Credit: Inside the MagicThe Star Wars universe is currently in the early stages of a reset. The kerfuffle of the Disney sequel trilogy has finally settled, and fans of the franchise have returned to their normal chill state.
Just kidding! At this point, Star Wars fans will never be actually satisfied with the direction of the franchise.
They’re either upset that it has become too woke and strayed from what they have convinced themselves was the original vision of George Lucas (who has been pretty clear that he just wanted to make some Buck Rogers serial and not worry about racial politics) or because it has not strayed far enough from the original trilogy and is just retreading old ground.
It is safe to say that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni have a pretty thankless task in front of them.
New Star Wars projects, like the upcoming film starring Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu (himself) or the upcoming Amblin-in-space homage Skeleton Crew, are treated more as comprehensive examinations by supposed fans of the franchise rather than entertainment, who are eager to gate-keep every step of the way.
With that kind of welcoming environment, the franchise should just go for it and abandon all pretense to keeping the nebulous idea of “canon.” After all, people online are going to call for Leslye Headland to be fired over maybe getting a little-seen, tertiary Jedi character’s birthday incorrect, so why not go wild with it?
As we have previously suggested, Lucasfilm has literally an infinite universe to work with, based on the template of Marvel’s What If…? series. To a certain extent, the studio is already doing this with the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, a four-part animated series that asks: What if a Nerf herder activated an ancient Jedi artifact, messed with the fabric of the cosmos, and then Darth Jar Jar showed up?
However, as one can tell by the general tone of the Rebuild the Galaxy trailer (and also that everyone is, you know, LEGOs), it is clear that this particular project is meant to be a bit of a lark. What we want to see is some What If stories that actually get into the darkness and weirdness that is possible when you just throw caution to the wind and don’t worry about upsetting the fans.
For example, some of these possibilities:
What if Han Had Stayed in the Imperial Army?
We all know Han Solo as one of the original Star Wars trilogy’s heroes, the roguish, selectively amoral smuggler played by Harrison Ford at the height of his sleazy era.
However, further development of his character over the decades has revealed that before he was General Solo of the Rebel Alliance, he started out (as played by Alden Ehrenreich) as a scavenger and low-level criminal on the streets of Corellia alongside Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) before joining the Imperial Navy with dreams of becoming a pilot.
Off-screen, Solo is drummed out of the Imperial Flight Academy for insubordination (no surprise there) and eventually hooks up with some strugglers who lead him to Chewbacca and his destiny on the Millenium Falcon.
However, there are plenty of worlds in which Han didn’t get mouthy at the academy and dumped into the infantry on Mimban. What if he actually managed to work within the Imperial system and become part of the naval leadership?
It is not difficult to see a scenario in which Han has managed to climb the ranks enough that by the time of the Battle of Yavin, he’s a crack Imperial TIE fighter pilot, in command of a Star Destroyer, or even an officer on the Death Star. What if the first time that Han met with the people who were meant to be his friends, they were his deadly enemies?
What if Luke Left Tattooine With Biggs?
In a deleted scene of A New Hope (1977) that added a whole lot more context and tragedy to the death of the X-Wing pilot known as Red Three, a young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), clad in his finest bucket hat, says goodbye to Biggs Darklighter (Garrick Hagon), a friend who has been attending the Imperial Flight Academy more successfully than Han Solo.
However, Biggs has been bitten by the Rebellion bug and tells Luke that he and some friends plan to go space-AWOL soon and join up with the Alliance.
The older Tatooinean tries to convince Luke to think about leaving their desert home and fighting against the Empire, only to be met with excuses like “I withdrew my academy application,” “Uncle Owens needs me to help pay off the moisture farm,” and “I can’t do anything while wearing this hat.”
Biggs and Luke don’t meet up again until the Battle of Yavin, and the former is shot down and killed by Darth Vader himself. But if Luke had left Tattooine with his friend, he would never have met R2D2 and C3PO, discovered his Jedi heritage alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), and rescued Princess Leia.
Since the Death Star wouldn’t have tracked down the Millenium Falcon to Yavin and get blown up, it likely would have begun to enforce the Tarkin Doctrine and traveled around space as a colossal, invulnerable threat…until maybe a lone Rebel could have figured out its secret weakness in a different way?
What if Darth Vader Had Raised Luke and Leia?
Star Wars fans know that after Obi-Wan and Anakin’s battle on Mustafar, Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) told the newly armored Vader that Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) had died.
The Sith Lord is unaware that Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa are his children until, respectively, sometime between the Battles of Yavin and Hoth and, later, Endor. But what if Vader had intercepted Padme’s ship and discovered that he had two living children, which he then raised as his two acolytes?
The Sith Rule of Two states that there can only be one master and one apprentice at a time but that the “rule” is really more of a guideline.
Palpatine was actively seducing Anakin to the Dark Side while he had one apprentice, Dooku (Christopher Lee), and the various Inquisitors and force users that both he and Vader kept around make it pretty clear that the ancient Sith Doctrine is intended more to foster constant ambition and betrayal than it is to keep a cap on staff numbers.
If Vader had raised Luke and Leia, there is no doubt that he would have trained them in the Dark Side and prepared them both to succeed him in the apprentice role when he overthrew the Emperor, supported by two full-power Skywalkers.
But what would have happened then? Would he have forced the twins to battle to the death, knowing that would forge the survivor into the most brutal, coldest warrior of them all? Perhaps!
Related: Lucasfilm Unveils New ‘Star Wars’ World With Five Themed Lands
What if Lando Didn’t Sell out Han and Leia?
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) introduces Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), the baron administrator of Cloud City and a very smooth guy. While Lando might be a skilled gambler and a master of having confusing relationships with droids, he’s also a very bad negotiator.
Just before Han and Leia show up in the Millenium Falcon to try to take a breather from running from the Empire, Darth Vader and Boba Fett arrive, and, in the normal timeline, Lando makes a deal to sell out his old buddy/rival.
Of course, it doesn’t work out that way, exactly. Lando turns on the Empire after it becomes clear that Vader has no intention of keeping his deals (one could say he…altered it, even) and the Falcon manages to barely escape with a one-handed Luke Skywalker.
But what if Han and Leia had gotten there first and Bespin had turned into the last stand of the Millenium Falcon as Lando marshalls his outnumbered forces to hold off Vader?
Luke could sense his friends in distress from light years away when Han was being tortured, so there is little doubt that he would not be able to feel what was happening as they died in a sky battle. But what could that do to the already tormented and doubtful Jedi in training?
What if Luke Had Stayed on Dagobah?
Speaking of which, what if Luke Skywalker had done what Master Yoda asked and actually stayed on Dagobah to finish his training, regardless of what happened to his friends?
Fans have debated for decades how long Luke was actually under Yoda’s tutelage on the swamp planet, with estimates ranging from a few weeks to a couple of months. The Phantom Menace (1999) established that younglings at the Jedi Temple spend their entire childhoods and adolescence learning to use the Force.
The Rebel hero could barely have scratched the surface of his training before he faced off against Darth Vader, which probably explains why he ended up being utterly crushed by the Sith Lord.
But, if Luke had managed to rein in his mighty Skywalker impulsiveness and actually listened to Yoda and Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost, could he have managed to put up more of a show against Vader? Since Vader is, at the best of times, operating at only partial capacity (due to his Mustafar injuries), could a more fully trained Luke have actually defeated him? What if he had killed Vader before he even learned the truth of his parentage? Would he eventually face Palpatine without the advantage of Vader turning on the Emperor at a crucial moment? Could be!
What if Yoda Fell to the Dark Side?
But that’s not the only thing that could have happened on Dagobah. What if Grand Master Yoda had succumbed to the lure of the Dark Side during his decades of isolation?
Think about it. The Dark Side is the aspect of the Force that represents negative emotions like anger, fear, and shame. Yoda arrived to his exile on Dagobah after failing to protect the entire Jedi Order, which was decimated under his leadership, and the destruction of the Republic.
Despite all his midi-chlorians and centuries of wisdom, it cannot be denied that Yoda failed his students, failed the Republic, and even personally failed to defeat Palpatine in combat. If there was ever a moment when even a Grand Master could be seduced by the power of the Dark Side, it would be at his lowest moment, with no allies and nowhere to turn.
Dagobah is also the location of an intense Dark Side vergence, the cave where Luke sees a vision of himself as Vader. While it has been posited that the intense negative Force energy of the cave acted as a cloaking device to Yoda’s own presence, could it not also eventually sap his will and taint him over decades of contemplation of his own defeat?
Could Yoda have fallen to the Dark Side and become stronger and more ruthless than imaginable? Could Luke show up expecting to find Obi-Wan’s old master, only to find someone far worse, someone who wants his own apprentice to strike back against the Emperor? Would Palpatine and Vader find themselves in a joint duel against Dark Yoda and Luke?
Maybe!
Inside the Magic’s increasingly insistent suggestions of What If…Star Wars? stories will continue!