The Sith, Inquisitors & Force Awakens

As of today, there's been a number of bread crumbs being left by Disney/Lucas in regards to the direction of the Star Wars Saga. But recent news has spurred my imagination and who knows- I might be on to something. Follow me along for this magical ride...

The first clue was the Episode 7 trailer itself. It's hard to miss the declaration that the force itself has 'Awakened.' Despite the jokes and memes, I don't believe this title is as black and white as it appears- and rather then suggesting the force has somehow become stagnant, I believe this is to say there are new kids on the block- new players in this galactic saga. This could be an obvious nod to the new characters that are intended to move the franchise forward after the Original trilogy characters pass off the torch- and possibly to the idea of a formation of a new Jedi Order by Luke Skywalker. But I believe the line 'Light and Dark' from the trailer also insinuates an introduction to something new from the dark side of the spectrum- something we also haven't seen before in the saga. (This is of course assuming the New Jedi Order is a drastic departure from the Yoda order.)

The second clue comes from this article- the devs of the Old Republic Game explained that Lucas' story group gave a glimmer of hope for Old Republic fans that the game may be canon- or perhaps one day it could be, by stating that because of it's unique time period set 3,000 years prior to the movie saga- it doesn't interfere with the timeline. In a world where all Expanded Universe content has been deemed 'Legends' until brought into the fold, like bits of content that has infiltrated the animated series Star Wars: Rebels- this makes news of Old Republic content possibly canon rather interesting.

Speaking of Star Wars: Rebels, it's been noted before that content from the series may make an apperance later in the film saga. While it's wild speculation from me, the introduction of the Inquisitor as such a central character of the Rebel series only fuels my larger theory. For those who don't know, the Inquisitor's are essentially force sensitive Dark Sided agents of the Empire who's sole job is to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Jedi. But it also serves another purpose- the Inquisitors are pretty much the only dark sided characters that quite possibly are still around by Episode 7 to cause problems.

Now, why The Old Republic canon possibility is important is because of the content. The Old Republic era's main antagonist is the Sith Empire. To put this in perspective, imagine an entire culture and society that centers around force sensitive individuals that clamor for power against one another. It's like a really evil version of Ancient Rome, where the upper class is held up by a massively submissive and subjected slave driven lower class. Complete with families struggling for control over each other. Problem is, as far as I know- the Old Republic era never really clarifies what happens to the Sith. The expanded universe suggests they were all wiped out and only their teachings remained. But that's all 'legends' at this point.

So this is where it all comes together and I'm freely speculating at this point. We catch up with Luke and the gang 30 years after Return of the Jedi, the Empire must be hurting a bit at this point as their two most prominent Dark Sided leaders are dead (The Emperor and Darth Vader). Imperial Leadership is made up of regular folks at this point, but the the Inquisitors still exist and see Luke Skywalker forming a New Jedi Order. The Inquisitors may not have a lot of pull, but they are quick to realize the threat that is involved in the return of the Jedi. In their desperation, they turn to something they don't fully understand and awaken a force long thought to be dead. The Ancient Sith. Who knows, maybe the Emperor knew of the Sith- but even he didn't want to poke that wasp nest. Considering there's little info on where the Sith vanished to- and this is serious speculation: But imagine how cool it would be to see the awakening of a single Sith Lord, who ventures deep into the wild unexplored regions of space to re-establish contact with surviving Sith Colonies. In the Old Republic era, the Republic knew the Sith existed in the unexplored region of the galaxy, but how vast or where exactly the Sith lived remained a mystery. So it's not outside the realm of possibility.

The reason I find this so engaging is because it means wrapping up the saga in a very poetic way. 30 years after Return of the Jedi I can imagine uneasy lines drawn in a galaxy still divided between the Rebel Alliance and Imperial forces. Suddenly a powerful 3rd party shows up and betrays the Imperials and thrusts the galaxy in all out war. The Rebels and Imperials are forced to align together and set apart their differences to end the threat of the Sith once and for all. It would also make for a final end to the Light side / Dark side fighting if Luke's Jedi order and the Inquisitor Sith teachings could find a middle ground where there's this understanding that taking things to either extreme only bloodies the galaxy in their differences of opinion. In order to 'end' Star Wars- there has to be a unification of the force and both sides need to become one. I'd also love to see them become a reclusive monk like order, but maybe that's asking a lot. It would be an order of Batman's basically- only showing up in times of extreme need.

So there it is, my speculation for the Saga. It's vague, but it's supported by a lot of possible scenarios. Leave your thoughts in the comments!