The Force Awakens The ISB: Imperial Speculation Bureau

[godisawesome]

Here we may discuss the Empire's progress into the new trilogy and its continuing efforts in the war against the Rebel Scum!

These guys are still hanging around and using Stormtroopers and TIEs, so obviously the death of the Emperor was not quite the fatal blow to the Empire as a whole that the Rebels thought it would be.

So, what speculation has emerged and what remains to be repeatedly pored over and hypothesized about? A brief overview of the stuff that I have heard (feel free to correct me or add in your own rumors/confirmations):

The Empire apparently exists in a state of Cold War with the Republic.

Stormtroopers continue to make their presence felt throughout the Galaxy, and one of our heroes has abandoned his post, deserted in the line of duty.

TIE fighters continue to screech across the skies and space.

A chrome Stormtrooper, with a hood, was spotted on set, and speculation labels the Trooper as Gwendoline Christy, with further hypothesizing arguing she may be the light-claymore-wielding Hunter we see in the teaser. Supposedly, she is tracking down our deserter.

So, what state is the empire in? Are we talking a large territory and man power still on a scale over that of the Republic? Or are we talking a militarized and tested rump state, where they have finally learned to defend their small territory through massive training and indoctrination? Will we see a single Emperor or a despotic war council? How aggressive are they?

And, perhaps most importantly, do they have any remaining ties to the Sith and the older adherents of the Dark Side?

 

[Iceman]

I don't know, but.....Long Live the Empire!!

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I will like that they show that simply cutting off the head of the snake wouldn't always mean the death of the rest of the body in such a rapid period of time. If you think about it, there would be various power bases that would have probably benefited from the Imperial system. Just because Palpatine exercised such strong central control and then died would mean the end of everything that underpinned the Imperial state. So I could see "The Empire" limping along with fractured territories and alliances formed to create an alternative to the New Republic/Rebel Alliance government. What would actually make sense would be to have the "outer rim" territories be still under the Imperial flag. Far away from the main systems and nominally under Coruscant's control under the best of circumstances, I could see those areas still chaffing under the Imperial boot heel, maybe even doing worse than at the end of ROTJ.

 

[godisawesome]

I'm looking at Max Von Sydow on the cast list, and I'm thinking we could see a very militaristic Imperial Officer being the Emperor if he's playing that type of guy; he's got the authority, the acting credentials, and I'd love to see some British audiences look at this film and go "Hey, it's Empero Ming! This guy's hilarious! Wait what's he doing?.....Holy Force he's terrifying!"

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Max Von Sydow is rumored to be playing a cyborg who works on Tatooine and knows Daisy's character. So I doubt he is an Imperial.

 

[Steyin]

I'd compare the Empire to the Middle East and the Emperor to Saddam. Everything was more or less regulated with him in power, and now that he's gone, internal chaos and fighting for power and control.

This is an organization that was widespread throughout the galaxy. It wasn't going away due to one little victory. Sure that victory could stir masses into support and additional resources for the rebellion, but it wasn't something that was going to change over night.

 

[godisawesome]

That's kind of the question: are we to expect an amalgamation of despotic warlord kingdoms, with incredible diversity in armament and styles of rule, with one overlord precariously perched atop? Or are we to expect an extremely centralized and paranoid autocracy, where all resources and manpower fit a structure designed for maximum efficiency, but only as a result of numerous lost conflicts that neccesitated a restructuring?

The latter seems more inclined to provide the context in which a deserter might find themselves hounded across the galaxy by a Chrometrooper, but there's ways it could happen in a fractured society as well.

Personally, I'm thinking we'll see more of a centralized power structure, if for no other reason than it would make the story cleaner and allow for the chaotic infighting to happen during the story: imagine an Empire already torn apart once by warlordism, restructured around a new, not-quite-Sith power structure, only for the Sith to rear their head again and send the entire system back down into chaos.

 

[Kokomo29]

I know we saw them in the teaser, but I really hope to see some good ol' TIE Fighters. Do you think the pilots will have an upgrade or look the same as they did in the original trilogy?

 

[StarLord]

Well the Rebels have an updated look, as do the Stormtroopers so I don't see why they wouldn't get the same treatment.

 

[Kokomo29]

I just hope that we see them I'm super curious how the Empire has changed in the years after the Emperor's fall.

 

[xuncledan]

I'd compare the Empire to the Middle East and the Emperor to Saddam. Everything was more or less regulated with him in power, and now that he's gone, internal chaos and fighting for power and control.

This is an organization that was widespread throughout the galaxy. It wasn't going away due to one little victory. Sure that victory could stir masses into support and additional resources for the rebellion, but it wasn't something that was going to change over night.

excellent comparison!!

 

[godisawesome]

I'm kind of hoping everything the Empire has is a bit more resilient now; they should demonstrate that in spite losing the most pivotal battle of the war and facing massive popular uprisings, they lived long enough to reevaluate their command structure and strategic policy.

I'm not going to lie, I also figure that in order for the Empire to still be in existence, they'd have to recentralize at some point in the backstory. As much as I love the warlordism idea for the post-Palpatine Empire, I figure by now thing shave stabilized enough that there's a clear heirarchy. Perhaps the Sith resurgence can trigger some kind of renewed Civil War, with a Thawne-esque Imperial making a teeth clenched truce with the Republic while a Zsinj and Isard type of Imperial join the new dark siders.

And does anybody else like the idea of Gwendoline Christy as a new type of Inquisitor/Chrometrooper on the trail of Finn? I love the idea of lesser Foce users being given more practical missions and jobs by the new Empire. Especially if it's clear that while they are corrupted by the dark side, they aren't as subsumed by it as the Sith. And if Luke and his Jedi absolutely pwn some.

 

[godisawesome]

And we have our TIE Fighter variant!

 

[HarryOsborn]

Who's it holding? Christie? Kylo? Serkis?

 

[Soapy]

TIE Shuttle? Also are those Imperial Guards at the bottom?

 

[godisawesome]

It seems they are, yes. Also, the more fighter based design makes me hope the new Emperor is some kind of military war hero, as opposed to q Sith Lord.

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

And we have our TIE Fighter variant!

This looks cool.

 

[HaloBurn]

I always thought the Empire were based on the Nazis and the Rebels on the allied forces of WW2. In today's context I can't help wondering about desert dwelling insurgents with a religious agenda rising against a military superpower.

 

[Apollo]

I'm looking at Max Von Sydow on the cast list, and I'm thinking we could see a very militaristic Imperial Officer being the Emperor if he's playing that type of guy; he's got the authority, the acting credentials, and I'd love to see some British audiences look at this film and go "Hey, it's Empero Ming! This guy's hilarious! Wait what's he doing?.....Holy Force he's terrifying!"

I heard he was playing a "warm and loving grandfather" type character. There was leaked art work that looked like it was Sydow's character. He didn't look menacing at all. t:

 

[godisawesome]

So, anybody else like the idea that the Inquisitors will be the main Imperial force users in this movie? Rebels showcased a pretty effective starter villain in one. Maybe Kylo Ren and Serkis's character are a pair of Inquisitors, with Kylo having greater ambitions?

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

I think it's a new Empire. Look at that new logo:

Spoiler

 

[Octoberist]

It's not the Empire anymore. It's the First Order:

http://www.starwars7news.com/2015/0...wakens-flametrooper-snowtrooper-and-more.html

 

[ares834]

I think it safe to say it's not going to be a New Empire. But it likely will be restructured with perhaps a new name.

Edit: And apparently it does have a new name. Huh. Guess it can't really be the Galactic Empire anymore if it doesn't control the whole galaxy.

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

First Order... I like the name.

 

[Gianakin_]

Love the name, as well as the name change. Hopefully that means a change in their... activities, too (eg. it being a more ruthless faction).