You talk about a one trick pony, this really has to take the cake:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34664930/ns/politics-capitol_hill/
Spoiler:
Regarding SWR, I'm toying around with the following ideas:OT:
* Luke and Leia are not siblings, but rather potential love interests as per the initial designs of the original trilogy.
* Leia is 3-5 years older than Luke, making it a little more realistic that Leia would be both a respected member of the Imperial Senate and a high-ranking official in the Rebellion; Luke would maintain his current age (between 19-21).
* Obi-Wan's comment about Darth Vader betraying and murdering Luke's father will remain; it will be revealed as a deliberate deception on the part of Obi-Wan and Yoda in an effort to steel Luke for the inevitable conflict. Even in current canon, the Jedi are not infallible or perfect even on a moral level, as witnessed by Yoda's arrogance and ignorance resulting in Palpatine's triumph. It's logical to assume that the Jedi would partake in a necessary evil with the stakes so high: Luke is their only real option to defeat the Sith, so they manipulate the truth in order to weaponize him against Vader. It won't make Obi-Wan or Yoda evil, just fallible and, under the right circumstances, prone to deception.
* The "other" mentioned in the Empire Strikes Back will not be Leia, but rather some other prodigious Force user [perhaps Starkiller?]. And he/she will make an appearance of significance.
* The Death Star as commanded by Tarkin will not be the only one in production, though there aren't a lot of them.
* Han shot first. And efforts will be made to give Han a little more of an edge than just the happy-go-lucky smuggler we see.
* Luke does not necessarily share his father's potential nor is he destined to become the most powerful Force user ever. This is critical because mishandling of Luke's power has become a major detriment to the current EU; it's impossible to legitimately threaten a Force-user of his caliber. Instead, to avoid fluctuating levels of ability, Palpatine's belief that "[Luke] could destroy us" is not necessarily based on his Force aptitude -- but quite literally referring to Luke as a catalyst for Vader's betrayal. The issue will remain ambiguous and faithful to the original design of the movies: where Luke is "strong in the Force," not "OMG ALL POWAHFULL!"
* Vader, on the other hand, will be much stronger than depicted in current canon. As the most notorious killer of Jedi in galactic history, he is the second most powerful man in the galaxy in terms of combat and Force prowess. He will be stronger, faster, and more potent than currently depicted, and no single Force-user with the exception of a few (Palpatine, Yoda, Luke, "the other", ect.) is a threat to him at all. He could take on multiple Jedi Knights and Masters and win.
PT:
* I was originally opposed to Dooku being a Sith, since it cast an unnecessary pall over the Separatists, but I'm less sure about it. Because both sides in this war have to be somewhat morally bankrupt: Sith or not, Dooku is a person whose intentions are noble, but methods become increasingly hostile. Likewise, the Republic is a locus of corruption. In either case, Dooku will remain an ex-Jedi Master (and even a member of the High Council).
* Since I personally planned on being largely faithful to A New Hope and the Empire Strikes Back, Yoda's presence in the reconstructed prequel trilogy is very complicated. For the purposes of the story, Yoda was intended to be a mysterious figure whose stature and species were a surprise: he did not look to be a mighty warrior at all. On the other hand, his knowledge of Anakin's fall to the dark side, the Emperor's Sith powers, and "the other" mean that he has to be somewhat involved in the goings on of the original trilogy. Since the idea of him being Dooku's Master adds a unique dynamic to the story, I'd like to keep that.
My rough plan for Yoda is essentially that he is either a current or former member of the Jedi Council who spends most of his time instructing the younger apprentices, but is a powerful voice on the Council since he taught most of its members. He is not the official leader of the Council or of the order, but is probably its most highly respected member.
* The leader of the Council will be a Mace Windu-esque figure (sharing the same name perhaps). Deeply patriotic and loyal to the Republic, but is extraordinarily uncharismatic and intimidating. He's a good man, a great Jedi, but flawed, suspicious, and nigh-unforgiving. I imagine he was once a fan of Dooku's and was hardened by his idol's departure.
* In order to add a unique love/hate dynamic and to give perspective to Dooku's Separatists, I was thinking of making Anakin Skywalker's lover (and Luke's mother) a Separatist.
* We will not deal with infant/adolescent Anakin Skywalker.
* C-3P0 and R2D2 will not be prominently featured (if at all) and neither of them will be creations of Anakin Skywalker.
Rise of the Empire:
* The Clone Wars will just become the Clone War, and it will be between the clone army of the Republic and Dooku's Separatist militia. Droids will be featured, but only in support roles. Initially, I thought that both sides would possess clone armies, but Dooku's Separatists are essentially assuming the role of the Rebellion (except being much larger), so I imagine that Dooku's forces would consist of rougher, dirtier volunteers from the Outer Rim, whereas the Republic has a pristine, elite army.
* Palpatine's role in the Clone War will be similar to his role in current canon, though he will not micromanage the conflict on the same level. Dooku will not be his disciple, politically or otherwise. Instead, Palpatine's greater manipulations will be using the war as a means to acquire further emergency powers from the Senate. As Sidious, he will have a handful of underlings -- perhaps Ventress or Grievous -- in high positions in the Separatist leadership to ensure that the Confederacy stays in conjunction with his greater agenda. But all of this is behind the scenes; he will not circumvent Dooku and lead the Separatists directly.
* We will see the beginnings and development of Palpatine's physical decay as he continues to draw upon the dark side of the Force.
* Initially, when confronted with the existence of Anakin, Palpatine will try to have him killed. Palpatine's first reaction to a threat (as seen with Luke) is to kill it. And then, if he sees a greater opportunity, he'll try to exploit it. And if that fails, it's back to Plan A. So he will try with Anakin. When killing him doesn't work, he sees Anakin as a potential pawn and makes overtures to seduce him to the dark side.
* Tarkin will be Palpatine's proxy while Anakin is out in the war; he appeals to Anakin's bloodlust and Anakin is impressed with Tarkin's unconventionally brutal methods: they get results.
Originally posted by Gideon
Any of that sound decent?
"The Death Star as commanded by Tarkin will not be the only one in production, though there aren't a lot of them."
I think there should just be one Death Star. You know, because it's depicted as the ultimate weapon, there shouldn't be multiple ultimate weapons.
OT: I don't like the idea of the Death Star having counterparts. At least circa ANH. It makes the events of that movie all the more important: destroying this single, unique, massive weapon of death. Puts the plight of the Rebellion and their subsequent victory at higher standing than if they got "just the one of 'em".
The idea of Leia being unrelated to Luke is a good one. No f*cking Solo-god-Jedi children.
The "other" should be Marek (if keeping along the lines of pre-existing characters). I've always had a liking for Palpatine's line of "...this Rebellion we've created will be our undoing." Marek being the second-half of a re-emerged Order, and his previous Sith-affiliations, would give the new Jedi a direct understanding of the Dark Side.
And your idea about Luke being more of a catalyst rather than a powerhouse is golden. Maybe if he hadn't been Messiah-fied in the post-RotJ, but as it is...
PT: Love 'em all.
RotE: Like that one too, but are you saying Dooku should be removed from any Sith affiliations? And what of Sifo-Dyas?
Slash
I think there should just be one Death Star. You know, because it's depicted as the ultimate weapon, there shouldn't be multiple ultimate weapons.
I suppose I'm just eager to dispense with the rampant minimalism. Of course, even if there is only one completed Death Star by the time of Tarkin's death, it is only logical that Palpatine would order the production of more super weapons.
Megalomania and all that.
LL
The idea of Leia being unrelated to Luke is a good one. No f*cking Solo-god-Jedi children.
👆
LL
The "other" should be Marek (if keeping along the lines of pre-existing characters). I've always had a liking for Palpatine's line of "...this Rebellion we've created will be our undoing." Marek being the second-half of a re-emerged Order, and his previous Sith-affiliations, would give the new Jedi a direct understanding of the Dark Side.
This is essentially what I was thinking, though Marek's existence would likely be unknown to Obi-Wan, who was banking everything on Luke.
LL
And your idea about Luke being more of a catalyst rather than a powerhouse is golden. Maybe if he hadn't been Messiah-fied in the post-RotJ, but as it is...
This is a big one. My personal approach of the Force is that it is mystical in nature, not scientific. There is no certainty that simply because Anakin Skywalker was extraordinarily powerful in the Force that his son would be as well. Now, don't get me wrong, I personally intend for Luke to be a more than capable Jedi Knight with a powerful connection to the Force. But as far as the movies are concerned, Luke was just "strong in the Force" -- capable, perhaps even prodigious -- but nowhere is he suggested or implied to be the most powerful Force user ever.
Now I don't intend to outright state Luke's potential levels of power. He might become more powerful than the likes of the Emperor, he might not. Certainly he will be the most powerful Jedi of his time, but that's it.
LL
PT: Love 'em all.
👆
LL
RotE: Like that one too, but are you saying Dooku should be removed from any Sith affiliations? And what of Sifo-Dyas?
As with everything, I'm open to suggestions, feedback, and discussions, since I'd very much like this to be public property as far as KMC is concerned.
Dooku is a very critical character and needs to be handled properly. He is, in a way, the key to Palpatine's grand scheme. His backstory is perfect: a former Jedi Master of great repute who became dissatisfied with the blatant corruption in the Senate. But it is hard to believe that a Jedi Master of seven decades would so quickly succumb to the temptations of the Sith, which is why I was initially opposed to Dooku being a full fledged Sith apprentice; not to mention that it would automatically cast the Separatists as the villain of the piece, though the truth is that the Republic is equally despicable.
On the other hand, as Lightsnake has pointed out to me, no person in the saga is beyond temptation. Luke stumbled more than once, and he's the archetypal hero. So even Dooku's formal training and experience don't make him immune to the nature of the dark side.
The idea that I'm toying with sees Dooku start out with the most noble and honorable of intentions: after abandoning the order, he seeks to expose the Senate's corruption through political reform and rhetoric rather than war. I imagine that Palpatine would secretly sabotage every attempt, driving Dooku to rage and disgust. From there, Dooku would sow the seeds of secession, use his personal charisma and authority to gain popular support with disenfranchised systems in the Outer Rim. From there, Palpatine would play Dooku rather like he plays Anakin: exploiting their weaknesses, driving Dooku's distaste with the Republic to contempt, and then to madness, putting him down the dark path.
But even that doesn't require Dooku to be an apprentice.
Sifo-Dyas on the other hand was a unique aspect to the story; but from my perspective, it makes no sense for the reigning galactic government to be completely unarmed. I imagine the clone army will have stood for a long time, nullifying the need for Sifo-Dyas to order a new one.
Sounds good. Hopefully that'll eliminate Jango's existence as well.
Though I never really had anything against the movies' Clones and their origins. The 1000 years of general disarmament the Republic had made for a good excuse to its complacency and corruption. The Clones appearing Deus Ex style added a touch of controversy, and made for a period where the galaxy is still looking at them like "The f*ck?"
And Dooku's "retcon" is tricky. He's a great character I feel, but when it was revealed he was at his core an over-enamored, xenophobic, genocidal, wuss... something went wrong. Goes without saying the entire Clone Wars television series and its novels would be undone. Dooku became a little too evil for my tastes (and the Seps constant losers).
I would argue that corruption is more likely to ensue in a more militant society. The Republic's disarmament is simply reckless and thoughtless; perhaps downscaling on a massive level, but a nation without an organized militia is simply begging for attack.
And my you echo my sentiments exactly on Dooku.
Dooku had such... promise. I'd like to see him corrupted in some way, but how to tie him in with Palpatine and avoid him becoming a Hitler/boot-licker to a "black hole" is tough. As mentioned, he should remain a more Ozymandias-style character--necessary evil to save the galaxy rather than evil for its own sake.
Corruption in a militaristic society would fit here, but personally I prefer the Empire to be the era of armed corruption, and the PT Republic to be the era of decadence and complacency--adds credence to Dooku's ideology and the Conferation's existence.
The Republic still needs a standing army to facilitate the demands of the plot and to provide some logic to a previously inept move on the part of George Lucas and the EU; the Republic endured threats for twenty five millennia, due in no small part to an impressive military force. It makes no sense that the government would abolish the standing military in an endeavor to maintain peace. Downscaling the military in absence of forseeable threats (similar to what happened to the U.S. during the Clinton administration) is much more believable; the Republic Armed Forces would consist almost entirely of clone personnel -- an elite, pristine army that hasn't seen active warfare in a long time. Their enemies would be disgruntled Separatists primarily in the Outer Rim and other regions removed from the Core.
As far as the Empire being the era of armed corruption, that would absolutely be the case insofar as the Empire's military is far larger and more active than any government before it. I envision that the Republic's army would be functioning, but hadn't seen real war in millennia, which gives the battle-hardened Separatists (since the Outer Rim is always prone to planetary disputes and wars) another advantage.
As far as finding a way to tie Dooku in with Palpatine, I'm definitely open to suggestions there.
Ah I like that idea. Like Roman legions gone soft with nothing left to conquer having to face off against the more numerable barbarians.
As for Dooku, I'm really at a loss. The movies tied him in with Palps as a fellow Sith. I honestly can't see a Jedi Master such as Dooku falling prey to Palpatine's machinations without going so far as becoming one of them.