With the live-action series Star Wars: The Acolyte set to launch on June 4th, audiences can expect to gain new insights into the Jedi.
Yet, as the show takes place during the High Republic era when the Jedi were at their height of power, we continue to view the Star Wars universe from the perspective of the good side.
But what if a Star Wars series took the perspective of the Empire? What would that show look like?
What would it mean for the franchise? An imperial show would build on the premises of Andor and provide more complex villain characters.
Andor and the Empire
To some degree, we have already seen the Empire’s perspective in the show Andor. With its unique, complex characters and storylines, some critics have called Andor “the best Star Wars series yet”.
Season 1 gave us imperial characters that brought us into the dark side.
The character of Mon Mothma, for example, provided great insights into imperial politics.
Even though this character is secretly working for the burgeoning underground Rebel movement, Monthma kept her seat in the Imperial Senate and is believed to be on the imperial side.
She brings us to parties for imperial politicians where we see them making deals and competing for their positions.
Dedra Meero is another Andor character who gives us behind-the-scenes views of the Imperial Security Bureau.
As a lieutenant in the Bureau, Meero is set on weeding out the Rebels and rising in her position. She suspects that the resistance movement is more of a threat than her superiors believe.
After a rebel team pulls off an imperial payroll heist on the planet Aldhani, Meero’s suspicions are validated, and she is awarded expanded powers to lead the hunt.
Season 2 of Andor is not expected until 2025, and will certainly take a Rebel perspective. Yet, as with Season 1, we are sure to get some imperial viewpoints while a full-scale rebellion emerges.
We should see more clashes between good and bad forces, but also get moral ambiguity where the good side does not always seem so good.
An Empire Show
If a show about the Empire premiered, it would borrow from these premises. Like Andor, we would explore perspectives like Meero’s and see the Rebels as an out-of-control, volatile lot that threatens to destabilize the galaxy.
We probably would not agree with this perspective, but an Empire show would want us to consider it.
An Empire show would likewise make us think about who is right and who is wrong.
One of the focal points of Andor was ambiguous characters. As show creator, Tony Gilroy wanted us to see more than good and evil.
He wanted us to ponder a range of people who are not necessarily morally fixed within the Star Wars galaxy.
We see this theme with the main character Cassian Andor, who wrestles with taking part in the resistance for self-interest only, including his role in the Aldhani payroll heist.
We also get this complexity with the imperial character Syril Karn, who falls from grace with the Empire and spends time at home with his mother.
During this interval at home, viewers witness a more humble and human Karn as he takes an ordinary imperial office job.
We may even have sympathized with him as he becomes enmeshed in a grand bureaucracy of everyday dullness.
However, Karn does not give up his chase of Cassian Andor and the resistance, catches the attention of Deedro Meero, and eventually gets himself back in with the Empire.
An imperial series would delve into the daily lives of imperial characters and intersect them the way that Andor has done.
An empire show would show that these characters are not always so one-dimensional and have private lives that resemble our own.
Ahsoka and Thrawn
In Episode 6 of the Ahsoka series, we also get some of the dark side perspective. This episode saw the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a villain from the Star Wars books and the animated series Rebels.
This blue-skinned imperial officer works with the Nightsisters of Dathomir to free himself from Planet Peridea to rule the galaxy. Thrawn provides a character and storyline that could be pursued further.
Episode 7 of Ahsoka reveals more of Thrawn’s evilness and his planned escape, which presents him as a Vader-like character, albeit not a Jedi or Sith.
However, in moments like when he learns that Ahsoka is the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, we see some vulnerability and strategic thinking that make this character more complex.
Thrawn’s concern over Ahsoka’s capabilities shows his human side, while his quick formulations of how to outmaneuver Ahsoka reveal Thrawn’s intelligence.
In the season finale Episode 8, audiences witnessed more “open doors” than endings.
As the video below indicates, even when victory is at hand for Thrawn, he does not take the Ahsoka, Ezra Bridger, and the Rebels lightly.
He knows that the fight will continue, and this ongoing fight before A New Hope could serve as a basis for an empire series, along with season 2 of Ahsoka.
With Ahsoka, we have a launching point for Thrawn’s return and insight into how he could become a new major character in an imperial drama. As Thrawn makes his escape, Ezra sneaks aboard his ship.
Ezra is the Jedi hero from Rebels who sent Thrawn into exile. The plot could pick up with Thrawn’s quest for power and Ezra’s efforts to stop him.
As for Thrawn, he has all the mysterious makings of an old-new villain. Since he was not in the main Star Wars movies, Thrawn could captivate audiences who are not familiar with him.
Since he is not a Sith or Jedi, he could make for a new type of starring villain, one that is open to different interpretations. He is aligned with Emperor Palpatine, but that could change. Perhaps he seeks a different kind of power.
The Perspective of the Empire
A new Star Wars show that takes the perspective of the Empire would thus draw on existing shows that included that element.
Yet, an Empire show would extend on complex characters that do not fall neatly into the light and dark sides.
These characters would still have their evil intentions, but they may surprise us with what they end up doing or how they do not seem so different from their Rebel foes.