How ‘Dark Empire’ Influenced The Sequel Trilogy
“There is always a little truth in Legends.”
Once there was a story of how the New Republic was reduced to a handful of Rebels. A reorganized Empire with new and terrible super weapons emerged, led by the reborn Emperor Palpatine, his spirit now residing in a clone body. If this sounded familiar to you it should, because it described the sequel trilogy. However, this also described another Star Wars story, one told long ago before there was even a prequel trilogy. This is the story of the Dark Empire.
In 1991 Dark Horse Comics published their first comic Dark Empire. Even back then the idea of a reborn Emperor was strong. The writers and artists at the time probably could not even imagine just how much it would impact future Star Wars stories, becoming the basis for a Star Wars movie, and even the entire sequel trilogy.
Let’s take a closer look though. How do the sequel trilogy and Dark Empire really align?
“I’ve Died Before”
The biggest connection between Dark Empire and the sequel trilogy is of course the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine. Both version returned in clone bodies and emerged with new and terrible forces under their command. Dark Empire’s premise was that the Emperor returned more or less five years after the Battle of the Endor with Palpatine's spirit inhabiting clone bodies. In this version of events, Luke Skywalker must face off against his old adversary only to turn to the Dark Side in order to try and take down the Emperor from within. In the canon version, the Emperor returned in the third installment of the sequel trilogy as the mastermind behind both the First Order and Snoke. Luke's nephew Ben Solo, still Kylo Ren at the moment, would confront the Emperor. The main difference between the two stories about the Emperor's return was that one looked at the continuing adventures of Luke Skywalker while the other focused on a new generation of heroes with Rey, Finn, Poe, and of course Kylo Ren aka. Ben Solo.
Superweapons Ahoy
If there was one thing Dark Empire and the sequel trilogy had in common it was the use of superweapons. Lots and lots of superweapons. For Dark Empire, the Emperor returned with a whole host of superweapons, and other dark and terrible technology. The two biggest one being the world devastators and the galaxy gun, which were essentially planet killers akin to the Death Star that could wipe our planets, fire terrible weapons, and decimate entire cities. As part of the Emperor's horrible revenge against the galaxy, world devastators were sent to attack the planet Mon-Calamari, a key world for both the Rebellion and New Republic.
In the sequels we have two main superweapons, Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens and of course the Xyston fleet. Both were more or less Death Stars, or planet killers, but they still continue the trend of superweapons under the Empire.
The final weapon shared by both Dark Empire and the sequels was a massive Super Star Destroyer with the destructive power of a full naval fleet. We have the Eclipse in Dark Empire, and the Supremacy in the sequel trilogy.
Rebellion Reborn
The last thing the sequels took from Dark Empire was just the geo-polical situation of the galaxy. Once again the conflict was reduced to an Empire vs. Rebellion fight. In Dark Empire, the New Republic was driven back by a unified Imperial force until they were reduced to the Rebellion in all but name. In the sequels the Republic capital was completely destroyed, leaving only the forces of the Resistance to fight the growing power of the First Order. While this might just be pure coincidence, it was interesting that both Legends and canon created scenarios where the war reverted back to Empire vs. Rebellion. This showed just how powerful that dynamic can be among writers of all types.
Dark Empire Reborn
Dark Empire may not have been as popular at the time of its release compared to the Thrawn Trilogy novels that came out around the same time. But its influence remained clear as day. Whether it was coincidental or not, the sequel trilogy owed a lot to these stories and others within Legends. It is important to acknowledge the only saying…
There is always a little truth in Legends.
Source: Twitter, Wookieepedia