Please do not share the details of this article openly on social media and spoil Star Wars: Episode VIII for those that want to remain spoiler free. These are very general spoilers but lets respect everyone’s wishes and not spoil those that do not appreciate spoilers like us. Be cool!

I heard a few very tiny tidbits that contextualize Star Wars: The Last Jedi very recently. They’re small pieces or bits of information, but they’re very solid. I figured you guys might like to know if your assumptions about the state of the galaxy after Star Wars: The Force Awakens are correct or not. The escalation of the war sounds really cool to me. Some of this is going to be pretty obvious, but I like to know what the galaxy is supposed to think about the day after Star Wars: The Force Awakens as it does seem to be important to the film.

For Snoke, the loss of the Starkiller Base was as significant as his wins. His forces are no longer a secret to the galaxy at large. Those who used to laugh at the idea that The First Order was a threat are either dead or no longer laughing. The Cold War-style standoff is publicly over after the full-on assault on the Republic and the senate. The galaxy no longer views Snoke as someone that is irrelevant on the galactic stage. The galaxy knows he and his cronies are maniacal zealots and they should be feared for better or worse. The galaxy seems to mostly understand that the First Order is eventually coming to conquer its worlds and those worlds have to fall in line or resist. Most understand that war has returned and the perceived era of peace is over.

Snoke understands that everything the First Order used to do in secret is no longer an option and a very overt war is on the horizon. Unfortunately, The Republic has completely collapsed after being attacked by Starkiller Base in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The galaxy is in complete disarray. The galaxy understands that everyone has to pick a side now.

General Organa no longer stands alone in her determination that the First Order is the greatest threat to freedom and democracy in the galaxy and the only choice they have left is to fight.

I particularly enjoyed hearing about the escalation and the state of the galaxy in The Last Jedi. It really seems to line up well with the rumors that Laura Dern’s character will have some friction with Poe Dameron about how the Resistance is supposed to be run and there being some sort of power struggle within the Resistance because of her. While the information doesn’t confirm it, it does seem to back it up a little. It also sounds like both sides in the conflict are about to potentially grow as the galaxy aligns themselves with the neo-imperialists or the freedom fighters.

I wonder if the “casino planet” is important to both sides because it can fund a lot of this war?

I think I will see this movie.

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