ultimate control of life over death, he would have the strength to prevent all conflict in the Galaxy, with a black boot on the face of the populace forever.
- But it was also about the theme of staying in harmony with the natural world and the dangers of separation from through technology. Machine armies, clones built in sterile laboratories followed by cybernetic nightmares all were given as examples of the ever growing distance between the natural world and our manipulation of the same.
- It further explored this same separation from nature through manipulation of the world for personal benefit. The Sith goals of utilizing natural powers selfishly is what distinguishes the Light Side and the Dark. Both seek to tap into the universe's natural strength and wonder. But the Light Side uses this understanding as a way to stay connected to the universe. The Dark Side rejects these connections and desires using the strength of the universe without concern for the consequences anyone or anything else.
• In 1977, themes of power of life over death itself were established with the apparent "death" of Obi-wan. The Light Side had found a way to overcome death with interconnectedness. Audiences did not yet know how significant this residual connection between Luke and Ben would be to to overall saga.
• In 1980, Master Yoda described true knowledge as recognizing that we are luminous beings...not crude matter. It is something inside and intangible that is where we find out greatest strength.
• In 1983, an unexplained burst of accompanied the "death" of Palpatine. When Vader returned to the Light to save his offspring, he was bombarded with waves of uncontrolled electricity streaming from the Emperor and the torrent of blue fury emanating from the core of the Death Star following Palpatine's fall. The true nature of the energy and strength contained with the Dark Lord was at last reveal and released from his tight grip of control.
• In 1983, an unexplained burst of accompanied the "death" of Palpatine. When Vader returned to the Light to save his offspring, he was bombarded with waves of uncontrolled electricity streaming from the Emperor and the torrent of blue fury emanating from the core of the Death Star following Palpatine's fall. The true nature of the energy and strength contained with the Dark Lord was at last reveal and released from his tight grip of control.
For all of their plotting and scheming, the ultimate goal of Sidious, the apparent apprentice of Darth Plagiues, was never realized. For the decades in the story that followed Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine and Vader never reached their stated goal: "To cheat death is a power only one has achieved, but if we work together, I know we can discover the secret."
Narrative Structure as a Clue:
When you think of each set of trilogies as one connected component of an overall connected trilogy, then each set of trilogies becomes an act in a massive three act saga. Each Act is part of a whole...not intending to be consumed separate from one another. With the Dark Side's obsession with cheating death featuring so prominently in the first two acts, it is no stretch to speculate that the third and final act will delve into the resolution of themes developed in the first earlier content.
• Although he never intended the Extended Universe to supersede any of his story and even knowing that the Story Group would re-boot the saga, it is well known that George Lucas was a participant in all of the content set in his Galaxy, Far, Far Away from 1977 on. His consultation was embedded in all aspects of the growing body of work, and he could have nixed or altered any story that he did not feel was consistent with the world view that he had created for his version of the great monomyth. So, assuming that he had already laid out Episode VII and beyond, then his guidance for the Extended Universe would have accounted for where he knew the story should progress after the destruction of the Second Death Star.
The Extended Universe has laid out the ultimate goal of the Sith as a quest for immortality. From before Bane and through Plagueis, Sidious and Vader and beyond...all have sought a way to circumvent death.
An early piece to focus on this theme was the 1991 Dark Horse comic series, Dark Empire, by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy followed by Dark Empire II and Empire's End. In this amazing story, our hero Luke comes to discover that the massive blue cloud rushing from the heart of the second Death Star was, in fact, Palpatine's consciousness and his Dark Side version of a soul. Still unable to truly commune with the universe, the Dark Side practitioner was relegated to finding a new shell to latch onto...his own clone. It was a vessel he spent years preparing for as a means of cheating death.
At the time, many fans dismissed this plotline as repetitive and exploitative, by simply bringing back an old, tested villain as a spoil for the heroes to overcome. But with further development of the saga over the decades that followed, showed how much this idea of unnatural resurrection actually fits perfectly within the overall saga.
This plotline features heavily throughout the on-going Massively Multiplayer On-line Game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. In it they present an ancient Sith Emperor using unnatural Dark secrets to rob the life of others for the unending continuation of his own. One consciousness reaching through the ages to cling to existence no matter what the cost.
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So, what does all this tell us about the coming sequels, Episode VII (The Force Awakens), Episode VIII (The Last Jedi) and Episode IX?
Possibly nothing. But possibly everything. It really depends on how much of Lucas' original treatments actually explored these themes of a quest for immortality and also on how much of his original treatments were incorporated into the new film and into the rest of the Story Group canon.
Since we know that Lucas had final authority for the stories in the Expanded Universe, then it makes sense to think that he would not have allowed something that was inherently inconsistent with his vision of what would follow the events of Episode VI (Return of the Jedi). And if the basic structure of all nine films was truly fleshed out pre-1977, then based on the entirety of the first six films, it certainly would fit the narrative to have a Sith Emperor live on past death. The Star Wars: The Old Republic Massive Mulitplayer On-line Game explores this with the discovery/revelation that there has actually only been one Sith Emperor for eons with the twisted spirit clinging to life usurping one body and one life after another.
It is widely reported that the script for Episode VII underwent vast changes throughout it's development. This is common for any collaborative work of art. But the nature of these changes as well as the final outcome remains a highly guarded secret. Even "leaked" rumors of the story and events of The Force Awakens were just that...rumors. Until the lights went down on December 17, 2015, the story remained a mystery.
And now, with the coming Episode VIII (The Last Jedi) there are still no way to know if changes from Lucas' scripts deal with the actions of the protagonists and antagonists of the story, or if the themes reportedly outlined in the early 1970's were abandoned. And the resolution of the entire saga will not be concluded until 2019, with the lights coming up after Episode IX.
But with the level of reverence that JJ Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and the rest of the Story Group, as well as all participants in the production have for George Lucas' body of work, I find it difficult to believe that these themes embedded at the very core of decades of storytelling will be left untold.
What we can conclude is that if any of the original themes remain, then it would not be far fetched for Palpatine or some form of his essence as a link in a long chain of the Dark Side's quest for power to feature prominently.
That's my story. And I'm sticking to it. Until 2019...we can discuss this again then.
• Although he never intended the Extended Universe to supersede any of his story and even knowing that the Story Group would re-boot the saga, it is well known that George Lucas was a participant in all of the content set in his Galaxy, Far, Far Away from 1977 on. His consultation was embedded in all aspects of the growing body of work, and he could have nixed or altered any story that he did not feel was consistent with the world view that he had created for his version of the great monomyth. So, assuming that he had already laid out Episode VII and beyond, then his guidance for the Extended Universe would have accounted for where he knew the story should progress after the destruction of the Second Death Star.
At the time, many fans dismissed this plotline as repetitive and exploitative, by simply bringing back an old, tested villain as a spoil for the heroes to overcome. But with further development of the saga over the decades that followed, showed how much this idea of unnatural resurrection actually fits perfectly within the overall saga.
This plotline features heavily throughout the on-going Massively Multiplayer On-line Game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. In it they present an ancient Sith Emperor using unnatural Dark secrets to rob the life of others for the unending continuation of his own. One consciousness reaching through the ages to cling to existence no matter what the cost.*********************************************
Possibly nothing. But possibly everything. It really depends on how much of Lucas' original treatments actually explored these themes of a quest for immortality and also on how much of his original treatments were incorporated into the new film and into the rest of the Story Group canon.
Since we know that Lucas had final authority for the stories in the Expanded Universe, then it makes sense to think that he would not have allowed something that was inherently inconsistent with his vision of what would follow the events of Episode VI (Return of the Jedi). And if the basic structure of all nine films was truly fleshed out pre-1977, then based on the entirety of the first six films, it certainly would fit the narrative to have a Sith Emperor live on past death. The Star Wars: The Old Republic Massive Mulitplayer On-line Game explores this with the discovery/revelation that there has actually only been one Sith Emperor for eons with the twisted spirit clinging to life usurping one body and one life after another.
It is widely reported that the script for Episode VII underwent vast changes throughout it's development. This is common for any collaborative work of art. But the nature of these changes as well as the final outcome remains a highly guarded secret. Even "leaked" rumors of the story and events of The Force Awakens were just that...rumors. Until the lights went down on December 17, 2015, the story remained a mystery.
And now, with the coming Episode VIII (The Last Jedi) there are still no way to know if changes from Lucas' scripts deal with the actions of the protagonists and antagonists of the story, or if the themes reportedly outlined in the early 1970's were abandoned. And the resolution of the entire saga will not be concluded until 2019, with the lights coming up after Episode IX.
But with the level of reverence that JJ Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and the rest of the Story Group, as well as all participants in the production have for George Lucas' body of work, I find it difficult to believe that these themes embedded at the very core of decades of storytelling will be left untold.
What we can conclude is that if any of the original themes remain, then it would not be far fetched for Palpatine or some form of his essence as a link in a long chain of the Dark Side's quest for power to feature prominently.
That's my story. And I'm sticking to it. Until 2019...we can discuss this again then.
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