ST The ST: What Would You Change/Revise?

My points are all about TLJ

- The saber toss
- Luke unnecessarely dying
- Reys parents
- I would change the motivation of Luke going to the island. "I came here to die". I would change it to something like "I went there for answers, I did not find them at all."
- I would expand the timeline of a few hours to a longer time. I think all of the movies content would make more sense (logically)
- Skip the Leia space scene to replace it by something more reasonable
- Skip Holdo (although I liked her) to have Ackbar doing all her stuff
- Correct the Poe contacting the fighting Maz scene to something else
- Include the 3rd test on Ahch To

Last but not least:
- I'd buy a shirt for Kylo

 

Carrie Fisher finishing her long epic arc as Leia, the galaxy's most iconic woman, in Episode IX. But of course that's impossible.

I'm happy overall with the direction of the trilogy so far. I'll pop in again after I see Episode IX.

 

I've been thinking about this sort of dynamic a lot, and I think the idea of the FO as a decentralized group of fanatics could work really well. First of all, a caveat: while each Star Wars trilogy has tried to capture some of the spirit of the times, as seen by Hollywood, having the First Order be such an organization shouldn't just be an analogue to terrorists. It could be a tricky tightrope to walk, but I think there's a really interesting idea here:

Snoke, and now, Kylo and the Knights of Ren, are not trying to rebuild the Empire, they're simply trying to tear the Republic down. Their belief in the rightness of the Dark Side of the Force has led them to take the idea of pursuing power to a Darwinian end: They want to disrupt, topple, destroy, and if anyone can stop them, so be it; if they're strong, they will thrive, if they're weak, they will die. There's always been that sort of survival of the fittest undercurrent in Sith teachings, after all. They want to sow chaos, break apart the very idea of a Galactic Order (be it a Republic or Empire), and see what happens. Picture their ideology as somewhere between the Rakata and B5's Shadows.

Heck, you could even have them stringing along the remnants of the Empire: promising to use the Dark Side to lead the Empire back to greatness, only to turn around on the Empire once their purpose has been served, and decimating them. Wouldn't that be a cool visual, too? Picture an epic Empire vs Republic space battle, the Empire wins, and then, Snoke takes the Supremacy and starts blasting his 'own' ships out of the sky.

 

I think you needed to have exposition of the "State of affairs" in the galaxy. Given the upbeat, positive note that Return of the Jedi ended on, we need to know what happened in between and on screen, since Star Wars is based on the Saga itself in the movies, not additional material.

A similar approach to "Batman Begins" with use of flashbacks should/could have been utilised in Episode VII (The Force Awakens, or Heir to the Empire, or Children of the Force). This could have shown what I've heard about it being released on the Holonet that the Skywalkers (Luke and Leia Organa Solo) are the offspring of Darth Vader. We could see a brief history (e.g. out of the whole movie, maybe 15 minutes spaced out throughout) of how the glorious Galactic Empire, which came about naturally and legally from the old Republic, gave way to a New Republic. NOTE: All of this has to be kinda explained, or shown via flashbacks. Of what might of been etc had Luke or Leia become the Heir to the Empire.

Perhaps for instance, the Empire could have fractured into:
1. The official Galactic Empire seeking the true heir to the throne to rule them. With Imperial spies discovering the identity of Luke Skywalker (that he was Darth Vader's son), them making this information public. This faction would seek the support of Skywalker and Organa Solo to lead them. Based on Coruscant and overthrowing the pretender Mas Amedda as Grand Vizier, an Admiral like Pelleon could have sought to continue the Imperial legacy of being a peacekeeping armada and organisation to maintain order and effectively police the piracy and criminality that existed so openly in the days of the Old Republic. This faction would be based on the rule of law, and effective governance, and a legitimate heir. It would isolate and discourage the use of force unless required (so no Tarkins and such like in this faction). Perhaps cloned Stormtroopers would be what keeps this faction going along with a certain portion of the Imperial Fleet. Open to potential alliance with the Jedi, but not corrupt Senators and the "Alliance". Have IDEN VERSIO be part of this faction (i.e. not defect to the Alliance, but be pro Luke).

2. The Imperial Remnant - those who wanted to just crush the rebellion, irrespective of the cost. This faction would squander the general goodwill the galaxy had for the Empire (in the OT we are shown that not many systems support the Rebellion and in the PT we see the Empire came about legitimately). It would see the power vacuum at the top as a free for all situation. And be against any Force users, dark or light (the Emperor having squandered the chance to crush the Rebellion through his own agendas). Seeks to gain dominance over the 1st faction, by sealing off borders, warlords, and leaking information to the Alliance through power plays to weaken the primary Imperial machine.

3. An extreme faction whose goal would first and foremost be Order. Their slogan being "First Order". Would be a group of leaders from both (e.g. the Tarkin like Moffs isolated by first faction and those who believed that the Emperor's powers were key to victory). They would gain the attention of either Palpatine's old Master who emerges from hiding (Darth Plageius, who managed to 'cheat death', but has a weak body. (Palpatine instead of slicing him with a lightsaber is shown to have been overconfident and used Forced lighting to 'kill him' much like he did with Luke, but assumed the man dead.) He has been hiding, watching over everything. Alternatively, have the Snoke (not use that name) villain be Mace Windu, who has vowed revenge on the Empire, and turned dark, foregoing the ways of the Jedi and of the Republic he sought to protect (given it turned on the Jedi and became an Empire willingly). Have him believe in order. He can be known as Supreme Master or something. Either character's backstory is revealed unlike currently. Both would attempt to gain control of the Force and rule with absolute order, no more politicians, no more suffering, only power.

Right so the 3 factions emerge (the First Order faction being small and mainly hidden. It's forces are bolstered when the Empire is defeated/collapses/signs the Galactic Concordance).

[IN THE FILM, have Leia convinced that reforming the old Empire legitimately would work by having a clean government, with Light side users guiding it as a figurehead, and reintroducing the Jedi to act as the peacekeepers. Luke had been uncertain that the Jedi should have a role in affairs and has disappeared in search of answers about the secrets of the Force. Upon the public release of their heritage by faction 2 to discredit the Alliance and sow discord, the plan is abandoned as Alliance Senators isolate Leia, (a power play by Mon Mothma). Only Ackbar and friends of Organa support her. ]

Flashbacks should show, The Empire was defeated, mainly by infighting, and a lack of a legitimate successor to rally around. Faction 1 loses support as Pelleon cannot keep greedy Moffs like Sloane and Rax at bay. He tries to hold the Core whilst using peripheral fleets to quash the Rebels. But Sloane conducts Operation Cinder (which faction 1 refuses to acknowledge as legitimate) with her own agenda, to discredit the Empire in order to take over. She leaks information to the Alliance which results in Imperial defeat after defeat and uprisings on worlds. The loss of Imperial shipyards, cloning facilities, and public sentiment turning on them, political machinations on Coruscant, cause loss of morale. Perhaps an honorable Imperial young leadership emerges and starts securing victories. Sloane lures all forces to a trap on Jakku/whatever planet as she follows the orders of Plageuis or Windu, who want to bide for time and play the game of the dark side from the shadows. Imperial forces attend a distress call out of honour, whilst Alliance forces believe a massive meeting of the leadership is taking place.

The Empire is defeated owing to being outflanked and a greedy Mas Amedda, withholding crucial SSD support from arriving on time, who was promised rewards by Sloane and is later executed by the First Order, so he cannot reveal their final plan to remerge from the shadows. Grand Admiral Pelleon sadly issues their surrender, whilst Sloane and others jump to the far reaches of the Outer Rim.

We are told about or shown the Galactic Concordance. Coruscant remains the home of the old Jedi Temple, a sacred place, as well as the capital of the galaxy. Also part of The Imperium (Faction 1's planets in the Inner Core). The rest of the galaxy belongs in theory to the New Republic. Mon Mothma isolates Leia and Acbkar as war mongers, demobilising not only Imperial fleets by proclamation, but also the Alliance's save for a few capital ships. She also questions the need of a Jedi Order, whilst a few friends of Leia support it. In the end, the Republic does not continue to outlaw the Jedi, but does not fund or support their order either. Whilst Pelleon offers the old Jedi Temple as a peace offering to Skywalker, it is felt that a new academy should start elsewhere and Coruscant may be home to the Jedi "once again" in the future.

EPISODE 7
So in The Force Awakens, we get exposition to show the Republic emerged like that. We see corruption return and greedy self serving politicians ignoring the plight of outer worlds. The Imperium which has joined the Republic wants a standing military/policing of criminal scum reinitiated and youthful leaders want the Jedi to return to oversee peacekeeping. The corrupt bloated leadership labels the Imperium as trying to return the Empire. And Leia who warns of a rising threat from the Outer rim as a warmonger. And label the Jedi as not able to even protect themselves, speaking of the Great Massacre at Yavin by one of their own. Have the First Order, now an open secret, a movement based in the Outer Rim clamouring for their own ideology to be enforced. They try to convince members of the Imperium to side with them, but upon refusal, they kill their leadership through an assassination on Coruscant. Lord Ren (Ren being an eagle in the Star Wars universe) killed the Imperial President himself. And recovers artificers from the Old Jedi Temple. In the meantime, First Order spies arrange for criminals to start seizing property and burning cities on Outer Rim worlds ignored by the Republic Government. Have the meagre Republic military being held back by weak Chancellors. Explain the concept of rotating capitals and give us a link with the Hosnian system to feel it's later destruction. The First Order suddenly arrives on such planets, betraying their hired criminals, to display that only they can bring order to the galaxy. They execute the gangs whilst also killing the "corrupt Senator" of the world in public to cheers of the populace.

Now revert to the search for Skywalker. Leia and co, ignored by the Republic government, work with their friends like Poe etc who respect them to try to organise the Republic against a rising army and threat from the dark side. It's him, it's (insert villain name) - revealed to be "Plageuis" or whatever Windu is known as if they went down that route later on.

Show the flashbacks of what happened. An old Force user appeared and coaxed the students shortly after the reveal of the Skywalker heritage on the Holonet by a First Order spy in the Imperium (Imperial Remnant). Which Ben Solo found out on the Holonet. Ben, struggling with his powers and a fan of Darth Vader, is shown the power of the dark side by Plagues or Windu villain (if Plageuis, shown how they can cheat death, and if Windu he is shown what can be achieved by being on the edge of the dark with Vaapad). Ben Solo wants to embrace the Skywalker destiny as the HEIR TO THE EMPIRE and believes it will fulfil Luke's mission of a reformed Jedi which allows for passions and relationships etc. But Luke believes the Jedi should not be tempted by political power. Being the son of a Senator, Ben also wants more. Whilst the Jedi start to act on the inadequacies of the Republic in policing with their limited numbers, Ben witnesses suffering of others owing to the Jedi being too late and the Republic did not act to prevent Crime gangsters from attacking a city. On a training mission with fellow students he is swayed to Plageuis/Windu's thinking when he embraces anger to defeat a group of criminals and corrupt Republic officials to save people. A distress signal sent to the Republic is ignored. The Jedi , though few in number, prevail. However, his fellow student and love, a Princess who is also aghast at the suffering and wants the Jedi to be more active, is killed in the fight. He vows to her that he will not rest until they "Finish what they have started today". He is dubbed Lord Ren by Plageuis who pretends the First Order came and responded to the signal. He promises that a New Order of Force users will bring balance to the galaxy, but the past must be destroyed first.

Luke is away from the Temple, in Coruscant, where he places the mask of Darth Vader, and the lightsaber, in preparation to bring the Jedi home. He senses a great disturbance and is warned by Masters Yoda, Obi Wan and his father, that something terrible has happened. Someone has arisen, someone of the past. There may be only one way to stop him. Have a First Order assassin squad attempt to kill him (their spies are everywhere not only in the Republic, but in the Imperium. Luke's friend Pelleon's son is also killed protecting him).

Now we can see different flashbacks of what happened from each perspective (Luke arriving to finding the Temple burning. From Ren's perspective, him walking in with his dark Jedi knights to purge it of those unwilling to join them (everyone). What Ren does not know in his attack, is that his young baby cousin is playing in the courtyard (baby Padme) and he believes her to have been killed when some of the light Jedi attempted to resist and the columns fell on the area. He leaves even more in pain than earlier. Show his conflict with his parents (Han wanting him to stay out of politics and join his business, Leia wanting him to join her in politics, but be patient, Luke seeing potential in him, but warning of the lack of patience and greed which Anakin suffered from) in flashbacks.

Luke arrives and at some point in the sequel show him, see four young Jedi having survived owing to unique skills. He sees his young daughter having survived by using the Force to hold the column despite being only 2 years old. One (future Poe) survived by utilising his flying skills to take off in and crash land an old Jedi star fighter. Another (played by Anna Akana in the films since she rocked in a Jedi short youtube video), survived by creating a Force bubble to conceal her from the attackers. The final boy, Ren's former friend, survived by beating a knight of Ren and hiding out of fear. Oh btw, have Idea Versio be Luke's wife and her try to defend the Jedi and her daughter, before being killed by the First Order support troopers who accompany Ren in his attack. Luke discovers the body and cries tears. Have Padme's nickname be Mey (I dunno, I mean just change the name of protagonist Rey to Mey or something). There are maybe 3 other children of the Force who survived. Leia arrives upon hearing of the attack and the Republic ignoring still the threat of the First Order who has now emerged in the open, citing Republic inaction on DISORDER AND CORRUPTION. Luke informs her of this secret mission he must undertake given by the old Jedi masters. He uses the Force to wipe the memories of the children for their protection and to conceal their Force capability including his own daughter and sends her with family friend and Senator of Jakku Lor San to live in his village. He sends Poe to grow under Leia's tutelage to train to fly. He sends the other girl and boy to live with a friend on Coruscant, the Imperium General who is friendly to the Skywalker and wants REUNIFICATION of the Republic and to defeat the extreme emerging FIRST ORDER.

These have to be shown somehow. Leading to the Films:

1. In Force Awakens, similar story, but Luke disappeared to search for the true power of the Force to defeat Plagues or to find the balance.
2. This is the saga of the Skywalkers and the "others as main characters" should be confined to excellent Rogue One and such like. Not the main saga. Thus Rey or in this case Padme is a Skywalker, but hidden.
3. Han and Leia are together. Leia leads a group within the Republic who corrupt Senators in denial still label as attempted warmongers trying a coup. Have the First Order instigate a coup, by feigning peace of joining the Republic, only to buy time as they ready a prototype weapon. Leia believes them to be building STAR DESTROYERs, but it turns out they utilised a STAR DESTROYER - in the sense that a weapon fires a beam though hyperspace to cause a system's star to go supernova and eliminate planets in a system. Have the First Order focus on hyperspace technology, moving quicker and tracking (shown in The Last Jedi), to give them an advantage over the larger (but still smaller than the Empire) Republic Fleet.
4. Have the First Order demand in the Senate the end of the Jedi who are attempting a coup via their Force sensitive Senator Organa. And their leadership.
5. The Imperium is against the First Order, but many are reluctant to support a Republic which has humiliated it to having a small fleet.
6. Plagueis/Windu are out in the open now. The First Order's aim and the point of the sequels is to discover the true meaning of the Force, and establish order in the galaxy at any cost. And governed by the strong, be it Force or otherwise. I.e. unlike the Empire which was about centralised peacekeeping, unlike the Jedi which was about peacekeeping, and the free for all Republic, this is about ENFORCING order and the vision of the leaders of the FIRST ORDER. They conspire to draw support of the people through initiating fake "saving the people of planets against the corrupt".
7. Joining forces the Empire and Republic might match the First Order, but divisions and old hatreds remain. Only the HEIRS TO THE EMPIRE, the Skywalkers can unite them. But Leia can't do this alone. Only, she, Han and Luke know of the mission (hopefully Lucas wrote this somewhere, I don't think JJ etc planned out a story).
8. Plagues also wants the secret. He also wants the last Jedi dead as he is the only symbol to reunite the galaxy. So the mission is to find and kill him as before. Same story, but this time:
9. We have a reason Padme/Mey is on Jakku (with Lor San). Lor San is an archaeological expert on old Jedi ruins. And Ben also knew of Luke's vision to search for old Temples and the ultimate secret. Padme is away from the village during the FO attack, but discovers BB8. Poe is captured. He escapes as per film. Leia requests the help of Imperium to find him. Imperium General sends the force sensitive boy to Jakku. He will be revealed in another action sequence during Finn and Padme's escape. Lor San is killed and after the village burns, Padme hides as a scavenger trying to win food packets and seeing the poor suffer. She only knows of Lor San as a guardian and nothing of her true heritage, but demonstrates an interest in the myth of the Jedi and star travel (she has never been off world).
10. Skywalker will appear later and reunite with Leia and Han. Maybe Han dies through sacrifice to protect his wife and best friend. But personally, would rather keep Han alive.
11. Whilst Padme and Finn are repairing the Falcon in space, shoot back to Jakku and now show how Poe survived or a sooner reveal than just random on Takodana. Oh and btw have Jakku be a sandy planet with a rich part and poor part to show suffering. Think of it as a kyber rich wealth for its rulers. The kyber being utilised for the beam weapon the FO utilises (by taking over an Imperial research facility). The poor live poor.
12. Basically Padme and Finn escape without realising that the aid Leia requested, the force sensitive boy (let's call him Aden) snipes the stormtroopers. He found out that Poe was rescued by some scavengers from some sandpit. And finds him to find a ship, the two unable to catch up with Finn etc until they are gone. Whilst Poe ran to find a ship for them to escape, Aden is noticed by Stormtroopers interfering with their attempt to punish the poor people for getting in their line of fire and letting the Falcon escape. He attempts to fight off with a blaster, and about to run when he notices a group about to be executed. He turns, kneels, and suddenly places his hand on the sand, projecting a Force wave that pushes them away and knocking the Stormtroopers off their feet. The light walker (a different walker to an AT-ST) deployed is pushed into a sinking sand area, and struggles to turn. This all takes place on a sand dune, with him near the edge.

13. The Stormtrooper commander shouts "FOCUS YOUR FIRE ON..."
Aden uncloaks his face and ignites a lightsaber from his belt pointing at them (like Kanan from Rebels) The stormtroopers are stunned and distracted from killing the village... "ON THE JEDI!"
They open fire, and initially he deflects killing several, but ultimately not fine tuned are his skills and is injured , being pushed back to the edge. Seeing no way out, he prepares to charge at them, then hearing a noise behind him, ducks.

14. POE materialises with the ship he found and opens fire from above. Aden jumps into the open hatch Qui Jon Style. "What took you so long? And why are we not moving?"
Poe explains it's a rust bucket and takes time to turn, still firing up and throws out a flare to the sand (bear with me). The stormtroopers are dead, but one. The walker emerges from it's quicksand, turning to fire at their ship and reporting to the FO Star Destroyer, that the Falcon escaped with the help of the girl and an Alliance (not the Resistance lol) agent and Finn. It is about to report Poe and the Jedi, when it focuses on firing at Poe in the ship. Poe tries to turn the ship quickly. Aden, sees the stormtrooper fire a rocket at them. He panics , but instincts with the "Force" push the projectile at the walker. As the ship takes off back to Leia, Poe's flare goes off, emblazing the symbol of the Alliance on the sand.

15.Film continues, but the Falcon is found as it resumes an autopilot signal. The Falcon was abandoned or temporarily misplaced as part of a mission Han and Chewie were on to investigate the kyber mining. It flies back to its master. Alternatively, have Han smuggle, but shorten that silly Rather scene. BETTER YET, REPLACE RATHARS, with .... RANCORS. That would be much funnier and that's a spin off in the making... "RANCORS ON A SPACESHIP".

16. Film continues, but I think you show through a chapter 2 of the film scene the Hosnian system, the Senate, the flashbacks of the past to build up the EXPOSITION. Have Han show the flashback of Luke (not seeing his face) and the Temple. At the end of the film, show Leia telling Poe of his origins (since he pulled off a shot only a Jedi could) as well as the other boy Jedi. The other girl Anna Akana will appear as a friend/romantic interest for Aden . She can appear later when the Empire/Alliance unites in the face of Republic destruction as an Imperial pilot since Aden doesn't like flying. In the same way have Poe like flying and Padme not be keen on it, but better at fighting.

17. Now have Han return to Leia on New Alderaan after the Takodana planet scene. Ren kidnapped Padme not sensing who she is thinking she saw this map to the Force secret and Skywalker. Ren is obsessed to destroy the Jedi and know the true power of the Force. BB8 escapes as usual. Aden is the first to arrive to confirm the spy's word that BB* is on the planet. He attempts to save padme duelling Ren, and for a moment best him saber wise, but loses on his raw power with the Force to Ben, who mistakenly thinks he kills him by collapsing the trees onto him. Ben offered his friend the chance to join them, but kills him when he refuses. Have Takodana be a much jazzier planet with dragons or something interesting. Perhaps fields of gold. Windu/Plageuis senses that Skywalker's presence return. And explaining to Ren that he must stay true to the course. With support for the FO mixed, but the Republic unpopular, have the FO broadcast a Palpatine message, but way more extreme about taking over. They fire the weapon that Han suspected they had. Destroying Hosnian, a System with which we have a connection. The First Order warns Coruscant to submit, or face the same fate.

18. Have Luke contact Leia saying He's found it. His location/ planet that he broadcasts from is revealed to the FO by spies amongst refugees in the Republic military who arrived on New Alderaan to join the Resistance, having no use for the droid any longer, they prepare to fire their weapon and obliterate the secret/Skywalker before commencing their conquest of the galaxy. The weapon must be charged to fire through the local star and through hyperspace. Knowing that Luke is danger, the Alliance and remnants of the Republic military band together to destroy it. The Imperium ignores calls to help, with old wounds remaining. However an impassioned speech on the Holonet broadcast by Leia, has the senior leadership on Coruscant shown to be contemplating. The planet Luke is on is in the Coruscant system. Giving weight to the decision to destroy it.

19. This time, the film continues, but Han is trying an experimental procedure to jump through a shield aided by Aden using his instincts (his heritage revealed by Leia) to see through the Force where Han should move. Finn wants to save Padme and joins in, also saying he knows the place.

20. Film continues, but this time, Poe defeats the weapon based on Force skill. Padme recognises her Force powers (but her identity is not revealed till the end of the film as Luke's daughter). Finn is well Finn. Luke will return pulling the lightsaber out of the snow. And Ben retreats by pulling a Count Dooku and treating everyone. Personally don't want Han to die, but if he has to, he sacrifices himself to hold off Ben from the others after a reunion.

21. Have Finn duel Phasma with energy swords or something. Have Aden and Padme duel Ren, and Aden fail again.

22. The X wings are totally outnumbered, but succeed not out of this "good guys always win" stuff, but BECAUSE THE IMPERIUM RESPOND TO THE CALL FOR HELP. Sending a few Star Destroyers, (all that's left of the Empire) and Tie Fighters as support. Imagine Tie Fighters fighting Tie Fighters. The lead pilot is the other Force sensitive young girl (Anna kana character).

23. The film ends with Luke being found, but the Republic destroyed and the dark siders starting to invade the galaxy. This time, they end on Coruscant, with Luke disclosing the meaning of balance or the sacred Jedi texts or something. And the audience are shown who Plagueis is/the identity.

Something like that lol. Had a go anyhow.

 

I would change it so Rey joins Ben in TLJ, and She should not be a jedi.. No way..

 

Yes I actually was hoping Rey would join him. That would have actually upped the ante a lot!

Did anyone read my interesting, albeit long suggestion above lol?

 

Frankly at this point, I'm not sure the creators of the Sequels appear to know who Snoke is or what he wants either.

I feel like we need Batman Begins style flashbacks to explain who he is, and the time gap between Episodes VI and VII. Frankly the Darth Plagues and Windu theories would have been pretty good in my opinion. In the first case, maybe Palpatine in his arrogance thought killing his master with lightning would kill him in his sleep. (Remember he was surprised Luke was still alive in ROTJ). In the Windu case, maybe he has come to the belief that the Republic isn't worth saving since it turned on them. And that he must go fully dark to bring about a Jedi Order that does what is necessary without holding back.

As for their aim - power, control and order. But again the Sequels seem to lack a story arc, or aim. Is it the ultimate power of the Force, maybe that's what Luke went looking for? Without being given any information on Snoke and we are 2 films in is appalling.

Also did anyone have any thoughts on my post above, I put some work into that haha. But seemed like some good ideas?

 

I also think that this theme that the Skywalkers are considered Heirs to the Empire is interesting btw.

To be honest, this post's title should be posed to the legend that created Star Wars, George Lucas himself.

 

I think the ST would have benefited from some vey necessary exposition early on. Personally I think Ep 7 should have been about the emergence of the First Order and the fall of Ben Solo which would still have been a great story. At the moment it feels like a chapter has been removed between ROTJ and TFA. That void is currently filled with my personal head canon.

 

Minor things

-get rid of the saber toss. That's unexpected but it reeks of cheap gimmick as opposed to thoughtful gesture that's going to mean anything
-don't make Luke a book burner. For God's sake. The jedi weren't perfect but "for a thousand generations the jedi knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old republic". Now we want to erase them from history??? That was awful. It stinks of simple-minded fear mongering where the only evidence that is considered is from the event that shouts loudest and last. Makes the character look like a witch-burner (and very insultingly assumes the same of the audience)
-many more to list but I'll skip to major proposals

Major rewrites

Luke
-If we're going to insist on keeping to the whole Luke tried to kill Ben in his sleep plot that needs a lot more to it. They should've played up the background to that a lot more. They should've said something like how after a scholar knowing about Jedi started visiting, Ben started to demonstrate a callousness towards the other students even nearly killing a few without remorse unless Luke stopped him. Luke went to talk to him about it and suddenly saw a great shadow suddenly fall between him and his nephew causing Luke to instantly draw his saber in reflex. Ben woke up and didn't see the shadow. Only that Luke was suddenly standing above him weapon drawn and it went downhill from there.
-Don't send Luke off in exile to die without a lot more stuff to justify it. Say he and his students tried to find and save Ben only for them to be killed off one-by-one over time by the knights of ren until what few remained were caught unawares at their own temple and ambushed and killed. Make it so Luke keeps trying to do the right thing but this costs him his students, his accomplishments and eventually his faith that he should be involved at all. You have to breakdown the character's resolve bit-by-bit. THEN you have a good reason for Luke to step away from the fight. Even then, Luke shouldn't have given up. He should be guilt-ridden and completely lost in terms of what he thinks he can do and maybe blaming himself but don't make him give up and blame the Jedi. That's just dumb. Make him feel like he has no idea what to do next because everything he tried seems to result in disaster. THAT'S good, earned drama.

The First Order
Add in some dialogue somewhere (ANYWHERE) in TFA that says that they FOUND starkiller base at the edge of the galaxy. It was mostly finished and they don't know exactly who put it there but it (and lots of other leftover but salvageable resources from an ancient civilization) were found and made usable again and so the First Order prepared to take the galaxy by surprise knowing they'd never suspect how powerful they'd become. Finn could've talked about some of this during the resistance briefing in TFA. Just say "We didn't build it. At the edge of the galaxy we found factories, resources and technology we'd never seen before". If you really want, say they ran into Snoke and he led them to it

Snoke
During the throne room scene have Snoke tell Rey that he was a child of the force, brought into being by the sith millenia ago in their attempts to create life though he emerged twisted and mutilated. He was powerful and useful but eventually abandoned when the war against the Jedi turned against them. He says that it was the sith's ambition to create life but they never succeeded except twice. Himself and Anakin. He's lived in the outer rim since watching and waiting for a purpose and discovered it when Empire fled to edge of the galaxy. He led them to the ruins of what the sith had built so long ago and offered it to them. They relied on him for his access to the technology and when the moment was right he killed their leadership and took over.

Rey
Have Snoke tell her that she's the last child of the force brought into being by him and like him also searching for a purpose which he then offers to her believing that as direct creations of the force, they deserve to rule over the beings of the galaxy. Ben is included in this because he's the grandson of a child of the Force. He never bothered making serious overtures to Luke or Leia because he knew they wouldn't turn but Rey is like him. Powerful and abandoned and owes the galaxy nothing. That makes Snoke's background even more relevant and makes Rey more relevant as well to the overall narrative.

I personally think the sequel trilogy needed a major think through before they started doing anything but the above are some ideas I'd have at least seriously considered. It fleshes out what's going on now and simultaneously establishes how we got here and all of it only requires a few lines of dialogue at key moments. Very doable despite what RJ has to say about how much 30 secs is worth, especially after the terribly long and badly thought out Canto Bight nonsense.

 

“Snoke
During the throne room scene have Snoke tell Rey that he was a child of the force, brought into being by the sith millenia ago in their attempts to create life though he emerged twisted and mutilated. He was powerful and useful but eventually abandoned when the war against the Jedi turned against them. He says that it was the sith's ambition to create life but they never succeeded except twice. Himself and Anakin. He's lived in the outer rim since watching and waiting and discovered renewed purpose when Empire fled to edge of the galaxy. He led them to the ruins of what the sith had built so long ago and offered it to them. They relied on him for his access to the technology and when the moment was right he killed their leadership and took over.”

...and then chop him in half.

 

I understand that some have a need for answers but Snoke's plan was to kill Rey. What purpose does it serve to tell her his whole life story and the nature of his existence if he is going to kill her a minute later? It's akin to the James Bond/superhero villains that detail their entire plot before killing the hero...doesn't make much sense

 

Agreed - I was quoting someone else with the Snoke exposition, then pointing out that it was immediately rendered redundant

 

I like that idea. I’ve mulled over various motivations for a more informal/non-Empire style First Order for my head canon rewrite.

I’d have Snoke an anarchist and extremely charismatic, strategic genius who has only mild force sensitivity. He and Kylo would have a good relationship, Snoke putting trust and confidence in Kylo to flourish.

Kylo wouldn’t have attacked Luke’s new order, he would have simply gone AWOL because he is a strong character who has an elitist view of what the Jedi should be - orthodox, strict, ruthless, warrior-like. He detests Luke’s new order which is based on compassion, humanity and uses combat as a last resort.

 

If we need to setup a reason for Rey to care that's an easy fix. Start it like so:

(Snoke lifts rey into the air after she tried to kill him)
Snoke: I sense what's inside you girl. You long for answers about your past. It is all that defines you. Your answers are here. Reach out girl. Feel who I am.
(a pall of uncertainty settles over Rey)
Snoke: That's right girl. You can feel it. Something familiar in me just as you feel from my apprentice. Something you share with no other. Do you know what I am girl?
(Rey is silent but fearful looking)
Snoke: I am an abomination. As are you.
(Snoke drops Rey to the floor and takes a seat on his throne)
Rey: (Confused, angry and fearful) What are you?
Snoke: (silent but then gives a mirthful smirk). I am the force given form. A creation of those who dared the unthinkable. To fashion life itself from will alone. And their only true success as you are mine.

(Cut to some other scene here for a bit)

Resume with Snoke telling his origins.

 

No thank you.

 

Reason? Something wrong with this idea?

 

Because it made me cringe as I read it.

 

Try sitting through the Last Jedi.

 

Get rid of Starkiller base

 

I'll second that. It was a stupid idea.

At the VERY least make it a credible threat rather than such an obvious "another death star" device by working it into the fabric of the film's plot.

ANH - the death star is a monster which we only discovered how to destroy after a painstaking fight to get a hold of the secret plans which revealed an overlooked design flaw
ROTJ - the Empire has built a second one (which actually makes sense if it's that effective) but leaked it's location to the rebels knowing they'd have to try and destroy it which will lead them into a trap and end the war. Again this works.
Starkiller base - a freakin' planet converted into a weapon many times the size of the death star (they even drew an insulting size comparison for us right on screen!) by a faction apparently so dangerous that the republic couldn't be bothered to fund more than a handful of x-wings and minor logistical support to oppose them. And how do we blow it up? Do we have to steal plans? Plant a spy? Make a desperate suicide run? Send a bunch of bothans to their likely deaths?

Nope. The sanitation stormtrooper knows how to blow it up and the shield? Pfft. Han's got this. Solved in about 30 secs. No fuss. No muss.

It takes more thought to figure what toppings to put on your average pizza. Way to undercut your main threat there J.J.

Lazy, lazy stuff.

 

That’s why I like TLJ better then TFA

 

Keep George's treatments.

 

just about everything

 

This is a 'just change it a little' change:

TLJ, totally rework the codebreaker plot. Instead, the Resistance knows about the FO's hyperspace tracking tech, and its the main thing thats kept the FO in the fight after losing SKB, but they don't have a counter to it. They've been on the run for weeks/months since TFA, and are being whittled down, along with the Republic. Finn finally wakes up from his coma (rule of cool: with cybernetic implants, because this is Star Wars, dammit), and his history with the FO means he knows a thing or two about the tracking system. He doesn't know how to jam it himself, but he knows where to find the contractors that designed it for the FO: Canto Bight. He's sent, along with Rose and maybe Poe to procure a jammer. Meanwhile, Leia is still in command (maybe Poe is sent off to keep him out of trouble).

There, Finn finds his contact: DJ. DJ's more or less the same guy, and he was involved with the tracking design, but he's mainly there to introduce Finn and company to the head of the project (this is Theroux's character). However, things go awry, any number of ways: Rose wants to help free the oppressed and sidetracks them; DJ's got enough creditors after him for a gambling debt that they're sidetracked; the project head is unsympathetic, thinking the FO is going to win, forcing the team to use DJ as a replacement. Whatever the exact reason is, the team leaves Canto Bight with DJ, and they will be able to work out a jamming system to install on their ships, but it won't be perfect and it will take time to get a permanent system.

Poe suggests they use the jammer to lure the FO fleet into an ambush, by sending the fighters out and jumping to a different system than the main fleet, which has the jammer installed. Leia and Holdo veto this, but enough of the other pilots are sick of running for weeks/months, and Poe decides to ask for forgiveness instead of permission. When the fleet jumps, the fighters jump to Poe's target system: a black hole that is currently in the process of eating up an asteroid field, forming a very hazardous accretion disk (for us EU fanboys, call it the Maw). The FO takes the bait, and we get what could be the most spectacular space battle in any Star Wars movie, as the larger FO ships are totally out of their league when fighting the maneuverable fighters around an asteroid disk spiraling into a black hole. However, by splitting off the fighters from the main fleet, the main fleet is totally vulnerable, and counting entirely on being lucky enough to not be tracked.

Unfortunately, one of the jury-rigged jammers on the main fleet doesn't work quite right, or the fleet is just unlucky, and they're in combat with FO forces, on unfavorable terms (rule of cool: we now have two simultaneous space battles!). Before the fleet can escape, Leia's ship is either destroyed or damaged, and she's killed (maybe something dramatic and self-sacrficing). Holdo rescues whats left of the fleet, and jumps in to rendezvous with Poe (his battle is going great). He's ecstatic for what he sees as backup, and tells Holdo that they've got the FO on the ropes and wipe this fleet out. Holdo tells him to disengage and return to the carriers - Leia's dead. Poe suddenly is forced to face that his gamble didn't even remotely pay off: they hurt the FO, but lost more than just a ship or two, they lost the moral center of their movement. He returns, in disgrace, along with the other pilots, before the fleet jumps back to safety. Holdo reads them the riot act and explains the only reason that Poe and all the other pilots aren't summarily executed right there is because they're all the resistance has left.

*****

Basically, I wanted to keep all the same notes as RJ, but jazz them up a bit, and make them more interesting, and more weighty.