The explosive destruction of Starkiller Base was a big black eye for Imperial wannabes The First Order, but like all good baddies, they’re bouncing back with new and more sinister plans to subjugate the galaxy. We don’t yet know precisely what those plans are, but earlier today, Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson spoke at length during a panel at Star Wars Celebration, where he clarified a little more about what The First Order’s next move might be.
“Well yeah, I mean Starkiller Base – big loss, big loss. But they did manage to take out the seat of the Republic, and that’s thrown the galaxy into chaos. And The First Order are jumping on that at the beginning of our movie, very aggressively, not sitting on their hands. They’re making some big moves at the start of our film, so things are gonna get dire.”
This confirms earlier rumours about the state of the universe from a couple of months back. Then, we were told that Supreme Leader Snoke was focused on exploiting a stunned and confused Republic, and trying to push the galaxy into outright war. This would take The First Order from a feared but minor organization into one that might be able to truly resurrect the Empire and shatter the era of peace that’s existed since the destruction of the second Death Star.
This leaves General Leia Organa in a very dangerous position. She’s been vindicated in her belief that The First Order represent the galaxy’s biggest threat, but now has to command a fresh army composed of pilots and soldiers who have no direct experience with fighting an imperial enemy. This new danger might even give credence to the constant rumors that Leia’s going to suffer a serious injury in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
It’s fun to speculate, but we probably won’t know the reality of the situation until closer to release of the film on December 15th.
