As a writer, one of my favourite things to do is create my own plots for upcoming movies – basically, write fan-fic. It’s fun to work with characters and environments that you’re already in love with, and it poses a creative challenge to predict plot developments for a story which you don’t fully know inside-and-out. It’s also a lot easier to get other people to read your work online – and hey, you might even get a thing or two right.

That happened to me back in December 2013. Bored one day over Christmas, I decided to collate all of the ideas I had for the then-untitled Star Wars Episode VII into a Word document – and I had a lot of ideas. Throughout the development and production of The Force Awakens I tracked almost all rumours with glee and gusto, and as they started to become more and more accurate I realised that my original treatment (written prior to anything leaking) must be indicative of some psychic powers. Some of them were incredibly obvious to get right, whereas others were a bit of a shock. Luke Skywalker was in hiding (although the search for him was not the catalyst of the film); one of the main characters was a Stormtrooper deserter, whom I envisioned as Idris Elba; the main villain was Han and Leia’s son who had turned to the Dark Side, and killed Leia at the end of the film; Luke’s daughter was the lead and was named Kira, which was actually the original name for Rey in the movie.

As you’ll see, I didn’t get anything 100% right, but rather general ideas or scenarios half-right. A Solo kid was the main villain and he killed one of his parents – but it was Leia, not Han. Luke was missing, but he was found halfway through and rejoined the plot. One of the main leads was a Stormtrooper deserter, however he was an established and gruff space pirate rather than a young, petrified kid.

To continue this little tradition – and have an excuse to think about Star Wars a lot – I’ve spent a lot of time since the release thinking about what events could come to pass in Episode VIII. It’s now April, and my laziness thinking period is over – I’ve got some concrete stuff. Pfft. I’m a reliable writer.

It should be noted that I do not 100% believe that all of this stuff will happen. At most I’ll get one or two things right, and there’ll likely be a few bits in here which end up happening but in a different way to how I envisioned. Then there’s the bits which I think could plausibly happen, but it’s up in the air as to whether they actually will.

…I should ALSO note that I won’t actually spoil Episode VIII in this post, and if I do then it’s completely unintentional. The rumour mill surrounding this is currently very tight, and in the past few weeks I’ve taken a step back to try and preserve some surprise. There’s stuff which I know does happen in the film that I haven’t mentioned here. So, don’t worry, cautious fans – this is just pure, unadulterated fan-fiction.

With that out of the way, let’s get cracking.

POE DAMERON IS GAY

I am 95% certain of this.

Pretty much whenever certain characters spawn sexually-charged fanfiction it’s down to pure wish fulfilment. Sorry, but Sherlock and John Watson aren’t actually gay.

That was different with Poe in The Force Awakens. I, like everyone else, completely fell in love with him, Rey, Finn, BB-8 and so forth. Upon first viewing – I’ve seen it five times in total – I simply enjoyed the bromance and electric chemistry between Poe and Finn, however when I read all about StormPilot (their ‘ship’ name) and watched the movie again I agreed that there was a very clear vibe coming from him which could be interpreted as homosexual or bisexual.

Aside from the lip-bite, I think it comes down to the fact that if the exact same relationship had played out on screen between Finn and Rey, everybody would be screaming about how they’re going to fall in love and have little Jedi babies. When it’s two guys, it’s just “bromance”. Would it be okay to build a really strong friendship between them? Of course, but there’s certainly room for a romantic element. Some may cry “PC!!! LIBERAL AGENDA!!1,” however the fact of the matter is that there are a hell of a lot of LGBT people in the world and it would be very silly if every character in this universe was straight. In fact, they’re not.

Plus, Oscar Isaac basically confirmed it in an interview.

WE’RE GETTING A SIX-MONTH TIME JUMP

Thanks to the Episode VIII production announcement, we know that the movie will be picking up immediately after The Force Awakens, which breaks from franchise tradition a little bit. There’s been a time jump between all the previous movies, but if Rian Johnson and co. were on Skellig Michael re-shooting Rey and Luke Skywalker’s first meeting, then surely there won’t be one at all this time?

Right?

Generally, nobody gives a shit about time in this franchise, with the only gaps of real importance being the ones which separate the trilogies. Aside from that, the filmmakers just tell the story which they want to tell and leave things like dates to the imagination. For example, in The Empire Strikes Back, Han, Leia and co. couldn’t have been flying around in the Millennium Falcon longer than a few days, yet Luke was likely training on Dagobah for a number of weeks or months. At Cloud City, the characters are all in sync again.

It doesn’t make sense to pick up where we left Finn, Poe, Leia, General Hux (Kylo Ren could go either way) and so forth. We don’t need to see Finn come out of his coma, or the First Order/Resistance gathering their strength – just throw in a time jump and stick those things in the opening crawl. However, it doesn’t make an awful lot of sense to skip Rey’s initial training either. It’s the equivalent of having Luke spend most of his time with Yoda off-screen, the audience only meeting him when he has his Vader vision.

I’m dead certain that when we pick up with the majority of the cast around six months to a year (it doesn’t really matter, but my gut says six months) will have passed. When we meet Rey and Luke again no time will have passed, and their storyline takes place during that time gap. By the time she’s finished her initial training/leaves/escapes/whatever, they’ll be all caught up with Finn and Poe and the others. Just like Cloud City.

THE RESISTANCE IS NO MORE

What’s left of the New Republic is now fully aware of how dangerous the First Order are, and they’re not going to waste any time in launching an attack. If they still refuse to act then the remaining senators will be pretty freaking dumb – but I doubt that will happen, thus the need for the Resistance is filled. I wouldn’t be surprised if Leia becomes the new Chancellor (or is at least very high-ranking) and truly leads the charge against the First Order for what they did.

However, this will be with some reluctance. I don’t think Leia will have completely de-attached herself from Ben Solo yet and will be constantly spying for his whereabouts whilst she’s signing off on bombing strikes of Star Destroyers. On one hand, she wants to hope that her son can be redeemed. On the other, he killed his father, and she has a duty and responsibility to lead the broken Republic, unless she wants the galaxy to fall into the hands of Snoke. VIII is going to be a truly difficult journey for Leia.

POE’S LOYALTY WILL BE TESTED

The defining element of Poe’s personality is his fierce loyalty to General Leia. He followed her in the formation of the Resistance because he so strongly believed in the fight against the First Order. Even when he’s captured and marooned on a desert planet, he still makes his way back to them to fight. So it’s only natural that that’s what will be torn to shreds in Episode VIII in order to expand and grow his character.

How? I got no idea. Maybe the Republic will start to use some shady tactics against the First Order which he disagrees with. I just have a strong hunch that this is what will happen. A common writing trope is to put your characters through the wringer by presenting them with situations which challenge who they are. It’s also quite fitting for the “dark” chapter of the trilogy.

Poor Poe.

FINN WILL HAVE AN IDENTITY CRISIS

Aaaaaaand poor Finn.

In the final trailer Finn’s voiceover stated that he was “raised to do one thing,” but now he’s got “nothing to fight for.” Well, at the end of The Force Awakens he finds that. Great, right? Nope.

While he has made his home with the Resistance, there’s still a plethora of questions which that raises regarding his own abilities. The movie made his relative incompetence into somewhat of a joke; the kid is courageous, but he does seem to get into a lot of sticky situations, as well as get beaten up/walked over. That’s now led to some pretty extreme consequences in being put into a coma, and probably having to get a new spine. I think that Finn will begin to have a lot of self-doubt about his life and what he’s supposed to do. Is he cut out to be a hero? Is the Resistance the right place for him? If not, then what the hell is he supposed to do? It seems like the logical progression for his character.

Ultimately, I think Finn will be a hero come Episode IX, and his journey through fulfilling that will be one of the best parts of the new trilogy. So far all we’ve seen of our heroes in this franchise are people who are either naturally heroic or have little trouble learning to be. Finn is the first of his kind in Star Wars, and I can’t wait to see how his story unfolds.

POE, FINN AND BB-8 ARE GOING ON AN ADVENTURE

This one is pretty obvious; it’d be a bigger surprise if these characters weren’t paired together for another storyline. Rian Johnson has to provide a reason other than “they’re cute,” though – why exactly will Poe and Finn be going off with their trusty droid pal?

Well, I doubt that the Republic senators are going to trust Finn straight off-the-bat, even if he did help blow up Starkiller Base. They’re probably going to be a little wary of a former Stormtrooper rising in the ranks so quickly and may suspect him of being a double agent. Leia knows the truth, but will they listen to her? I predict a compromise will be made: they’ll accept that Finn is a valuable fighter, and Poe is fond of him, but he’ll have strict orders to pull the trigger on him if he drops any hints of his true allegiances – and they trust that he’d go through with it as he is the “best pilot in the Resistance”.

There’s no chance of Finn actually being a double agent (unless the First Order try a repeat of Order 66…) but I wouldn’t be surprised if through some mistake Poe believes him to be one and is conflicted over how to proceed, which would fit with the theory that his loyalty will be tested. Sure, we all love watching those two lovebirds hug and woop at each other, but it’s much more fun to viciously tear them apart.

But where exactly will they be going – and what are they doing? Well…

MAZ KANATA IS LITERALLY A SPACE PIRATE

We know that Lupita Nyong’o will be back as Maz Kanata, but it’s a little tricky to work out how she’ll be involved as her castle was blown up by the First Order. Originally she tagged along with the others back to the Resistance base on D’Qar, however those scenes were cut, leaving her options open. She’s been stubbornly kicking around for 1,000 years – now will not be the time for her to lie low.

I’m pretty certain that Poe and Finn will, at first, be sent to Maz for information/transport, and she’ll have moved her base of operations to a spaceship. It definitely makes it easier to stay out of Kylo Ren’s way. Other than that, I don’t really have much evidence; I just think it’d be cool if Maz immediately picked up right where she left off. I think she’ll end up aiding Finn, Poe and the Republic. Perhaps she’ll even awake Finn’s potential Force sensitivity; I don’t think he will follow that path, but there’s enough credible evidence for Rian to go either way.

As an incredibly old and well-connected figure in the criminal underworld, Maz is the perfect person to go to for information – but what information might that be?

BENICIO DEL TORO IS A CRIME LORD

It’s been almost a year since Benicio del Toro started chatting to Lucasfilm about appearing in Episode VIII, and we still don’t know who he’s playing other than that he’s a villain. The fandom has been fairly split on the issue, with the two most common suggestions being another First Order officer or a Knight of Ren. The problem is, we already have two villains who fulfil those roles. The Original Trilogy had Palpatine (Snoke), Darth Vader (Kylo Ren), Grand Moff Tarkin (General Hux), Boba Fett (Captain Phasma) and Jabba the Hutt.

That’s del Toro!

The guy would nail an intergalactic crime lord role and it would further expand this new Star Wars universe. What role has the criminal underworld played post-ROTJ? Do they have a big influence under the New Republic? Will it grow now that Hosnian Prime has been blown to bits? Right now we don’t have anything to really work with in that area beyond the fight scene aboard Han’s freighter and Maz Kanata’s castle.

But anyway – how does this relate to Finn, Poe and Maz?

I think that the underworld will have massively expanded its reach in the outer rim territories over the past few years, and will have wasted no time in expanding further after both the Republic and the First Order suffered huge planetary losses. It’ll essentially be a race against time for the two parties to collect as much support and as many worlds as possible. However, a natural third party emerges in this situation, and that would be the criminals. Like it or not, both Hux and Leia need to get in the good graces of some shady people in exchange for fleets, armies, technology, bases and so forth. We could even see Leia meeting with the Hutt’s, which was rumoured early on to happen in The Force Awakens – could it have been pushed back to VIII?

Anyway, that’s where del Toro comes in. The guy that both sides are trying to win over. Because he’s so elusive and dangerous, however, Leia and co. can’t risk having any X-Wings spotted in his vicinity. That’s why they go to Maz Kanata first – to provide them with “safe” transportation to…

CORUSCANT.

Yeah, baby.

I firmly believe that we’ll be seeing Coruscant again sometime in the near future, purely because J.J. Abrams chose not to blow it up in The Force Awakens. It would have been a powerful statement, too: the First Order is willing to decimate this landmark of galactic history for both the Republic and the Empire, which in turn highlights their strength. It’s a place which is recognisable to the fans having spent three movies there, so there’s more of an emotional sting; it would also make a statement that the Prequels are officially dead and buried.

Instead, Hosnian Prime – which looks exactly the same – was blown up, and the Lucasfilm Story Group came up with the “rotating capital” plot device. There’s no reason for excluding the planet from the movie unless they’re planning on using it later down the line. Evidently I think that’ll be in Episode VIII, but even if I’m wrong I still think it’ll pop up in IX or a novel or whatever.

It was established in Star Wars: Aftermath that, even though everyone was cheering and blowing up Emperor Palpatine statues at the end of Return of the Jedi, the Imperial police were fighting back against the citizens. So far, Coruscant’s role in the thirty-year time gap hasn’t been massively expanded on, except that it was where the Galactic Concordance (the treaty in which the Empire officially surrendered to the New Republic) was signed. It’s likely that, prior to this, there was severe civil war being waged on the planet between Republic and Imperial sympathisers. As government was not re-established, it probably fell further into chaos and dilapidation. I suppose that it could have continued to be a major location for stuff like finance and trade, but given the revolving nature of the Republic and the troubles which Coruscant had faced over the years, it wouldn’t make sense to concentrate everything in one place again – one which had been plagued with in-fighting.

Despite this, it’s still of huge significance to both the Republic and the First Order for obvious reasons. It was the centre of the galaxy for 1,000 years – that doesn’t just go away in thirty. The likely scenario for Coruscant is that it’s been overrun with crime in the absence of any further importance, which could create some compelling imagery. Furthermore, retaking it would be a massive step forward for both of their respective campaigns: it would broadcast an image of strength in taking the planet back from those pesky criminals, and show respect towards the planet’s history. Whichever side wins back Coruscant will be seen as the winner in the eyes of galactic citizens.

…AND OF COURSE IT’LL BE THE FIRST ORDER

The second movie in a trilogy is almost always the dark spot – especially with Star Wars – so it would make perfect sense for the First Order to make significant gains by the end of it. However, it isn’t as simple as “evil wins”. The Original Trilogy happily played the narrative that the Empire was bad and the galaxy just let all this evilness happen, however modern audiences are more accustomed to some depth. As awful as the Prequels are, the formation of the Empire made sense; Palpatine made it apparent that the Republic was no longer working and that the Jedi were dangerous and proposed that he lead the galaxy to greatness again. It’s an easy-enough story which has been played out multiple times in our own history – one which works.

But it worked because it was a coup from within the Republic. The threat here is an exterior force to democracy hoping to reclaim former glory, and so far they seem more concerned with mimicking the Empire and causing as much damage as possible rather than demonstrating why they would be more effective rulers. It’s the equivalent of ISIS trying to take over Washington DC. If the First Order do end up taking Coruscant, or gaining some other major level of power, then why should people listen to them when they just blew up Hosnian Prime?

Perhaps this will be their major downfall. Kylo Ren is obsessed with Darth Vader and is picky about which elements he tries to emulate (note how he conveniently forgets the fact that he redeemed himself and killed the Emperor), and General Hux seems pretty fucking insane too. Could the First Order meet their demise through a mixture of galactic opposition and their inability to understand the appeal of the Empire beyond its imagery?

CAPTAIN PHASMA – THE BOUNTY HUNTER

A role as a bounty hunter or something similar seems to be the likeliest option for Captain Phasma’s future (she already fulfils the ‘badass secondary villain’ role, previously inhabited by Boba Fett). She was woefully underused in The Force Awakens, leaving pretty much everyone disappointed after they’d bought all their Phasma merchandise. However, this represents a golden opportunity to build her character. She’s just been completely humiliated and there’s no chance that General Hux will want the person who pretty much let the Resistance blow up Starkiller Base back in their ranks. Her only option from now on is to try and make it on her own.

Like all members of the First Order, she’s completely devoted to their fascist ideology and has been brainwashed. Her little screw-up will have caused her a great level of self-doubt, but given what we know/can infer about her it’s likely she’ll try her hardest to prove her worth to them again. She’s probably working for or with del Toro’s character, as it’s just easier to pair people together when you have such an expansive cast, which will put her in direct contact with Finn…

SHE’S GONNA CAPTURE FINN

Finn isn’t gonna have an easy time in this movie.

He damaged her reputation as a successful commander. He humiliated her and has essentially ruined her life. I’m surprised I haven’t seen more people talking about this, because it’s so bloody obvious that Captain Phasma is going to make it her mission to pursue Finn and have him brought to justice. And as I said earlier, the second movie in a trilogy is the darkest, so you can guarantee she’ll succeed.

It’s a little reminiscent of The Empire Strikes Back, but I don’t think any other route would be as interesting or logical. Plus, the circumstances are already different. Han Solo was frozen in carbonite because of an old debt to Jabba the Hutt and because the Empire needed to make a statement. This is a personal vendetta and desire for glory – although I suppose the First Order will end up making a statement out of Finn, to show any other would-be deserters what happens.

While I’m convinced this is the way the story will go, it is unfortunate that it also feels like further rehashing of the Original Trilogy – especially since The Force Awakens has just received so much flak for that. I’m of the opinion that the theme “history repeating itself” is great, but so many misunderstand it – the event can repeat, but the circumstances and reasoning needs to change. Episode VIII could get away with telling this story if the Resistance believe Finn to be dead, prompting him to get himself out of there and demonstrate some heroic capabilities. Poor old Finn is severely lacking in those at the moment.

KYLO REN WILL BECOME A CYBORG

You may remember the bucket-load of Force Awakens concept art which leaked a while back, revealing a cyborg main villain who was obsessed with Darth Vader. Obviously Kylo Ren wasn’t a cyborg, but he was obsessed with his grandfather. It’s unclear whether the artists just did this because it looked interesting or whether J.J. specifically instructed them, but as both pieces feature Vader’s damaged mask – an element which made it into the film – I’m going with the second option.

So, what’s the big deal about a cyborg villain? Star Wars has a history of them, and they serve as a visual metaphor for the dehumanisation which has occurred, in the same way that almost all Sith Lords are deformed and old. Vader gave the impression of coldness and brutality because of a lack of distinctly human features. Kylo Ren is clearly trying to imitate this, but those human qualities remain. It’s strongly apparent that his arc is going to be delving further into the Dark Side, so it would make little sense for him to retain these good looks by the end of the trilogy.

The previous two trilogies have seen a Skywalker suffer injuries in the second movie – what if that happens to Kylo at the end of VIII rather than Rey? He would finally rid himself of Ben Solo and devote himself, both physically and mentally, to the Dark Side. It would also make him a lot more like Vader, which he may initially want, although I think he’d come to see it as a curse instead which would only fuel his anger at rage at whomever did this to him coughreycough.

Prior to this, though…

HE’S GONNA MEET ANAKIN

Hear me out.

Picture this: Kylo is meditating, feeding off of the Dark Side and stuff, when the voice of his grandfather calls out to him. He appears before him, and Kylo quickly recognises him. Anakin attempts to convince him that he was a monster, but Kylo refuses to believe it and treats it as a trick from his uncle, consequently thrashing his lightsaber about and such. He’s just met his absolute idol, the man he’s modelled his life around and devoted his work to – only for him to tell him it’s all a big mistake and he needs to come home. It could be an incredibly compelling scene and reflect how far Ben Solo has fallen.

In fact, there’s compelling drama to be offered from any appearance of Anakin. We’ve only ever seen Luke properly meet his father when he unmasked him. What would they have to say to each other? Would Luke still feel some anger towards him for all the pain and destruction he caused the galaxy and the Jedi? How would Anakin view his legacy? Would he blame himself, or treat Vader as a separate person? Would he blame Sidious? Does he still feel regret? What the fuck would Yoda and Obi-Wan say to him? I’d kill for just a one-shot comic between Luke and Anakin.

This is the first time that we would properly see Anakin Skywalker post-Vader, and he’d be the first character who could offer some real dramatic relevance as a Force Ghost. To be honest, this is the one thing on this list which I hope like hell will happen, and if Rian Johnson does it right then it could top a number of ‘best Star Wars scenes’ lists for years to come.

WE’LL SEE A COUNCIL OF FORCE GHOSTS

I think this one is fairly obvious. Luke would be pretty bored if his old buddies weren’t checking in every now and then.

Speaking of Luke…

LUKE WON’T HAVE HIS LIGHTSABER

One of the things which fans have been desperate to see since 1983 is an older, battle-hardened Luke Skywalker being a pro with that green lightsaber of his. Sorry guys, but it ain’t happening.

Recently in Star Wars: Rebels, the main character, Ezra, has a little chat with Yoda through the Force. Their conversation was fairly interesting and contained plenty of hints about the future path of the Jedi – check it out.

“Thousands of Jedi once there were, then came war. In our arrogance, joined the conflict swiftly, we did. Fear. Anger. Hate. Consumed by the Dark Side, the Jedi were.”

So, this is huge. Yoda is admitting that the Jedi fucked up by becoming involved in the Clone Wars and collectively fell to the Dark Side. He then expresses some dismay at Ezra’s determination to fight, remarking that “how Jedi choose to fight” is the real question. So what is this choice? To me, it’s one between two extremes: fight with aggression and strength through a lightsaber, or with intellect, knowledge and cunning. I think it’s increasingly apparent that the path to being a “true” Jedi is to choose the second means of fighting.

The greater implication of Yoda’s words is that the use of violence can open up Dark Side influence, and that’s backed up by what we’ve seen in the films. The little green Jedi does away with his lightsaber after Revenge of the Sith, and when he’s teaching Luke in The Empire Strikes Back he focuses purely on using the Force for knowledge and becoming one with it – “never for attack”. When Luke is aboard the Death Star in Return of the Jedi, he gives in to anger and hate and viciously strikes down Darth Vader, with the Emperor whispering in his ear to kill him. Luke then declares himself a Jedi once he has thrown away his lightsaber. The exception to this recurring idea is Obi-Wan Kenobi igniting his lightsaber and fighting Vader in A New Hope, although there’s a debate to be had regarding whether attack and self-defence are under the same umbrella.

Luke’s actions on the Death Star are the most important, as him casting away his weapon and then declaring himself a Jedi implies that he has risen above the need for violence. This is a belief which could well have run into his teaching of new Jedi recruits; a popular fan theory is that the reason his students got steamrolled so easily by Kylo Ren and his Knights is because they weren’t trained in lightsaber combat, but rather studied the intricacies of the Force and gathered knowledge. Ben Solo would easily have been frustrated at this and would have sought out information from elsewhere on lightsabers – which also explains why he’s so brutal and clumsy with his, and why it’s built so badly.

I see little reason why Luke would go back to his pre-ROTJ ways and be in possession of a lightsaber, both because we’ve seen him discard it and because, if he is truly to be the most powerful Jedi, then it makes sense for his ideology to match up with the previous title-holder (Yoda). Sure, it would be cool to see Luke wield a lightsaber in Episode VIII, but it’s far more likely that he’ll preach messages of peace and steer Rey in the direction of pursuit of knowledge. Whether she’ll adhere to that is an entirely different question.

Time for the grand finale…

SNOKE CREATED ANAKIN

My view on Snoke is that he needs to be some figure of major importance, or else it’s going to feel like a disappointment. The previous six movies are very much one overarching story with Palpatine as the villain; if this saga is going to be one giant story then the villain of the sequel trilogy needs to be somehow connected to the previous events or else it’s just going to seem like an add-on. Some theorists have attempted to get pass this by claiming he’s going to be an ancient, powerful Dark Side user who has returned. An intriguing idea, sure, but there’s still no personal connection with the story. Palpatine didn’t work as a grand villain because he was powerful – it was because every major event of the two trilogies revolved around him, as did the work of the two protagonists. Snoke just being a random old Sith/whatever is my one major fear going forward – as is Snoke being a random new Sith/whatever.

The main reason for wanting Snoke to be Plagueis is because it would tie the franchise together, however there are a couple of reasons why Lucasfilm would want to avoid that character. It creates a lot of timeline baggage, for one, and even though he was name-dropped in Revenge of the Sith I doubt that much of the general audience actually know who he is. A big reveal would land with dead weight in the cinema. During that name-drop, it’s heavily implied that Darth Plagueis created Anakin Skywalker through the midichlorians, and I have a gut feeling that this was canonized (well, in the old canon) once it was confirmed he was Palpatine’s master – but don’t quote me on that. The idea that a powerful Sith Lord actually started the Skywalker line is really compelling and cool, adding a whole new layer to the ‘Chosen One’ thing. Anakin wasn’t born to bring balance to the Force: he was born to wreck it, as he did.

That was in the old continuity. In this new one, Plagueis may simply have been some old Sith legend as opposed to Palpatine’s master, and he certainly doesn’t have to be Anakin’s creator.

But what if a Dark Sider did create Anakin? Enter Snoke.

I don’t know how, why, or who exactly Snoke is other than that, but I feel that that would tie the franchise together in the best possible way – certainly better than just being some guy Palpatine knew. It would mean that Snoke is directly responsible for Anakin’s path of destruction (although Palps did help with that), and now he’s fucking back, using Ben Solo as a replacement for the failed Anakin project. Perhaps it’s why he seems so afraid of Luke, who broke the mould and managed to overturn the Dark Side magic shit in his father. Perhaps that’s also why Luke went into hiding. Hmm.

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Christ, this was long.

My obsessive over-thinking most likely won’t stop here; I’ll keep thinking of new ideas and re-developing the ones in this piece right up until December 2017. Star Wars is, ultimately, a universe where any kind of story can be told, and the majority of the time those stories have been told quite well. With nothing but positive buzz leaking out of the grand Lucasfilm ship, and a multitude of exciting story possibilities to follow, I am tremendously, ridiculously excited to sit down and watch Episode VIII.

Even if I don’t get anything right this time.