# Ok so what happens after Return Of The Jedi? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2012, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039 "2012-06-23T05:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/21 "2012-06-23T20:03:28Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Not all of them. They got a huge vector outward when the reactor blew. > > Like **jayjay** , I really wished that Lucas had gone with the Thrawn trilogy instead of the suck. They are a good story with interesting characters, ominous bad guys, and some nice twists. Unfortunately, 20 years after RotJ, pretty much everyone involved is way too old to do the Thrawn trilogy, which happens shortly after RotJ–and the roles are so tightly identified with the actors that I doubt any film following the same characters without them would have worked. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/22 "2012-06-23T21:13:07Z")
If people will buy Hayden Christiansen as Vader, they’ll buy anything. Recast with actors similar and go for it. You only need three of them, really. Everybody else is either a new character or someone buried under makeup. Given the nature of the story in the Thrawn books, it would actually _help_ to cast new people. Then you can get, you know, people who can act. Just don’t let George anywhere within a parsec of the production in any way and you’re golden. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/23 "2012-06-23T21:34:36Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Not quite. It’s explained in the Thrawn trilogy that the Emperor provided coordination between the fleets with the Force. It’s brought up specifically as the reason fleet operations went all to hell after his death in Jedi. So the Force is, like, radio? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/24 "2012-06-23T21:37:41Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > It’s actually kind of sad, but as near as I can tell, the worst things he did as Evil Overlord boil down to, “I tolerate a lot of speciesism because I don’t care enough to spot it, and I murder ther shit out of anyone who opposes me.” Yup, the fictional Evil Overlord is actually very preferable to many real-world rulers, some of whom are considered halfway decent. There was the widespread practice of slavery. He also had a hobby of _repeatedly_ killing people with the help of a mind transfer device and clone bodies; he had the main designer of the Death Star Bevel Lemelisk eaten alive by insects, then executed six other times during construction of the Death Star II. I recall in the EU there was a planet that as an object lesson he had all their industry and agriculture destroyed so they couldn’t support themselves, and set up a system where in order to stay alive the entire population had to go through “rituals of humiliation” before the Imperial food ships would land. And I stopped reading a long time ago, but I’ve heard that his ultimate plan was to consume all life in the galaxy through the Dark Side. They went a little over the top in the EU. Although even in the movies there’s the destruction of Alderaan and the intent of using the Death Star to keep order; that’s like building nuclear weapons for use on your own populace. Even Stalin didn’t keep order by threatening to nuke the USSR’s own cities. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So the Force is, like, radio? More like being assimilated by the Borg, with a greater facade of humanity. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/25 "2012-06-23T21:40:24Z")
Sorta, yeah. They explain it as also inspiring and polishing the actions of the Fleet officers. Admiral Pallaeon speculates that it was the feeling of “correctness” and “invincibility” that the Emperor provided that enabled the Imperial Fleet to do so well in battle. Without that coordination, the Fleet is much less scary. Individual Imperial commanders aren’t known for initiative. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/26 "2012-06-23T21:40:48Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Yes, this is tongue-in-cheek, but it’s honestly not a particularly insane version of events, particularly given that the EU depicts the entire post-RotJ galaxy as complete chaos, which ultimately ends up a century later not with Republican government, but simply a new and somewhat gentler monarchy which alots a strong place for the Jedi within it. And said monarchy is descended principally not from the new Republic, but from the remnants of the _Empire_. > > See also [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/248ipzbt.asp](http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/248ipzbt.asp) , for a hilariously apt article. So, the real-world imperialists at the Weekly Standard think the Empire is good, or at least are big giant trolls. This is a stunning revelation! ETA: Seriously, \*Tamurlaine \*would consider Palpatine an ass. Destroying planets to “maintain order”? Waste of a scarce resource. Following a religion with only two members, where everyone else is chattel? Yeah, that’s brilliant. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/27 "2012-06-23T21:59:32Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So the Force is, like, radio? It’s more like duct tape. A light side, a dark side and it binds the universe together. The emperor was the duct tape holding the imperials together his leadership was necessary to make the fleet work. Once he was out the Imperials had no center and were just as interested in blowing up each other in their individual quests for power as they were those pesky Rebels. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/28 "2012-06-25T08:05:07Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Plus, he shut down the Galactic Holonet to help stifle dissent, depriving billions of sophonts access to the their desperately needed space porn. Now, THAT is the really heinous thing! 😉 I am sure that this was the final trigger for the Rebellion itself 😉 “WHAT??!! No more Twi’lek hotties?? DEATH TO THE EMPIRE!!!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/29 "2012-06-25T08:48:06Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Sorta, yeah. They explain it as also inspiring and polishing the actions of the Fleet officers. Admiral Pallaeon speculates that it was the feeling of “correctness” and “invincibility” that the Emperor provided that enabled the Imperial Fleet to do so well in battle. Without that coordination, the Fleet is much less scary. Individual Imperial commanders aren’t known for initiative. I seem to remember Thrawn commenting that the Fleet’s best commanders had been decimated by Vader’s habit of executing the top officers on a whim. When Vader and Palpatine were killed, the fleet was left being mostly run by yes-men. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/30 "2012-06-25T09:35:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > If people will buy Hayden Christiansen as Vader But they didn’t… ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/31 "2012-06-25T14:52:13Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > See also [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/248ipzbt.asp](http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/248ipzbt.asp) , for a hilariously apt article. Interesting article, but this bit: > [@](#): > > Poor Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen reach a grisly end, but only after they aid the rebellion by hiding Luke and harboring two fugitive droids. They aren’t given due process, but they are traitors. is crap. Luke and Owen bought the droids, not knowing they had any Imperial connection. Luke went to see Ben, and the Empire killed his aunt and uncle. They weren’t hiding a rebel, Luke just wasn’t home (and had taken the droids with him). That’s what set him on the path of rebellion. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/32 "2012-06-25T15:08:28Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Umm…he blew up an entire inhabited planet just to make a point. No, that was Tarkin’s doing. The emperor might have disapproved of blowing up Alderaan as being strategically unwise. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/33 "2012-06-25T15:30:35Z")
I think [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Earth) should help summarize things nicely What? The story was set a long time ago! ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/34 "2012-06-25T15:43:24Z")
> **[Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos](https://www.yahoo.com/)** > > Latest news coverage, email, free stock quotes, live scores and video are just the beginning. Discover more every day at Yahoo! is one of the few times yahoo answers gives a more comprehensive answer than the SDMB ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/35 "2012-06-25T16:22:32Z")
Approximately seventeen million words of crappy fanfic. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/36 "2012-06-25T16:50:09Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > “WHAT??!! No more Twi’lek hotties?? DEATH TO THE EMPIRE!!!” 🙂 “You mean we have to go back to _fake_ tentacle porn? This shall not stand!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/37 "2012-06-25T17:08:28Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Interesting article, but this bit: > > is crap. Luke and Owen bought the droids, not knowing they had any Imperial connection. Luke went to see Ben, and the Empire killed his aunt and uncle. They weren’t hiding a rebel, Luke just wasn’t home (and had taken the droids with him). That’s what set him on the path of rebellion. But from a certain point of view, they were traitors. Your view of things depends on your point of view. Fox News would have reported them as traitors. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/38 "2012-06-25T17:22:18Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > The list of books is very extensive it’s pretty hard to summarize. I stopped reading sometime around Leia’s third child getting killed off. Does that mean “Leia had at least three children who were killed,” or “Leia had at least three children, the third of whom died?” ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/39 "2012-06-25T17:24:21Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Sorta, yeah. They explain it as also inspiring and polishing the actions of the Fleet officers. Admiral Pallaeon speculates that it was the feeling of “correctness” and “invincibility” that the Emperor provided that enabled the Imperial Fleet to do so well in battle. Without that coordination, the Fleet is much less scary. Individual Imperial commanders aren’t known for initiative. I think the practice of not having shields on the fighters probably played into it as well. Before Palpy’s death- TIE-Fighter Pilot: I can do anything! I don’t even need shields! After Palpy’s death- TIE Fighter Pilot: Holy hell! I don’t even have shields on this thing! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039/40 "2012-06-25T19:48:26Z")
> [@Bakhesh](#): > > I seem to remember Thrawn commenting that the Fleet’s best commanders had been decimated by Vader’s habit of executing the top officers on a whim. When Vader and Palpatine were killed, the fleet was left being mostly run by yes-men. Not quite - Pellaeon, the admiral who serves as Thrawn’s second-in-command, ruminates that the destruction of the _Executor_ (the Super-Star Destroyer that nose-dives into the Death Star in RotJ) took out the cream of the Empire’s officer core. He cites Vader’s management technique as a reason a posting to the _Executor_ was so sought after: serving under Vader was dangerous, but it was also a fast track to promotion, as Vader regularly opened up new positions at the top of the organization. Vader wasn’t directly responsible for the dearth of talented officers and crew, though - it was the loss of the entire ship with all hands that gutted the navy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-happens-after-return-of-the-jedi/626039.md?page=3)