TCTTS said:
Yeah, that's a good point. But would have also played right into the idea of having The First Order be this thing the characters themselves don't yet know about/see for the first time in TFA.
Like, imagine if Ben Solo had disappeared as a kid after he attacked Luke/the academy. And Han, Leia, etc have no idea where he went or what happened to him. And then, years later, in TFA, a smaller, scrappier version of The First Order strikes for the first time - no one knows who they are or where they came from - but by the end of TFA, Kylo Ren, the leader of The First Order (under Snoke or whoever), is finally revealed to be Ben.
Man that would have been a bad ass way to go about it. How about this?
Start out with this original "towing" opening, and show like a sped-up time-lapse decay of the destroyer after it crashes showing time has passed since RoTJ. Maybe have a counter of the years at the bottom counting from 5 ABY to 30 ABY.
Cut away to some skirmish that is shown where a very apparent New Republic force/delegation is attacked/slaughtered (ala the opening of Game of Thrones with the white walkers and wights) where you're not sure exactly what you're seeing but it's bad and kinda scary and hints of a lightsaber/force user.
Then you bring in your characters, set the scene. Have two storylines going on simultaneously:
- One back in Coruscant at the dedication of the new senate chambers or something like that. (Brings in the prequels and makes you think "Oh great, we're going to be talking about taxes and trade embargos again).
- While the other storyline is on the military side of things of a team brought in to chase down and find out what that attack was about. That storyline culminates with the team finding out the First Order exists and planned that small attack to get the itinerary or plans for whatever is going on in Coruscant.
As soon as they find out, they try to get word to Coruscant to warn them. Ultimately, they aren't fast enough. There's a huge explosion (think terrorist attack) aimed at Princess Leia and the Senate killing thousands. Chaos ensues.
The New Republic scrambles to figure out what is going on and sends a force led by Han (who takes it personal that someone tried to kill his wife) to hunt down the terrorists and find their motive. One thing leads to another and the First Order is revealed. Kylo is revealed at the end coming out of the shadows killing everything in his path and at the end force chokes Han and throws him off the ledge.
This introduces Kylo as a badass ruthless force user. Bookend the movie with a similar ceremony as New Hope but this time it's for Han's funeral. End the movie with Kylo reporting to his 'Master' that the revolution has started.
Sorry, I dragged on for a bit. The only thing I'm not sure I can introduce in this story is a force user like Rey. Easy for a Finn or Poe as they can be in the force that chases down the First Order. But can't find a way to introduce Luke or Rey. Unless you completely rewrite Luke and have him in Coruscant as the leader of the new Jedi Council. And they run into Rey who is like a stowaway on a ship. Rey connects to Han (showing his softer side and allowing the audience to connect to him emotionally making his brutal death even more shocking) and shows her raw power at the end after Han is killed. Luke feels it back on Coruscant of this new raw power.
EDIT: That ending gives you two cliff hangers: 1. That there is someone else even worse than this badass ruthless Sith. & 2. Rey has a ridiculous amount of midichlorians.