Speculation Post-TROS state of the galaxy (Newer Republic? Multiple regional powers? Other?)

Now that at least one movie is confirmed to be after TROS (as we always knew there would be eventually, and even if there weren't how the ST ended just begged the question), and this topic is undeniably a "future films" topic for certain... what should be the post-TROS state of the galaxy?



OPTION #1:
If some form of a Galactic Republic is restored...

I wonder how the post-ST will approach how to balance the power of the executive and the strength/presence of the fleet between:
1. being too powerful - like Palpatine and the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars
versus
2. being too weak - like the situation of the New Republic during the events of the novel Bloodline, and how it was portrayed before quickly being destroyed in TFA

as well as the problems of:
* the galaxy's military-industrial complex
* corruption in the Senate


Perhaps the options below could cancel-out any increase in power of the executive and the military
-create either a population-based house of representatives as a second chamber, or democratic referendums
-create a powerful investigative branch to investigate corruption and keeps the arms dealers and military corporations in check (perhaps a role for the Jedi?)
-eliminate all remaining titles of nobility

Another way to balance a stronger executive could be to
-make it a triumvirate (like the Old EU experimented with)
-have a separately-elected executive, like a president
-have the executive assigned the equivalent of Legacy's Imperial Knights (if the Chancellor goes dark, the Knights automatically remove the person from office, dead or alive).


I would hope any "Third Republic" would keep the positive reforms the New Republic already made:
* direct democratic elections for every Senator (no more Senators via appointment or bloodline)
* worlds being temporarily elected as the capital of the Republic (no longer Coruscant-centric)
* allowing separatist worlds to peacefully secede
* not trying to force worlds into joining



OPTION #2:
Perhaps a galactic Republic is NOT restored.

It would definitely make sense why systems and worlds would choose not to form another galactic government, after the failures of the Galactic Republic, Confederacy of Independent Systems, Galactic Empire, New Republic, and First/Final Orders. Especially since TROS shows it wasn't an organized military alliance that ended Palpatine's fleet at Exogol, but "people, just people."

This could lead to a galaxy where there are dozens, or hundreds, or thousands, or independent governments. Republics, Kingdoms, and many more. I personally think multiple Republics being the most common would be most interesting, to have all these different variants discussed under Option 1 above all be able to be tested simultaneously.

I'm not sure if the galaxy would actually be better because of this - there would very likely be more regional conflicts, and some regions being better at democracy and at sentient rights. But it does make sense for the galaxy to resist galactic government of any form again, at least for a while.

And it would also be great for storytelling while it lasted.

It would also force Rey and the new Jedi trained under her (if they're still called Jedi) to be very different from how the Jedi were in the time of the Prequels. Not affiliated with any galactic government (or individuals who are associated with several). More difficult to be one centralized organization, or if it is, to have lots of well-meaning rogues as wandering do-gooders. Jedi who aren't just "knights" or "monks" but occupy a variety of professions: educators, healers, archaeologists, archivists, scientists, engineers, and more. Perhaps entities like the "Church of the Force" for non-sensitives becoming more common too. Perhaps an end to the no marriage/family rules too. Or at least different Jedi branches for every combination of all of the above and more. Which would happen under a new galactic government too, but decentralized Jedi are probably more likely to coincide with a similarly-decentralized political state of the galaxy.



OPTION #3:
What would other options for the galaxy be?

I'm really not sure what else would be likely, from both an in-universe perspective and an out-of-universe perspective, but I'd like to hear if anybody thinks another option is likely to happen.




Whatever the case, If/When we get into the political side (which Andor is showing can be received well when done competently and thoughtfully), I hope any resolution with politics as a big point would lead up to the resolution not being victory in a war but diplomacy between multiple good but flawed factions leading to a Treaty, by heroes on every side and no side, which is then put to the test and upheld (despite the desires of greedy war-profiteers and their megacorporations) to show they learned the lessons of the previous 3 trilogies. A galaxy where the droids have already been (peacefully) liberated and given equal rights too. Leading us back to a galaxy at peace, as it was pre-TPM, but evolved and even better, a galaxy that won't repeat the past.

 

Galactic Republic in a cold and sometimes hot war with the Mandalorian Empire, and a bunch of aligned and non-aligned systems outside those two camps.

 

So option 2?

I do think that a more bipolar galaxy is just as boring as one with only one galaxy-wide republic. Especially if you make it just another form of "the republic" and make its main competitor another empire. Even if it's mandalorian, that setup would just force the mandalorians into a less gray and more outright-antagonistic role leading to their inevitable defeat, instead of a more interesting followup to the show's storylines by integrating them into galactic pluralistic society. Instead, imagine five regional republics, and the capital of one republic perhaps being Mandalore, with its own separate Jedi order...

 

I mean a complex, gray Mandalorian Empire as the main antagonist to the Republic, with a number of independent aligned and non-aligned systems. So it’s bipolar in the way the Cold War was, but there are more complexities than the OT, NR and ST era. We haven’t had this kind of dynamic before, and I think it strikes the perfect balance: one main big threat, good guys that aren’t a ragtag group of twelve people, and a smattering of interesting independent systems (some of which could also be republics). Even your Five Republics could coexist with this scenario. It’s just that one of those Republics is a superpower, and then there’s an expansionist Mando Empire (or even an aggressive Mando Republic) as an antagonist (but less monolithically evil as the Empire). I like your more complicated picture as well, but that fits the description of a TV universe and not, I think, one that will be very well-suited for a film. So I’m thinking about something that Lucasfilm is mote likely to do.

 

I think a fractured galaxy makes sense to start off.

You could have some wanting a larger Republic again, dreaming the big dream, but maybe it's not quite on the table yet. As is, the galaxy is made up of numerous kingdoms, systems, and territories. Some could be aligned. Some not. Some democratic and others less so. And then you'd have the Mando "Empire" sitting off to the side perhaps, along with a few pirate, warlord or criminal domains in the mix.

I think they could possibly show things are a bit of a mess. There's peace but also uncertainty. Some are very wary of a centralized government, or even a "wandering" one as apparently the NR was doing.

I also think a galaxy that needs to realize it needs a Republic, along with a Jedi Order to help protect it, is a journey. And not just an automatic state the galaxy should revert to anytime an Empire is toppled.

 

Agreed. But that’s pretty much the nature of the NR-era content we’re getting right now.

 

This. Option 2 wouldn't be the ideal galaxy to live in and raise families, but it would make for the most interesting adventure setting, IMO.

 

My preference is Option 2, but I feel like something like Option 1 is needed if the new movie really is gonna be about Rey restarting the Jedi Council and trying to avoid the mistakes of the past.

 

Or...the planetary systems come together to banish the First Order loyalists to a galaxy far, far away, mysteriously named...the Mylk-ee Wae.

 

^ Oh, please, no. That's the path that led to Galactica 1980.

 

I know. That’s what I was referencing.

And I didn’t mean it.

 

You'd better not.

 

Luke wasn’t even ready with first fully-trained Jedi Knight some 25 years after Endor. I really do doubt that Rey will have them at the point of having a Jedi Council some 15 years after Endor. Even if they go the route of a Jedi Council, it’s probably at least a century away before the Jedi could be large enough to merit needing one, even if they wanted to go that structure again.
But why do you feel like Option 1 would be needed to have Jedi that avoided past mistakes?

 

Personally, I would prefer that the Galaxy is still divided/broken.

The Old Republic became corrupt and we saw a large number of systems were willing to break away, even before the Republic became an empire. Then the New Republic was complacent and overly bureaucratic right from the start, neglecting the Imperial presence in the outer territories, and again fell into tyranny.

I don’t think it is the most creative or interesting path to show yet another Republic all over again.

Just because the “Citizen Fleet” banded together in the face of a Sith Empire in no way makes me think that all those diverse peoples are just going to rebuild the same failed system.

There is nothing inherently good about a single unified government, especially one ill equipped to deal with the problems of all of its citizens.

The Republic failing to re-materialize isn’t something inherently wrong, it could be an evolution of how best to make a more equitable Galaxy.

That can also create an interesting question about how the Jedi fit into such a Galaxy, if there is no longer a Galactic Senate, but instead regional powers. Do they swear fealty to one state to the detriment of others? do they get special charters granting them freedom to provide services to various states, free from retaliation? Etc

Rey will yell “Jedi, assemble!” And Ezra, Ahsoka, Reva, Grogu, and Cal Kestis will all appear to help her rebuild.

Bariss Offee will also be there in an Hannibal Lecter style role, complete with his mannerisms, offering Rey advice.


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Whichever has an actual military and not reliant on a dollar store version of rebels.

 

@TaradosGon

Call it boring, but I want to see a working democracy in the GFFA that serves a large number of systems. There can be challenges to that government, yes. But I’m tired of film studios (large corporations) pushing the tired “too much bureaucracy” trope when they depict such institutions. Indeed, in real democratic systems, it’s often key bureaucracies that are a critical buffer against a slide into authoritarianism. And it’s tiring, and IMO a little harmful, to only depict them as negligent, ineffectual, uncaring and ultimately, bad. Likely an unpopular opinion, but as a close observer of how democracies die (it’s part of some of the research I do), this tendency in stories told by Hollywood studios…annoys me. As it’s fundamentally a cynical and corporate view of democratic governance.

 

But wasn’t that what George was showing as early as TPM? Over regulation and procedure was interfering with responding to crises, leading to calls for stronger leadership.

In AOTC we find out a large chunk of systems are unhappy and don’t feel the central government is adequate. And military buildup is the reaction to the prospect of a divided Republic as though the state HAS to stay together.

Then you have the Empire which is going to blow planets up to force all systems to stay in compliance.

Nationalism swept through the world, I’m not sure that the pre-nationalist colonial period was better than what we have today. Just because it was how things had been for a couple hundred years and “worked” doesn’t mean that it should continue, or didn’t mean that nationalism wasn’t a novel way for new imagined communities to develop.

If systems have a long history of feeling exploited or underrepresented, then were oppressed, and then you repeat that cycle twice, I think it stretches credibility that the Galaxy is going to get it “right” this time.


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Hard to explain my reasoning, but basically I think Rey needs to be in a position where the galaxy is as close to its PT-self as possible to prove that she can work through that “scenario” and stop another order 66 from happening. But maybe I’m wrong and the story doesn’t actually need that, I don’t know.

 

I want it to be up and running like it was before the ST. Just because the core planets were destroyed resulting in disarray during the FO siege, I wouldn’t treat it like The New Republic itself ended, and so I’d still call it that moving forward, with any surviving politicians going back to their posts or whatever.

Like with the new Jedi Order, I want the New Republic to still feel like an accomplishment of the OT heroes first and foremost (which the ST heroes merely helped defend/carry on by preventing the Empire/Sith from escaping Exegol into the Galaxy).

 

Random question: Does Star Wars have its version of elves? Most fantasy worlds seem to an have elf species in some way. Pale, tall, pointy ears. Magical. Long-lived. Somewhat more evolved than humans. I wouldn't consider Yoda to be of this archetype, as he's more gnome-like than anything. But I was just curious.

Anyways.

A galactic Republic that is once again protected by the Jedi is ultimately an ideal. However, we've never really seen this in the saga. TPM shows us the last vestiges of an uncorrupted Republic age. It's POV is almost that of Anakin's. It's stills somewhat innocent. Pure. Ideal. It hasn't been quite corrupted just yet. Even though it will be soon enough. When Obi-wan is telling Luke about the history of the Jedi and the Republic, he is doing so with some rose-colored glasses on. He's choosing to see the greatness, and not all the corruption. Just as he does with Anakin. He's able to separate them as two different things, even though they are the same. Even in ROTS, as the Sith have been revealed to have been in control of the Republic for nearly a decade, and he's now fighting Darth Vader, he's still idillic about it all. He still believes in the dream of what it should all be about. Even though it's quite clear that's not the reality.

So yes, it would be great for the Jedi to once again protect a democracy. But what is the reality? If that democracy is just going to be full on bureaucratic to the point that it's almost non-functioning, and secretly run by Imperials or First Order hold-outs, or doesn't even take up the entire galaxy, how does the Jedi operate under that system? Why should they swear an oath to protect what is already corrupted? If the galaxy is made up of dozens, or thousands of republics or independent systems, why should the Jedi work for only one of them? Is that what the Force desires?

I have no idea what LFL will actually write or have the creative inspiration to pull off. They seem to be in a Republic or Empire dichotomy. Almost as if there's just two parties running the show. But I would think after nearly 70 years of corrupt centralized governments running the 'entire' galaxy, the galaxy would probably be wary of such a system, and a Jedi Order 'protecting' such a system. As we saw in Mando, there seem to be many systems who don't want to join the NR. (besides those on the 'wait' list and still aren't). And in the ST, we see that no one really seems to care about the NR going bye-bye. It's not until Palpatine returns that does anyone outside of the fledgling Resistance even starts caring again.

So I would imagine that the galaxy is fractured post ST. Maybe there are some that genuinely want a New New Republic to form. But that still doesn't make for a galactic Republic. And still doesn't make it automatically a good Republic. A Democracy in name only isn't a good democracy. And so I don't think the Jedi should be swearing an oath just to protect one democracy above what could be thousands of them. The Jedi should be independent of the galactic politics, until such time as there is a uncorrupted galactic system once again. The Jedi should obey the Force, and do as they can to help everyone that needs it, working with each system, under those laws (if they even exist in the wild wild west that is SW most of the time).

Maybe the post ST galaxy is one that is mostly fine with no Republic. Or no Empire. Things are ...'fine' now. But then something starts attacking systems. Maybe something form outside the galaxy. Or maybe pirates. And there's no one to protect them. And they need Jedi again. Even without a galactic government, there's a need to protect the galaxy.

 

Yeah. For me it’s too cynical to have the Republic that the OT Rebellion fought to restore never materialize in a positive way. I don’t mind if it end up only covering 40% of the galaxy, or something. But I do want to see a large, functioning and broadly just New Republic.

 

For me, a Republic - if one should exist - should be an end goal, not a starting point.

George seemed to highlight the influence of corporations upon government in the PT, creating crises that only a strong centralized and eventually authoritarian leader can deal with.

That said leader then becomes an oppressive military dictatorship.

The Rebels topple it, and then ~5 years later the New Republic is still inefficient in dealing with Imperial Remnants, and Dave and Jon make a point of highlighting how the wealthy inhabitants of the capital world don’t even really care about what happened.

Star Wars tends to show the poorer more far flung worlds as bearing the brunt of Imperial oppression, at least until the destruction of Alderaan. And those communities already weren’t exactly flourishing under the Republic either.

Tales of the Jedi even highlighted how corrupt Senators were abusing the Jedi establishment to protect themselves and maintain order among their own downtrodden populations.

The New Republic seemed to be a false start.

I don’t think showing the New(er) Republic 15 years after RoS up and running and great really is a good starting point, while the Jedi Order is in “disarray.”

It seems like without the Jedi and “hope” that democracy doesn’t seem to last too long.

It seems like the Republic and Empire are the yin/yang dichotomy of the Star Wars universe, that if there isn’t a Galactic Republic, then there’s a Galactic Empire, at the exclusion of all other forms of statehood.

I have nothing against the idea of a Republic, but I feel like we should see the “why” of its existence, yet again. The need for democracy, for me, isn’t a good enough answer, because democracy can exist on a smaller scale, just as that kind of government exists in many places today, but the idea of sovereignty and nationalism also prevent them from coalescing into a strong international entity.

We have yet to see a non-heavily corrupted democracy. I think to start the film with one really glosses over a major event of actually building said government.

I mean we are seeing the start of the Mandalorians trying to carve out territory for themselves, and they themselves are becoming protectors to those that can’t protect themselves. How do the Jedi and Newer Republic deal with that? That seems like the foundation for its own separate thing. Does that lead to jingoism and revanchism?

 

Because the villains undermined the system ending a thousand year golden age. Then he dedicated a trilogy to heroes restoring the system. I don't think the message he was going for was that large democracies don't work.

 

Plus, a galaxy with no railings is not over-regulated.