Since the reset of Star Wars canon in 2012, the storytellers at Lucasfilm have been inserting an idea of “The Emperor’s Contigency” within books, games, animation, and more. But a recent set of leaks suggests that this idea is bigger than we could even dream. In this week's episode, we’ll tread carefully through the rumors and speculation.

Since the release of The Force Awakens, Star Wars canon has been peppered with references to Emperor Palpatine’s “Contingency” plans for what would happen should he ever be defeated by his enemies. With the return of Darth Sidious in The Rise of Skywalker, is this contingency going to be fully revealed? A recent set leaks seems to suggest it’s bigger than anything we could imagine.

According to Inverse.com: The Emperor’s evil plan in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is still coming into view, and the latest toy leaks may reveal even more horrifying details. Could this be our first look at the epic space battle coming in Episode IX? A report last week from MakingStarWars.net explained how the new Sith Troopers were actually Palpatine’s secret army, which had been hiding in wait on the edge of the galaxy in a Star Destroyer ship equipped with Death Star-level weaponry.

According to MakingStarWars.net: The Sith Stormtroopers have been hidden away in the unknown regions. It is apparently hellish in those areas. The universe is “not entirely stable.” The area is dangerous and full of peril. Since Emperor Palpatine’s death the fleet has been dodging gravity wells and surviving in the wilderness of space in the unknown regions waiting to be found and to finish their mission. The red Sith Stormtroopers which belong to Palpatine are hidden away inside a massive fleet, probably as a final act so upon his resurrection he could dominate the universe once more. However, the Death Star II wasn’t Palpatine’s last project. These Star Destroyers are equipped with “planet destroying weapons like the one on the Death Star itself.”

According to SWNN: In the Thrawn novel by Timothy Zahn, the Emperor worked with the Chiss Grand Admiral to explore the Unknown Regions of the galaxy in effort to prepare for the future of his Empire. The contingency plan hinged around Palpatine’s view that an Empire that could not protect its Emperor was not worthy to continue. At the Battle of Jakku, the Emperor’s plan proceeded in an attempt to destroy the planet, taking the Empire and its enemies down simultaneously. The remnants of his Empire would eventually be reborn as the First Order. But this is nothing new to fans who have been paying attention. What is new from this rumor, however, is the idea that the Emperor’s plans far exceed what we have seen on screen. Not only is Snoke just a puppet for the true leader of the Order, but the entirety of the First Order that we’ve seen thus far is a mere front, drawing the Resistance’s attention as the true threat, a “Sith Fleet” led by Palpatine himself, prepares for its assault from the Unknown Regions. How the Emperor survived the Death Star II reactor remains a mystery, but if true, this rumor points to a huge confrontation and some truly epic moments in the movie. One of the recently revealed ships from the Star Wars: Armada game from Fantasy Flight Games also catches our eye as a ship that comes close to matching this description (see below). The Onager-class Star Destroyer is an Imperial ship that also took inspiration from the Death Star superlaser, though at this point in the timeline, Imperial engineers probably couldn’t quite give it the same amount of firepower as the moon-sized battle station. Perhaps the Onager class was a precursor to the planet destroying ships mentioned in the rumor for TROS. According to Wookieepedia: The Onager-class Star Destroyer, also known as the Siege Breaker, was an alleged type of capital ship that utilized a kyber crystal superweapon in the capacity of a portable cannon. It was believed to be developed by the Galactic Empire and used kyber crystals powerful enough that could shatter mountains and anything but the strongest energy shields. If the Resistance is going up against firepower of this magnitude in TROS, they’re going to need some substantial firepower of their own. Thankfully, according to the expanded novelization of The Last Jedi by Jason Fry, the Resistance might have just the thing after all, providing there are any of them left….“As the Resistance U-55 orbital loadlifters were being destroyed by the Supremacy after they evacuated from the Raddus, General Leia Organa tried to imagine a miracle where Inferno Squad returned from their mission to find the Resistance’s allies in the Outer Rim Territories with a task force of Starhawks” (The Last Jedi Expanded Edition).

Hot Takes:

We’re a few days away from the onslaught of Star Wars revelations coming at D23. Why did it take 20 years to build the first Death Star? And could Kylo Ren be nothing less than a Double Agent for the Resistance? It’s time for Hot Takes!  

D23: All the Star Wars-related panels we need to watch
SOURCE: Dork Side of the Force
A sneak peek of The Mandalorian is on deck for D23 Expo, but that’s not the only Star Wars-related content that will be at the show. D23 Expo is Disney’s own event. It showcases all of its properties and ventures across the gamut. It doesn’t just focus in movies or TV series, but theme parks, history and more. This year’s event should be a good one for Star Wars fans. There will be plenty of new information about the Disney+, which includes a look at The Mandalorian, the first live-action Star Wars series. And according to our friends at The Star Wars Underworld, a preview of The Rise of Skywalker.
Friday, August 23
The Music and Sounds of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, 12:30 p.m.
Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series: Episode II First Look, 2 p.m.
Disney+ Showcase, 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 24
Go Behind the Scenes With the Walt Disney Studios - 10am
ROTS Preview
Sunday, August 25
Heroines of the Disney Galaxies—Presented by BoxLunch 10 a.m.
Sneak Peek! Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, 10:30 a.m
Inspiring Women Behind Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, 2 p.m.
Star Wars Fully Explains Why The Death Star Took 20 Years To Make
SOURCE: Screenrant.com
Star Wars has fully explained why the Death Star took 20 years to make. The Empire's greatest super-weapon, the Death Star was actually in the works long before Palpatine even officially founded the Empire. The initial plans were recovered from the Separatists in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and the tie-in novel Catalyst revealed that this was a deliberate gambit on Palpatine's part. He was able to argue that the Separatists were presumably working on a Death Star themselves, creating a phantom "arms race" in which the Republic began to secretly construct the first Death Star over the skies of Geonosis. Other canon material including new revelations from Thrawn: Treason reveal that the secrecy behind Project: Stardust along with some less-than-supportive Imperial leadership, a certain scientist’s sabotage, and a number of greedy and treasonous officers contributed to a two decade building process.
Star Wars Fans Think This Line From A New Hope Is Proof Kylo Ren Will Turn Good
SOURCE: Esquire.com
The "Actually, Kylo Ren Is Good" theory has been bouncing around since The Force Awakens was released in 2015, but it's really getting some renewed traction this summer. Last week, a pretty interesting Reddit post discussed how it could be likely that Kylo Ren was acting as a double agent to infiltrate the First Order and kill the Emperor when he killed his father, Han Solo. It could simply be wishful thinking for anyone still shipping Kylo and Rey. But, considering these new Star Wars movies are mostly remixes of the original ingredients, it's not wrong to expect Episode IX to retread the old Skywalker redemption narrative with Kylo Ren. As one Reddit fan writes: I watched TFA last night and an exchange between Han and Leia reminded me of something. Han says something close to “it's too late for him, he has too much of his grandfather in him.” This is close to the conversation between Owen and Beru when they say “you can’t keep him here forever, he has too much of his father in him.” Owen responds with “I know, that’s what I’m afraid of.”...So obviously Luke never fully gave into the dark side and managed to redeem his father. Even after his struggle in the Last Jedi, it is clear that the Skywalker bloodline course corrects back to the light no matter how strong the pull of the dark is. Since the whole saga is about balance and finding peace in conflict, I think it’s fitting that this would apply to Ben as well. We’ve heard over and over about how IX will end all three trilogies, so why wouldn’t this theme be carried forward as well?


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