When Director JJ Abrams teased us with a look at an X-Wing from the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII, I believe he did far more than inspire legions of fans. I believe that the ship, or rather the condition of the ship is perhaps the biggest teaser yet of what direction the new films will take.
While it may certainly be an older ship or one that was salvaged for use, the battered and battle scared ship clearly has been a survivor of numerous skirmishes. The ship was the backbone of the Rebel Alliance and here it is, some 30 years after the defeat of both Vader and Palpatine still in service.
One would think that if the Republic had been restored than surly a new fleet of ships and likely some modern ones would have been pressed into service.
This can be explained by looking at the larger picture and the possible political landscape of the film. Scenario A has the Republic restored and facing the same issues that plagued them in the Prequel Trilogy. Corruption, scandals, infighting, and mistrust may be common place. Add to it that many systems were likely loyal to the Empire, the notion of armed rebels overthrowing the ruling power and establishing their leaders in positions of political power may not sit well with many systems.
As such, there could be a fear that those systems who did not actively support the rebellion such as the Bothans and Mon Calamari may find themselves slow to trust or be trusted by the new admin.
As such, there likely would be calls for a reduced military as the last thing many systems would want to see is one well armed military unit replaced with another one.
As such the former Rebel Alliance might have to stretch their technology by keeping older ships on the front lines longer than they would wish.
Scenario B is that the Empire is still very much a pardon the pun, Force to be reckoned with and as such the restoration of the Republic has been a slow process especially with some systems sitting on a fence and playing both sides.
In a state of constant readiness and defense over the last three decades the need to keep proven ships in service is clear as performance over style would be a factor as would cost. It is also likely easier to find pilots who can fly a thirty plus year old ship over a new design as avionics and internal systems can be updated but the basic design remains unchanged.
The Expanded Universe showed a Galaxy that was in many ways stagnant. They had Hyperspace, Droids, Blasters, and Sabers, for thousands of years before the Original Series. The rise of the Empire gave way to new and deadly technology and perhaps in the fall of the Empire, technological innovations may be seen as a distasteful subject.
The ship could be a relic of an older day pulled off Watto’s scrapheap for a character to fly to a destination after being stranded, who knows, but the presence of a flight suit gave me an impression that this was a military vehicle and pilot preparing for action.
Red Herrings and misdirection will remain but one thing is for sure, fans are eagerly looking over every clue being offered up and will likely continue to do so.
Follow us on Facebook as either Skewed and Reviewed or Gareth Von Kallenbach
Twitter as sknrgareth
