The Star Wars heroes overthrew the evil Galactic Empire and stopped it from returning, but what if Emperor Palpatine had won and carried out his plans to their full potential? Palpatine was brilliant compared to past versions of the SIth because he conquered the Republic from within, rather than by force like past Sith. He saw the Sith “Grand Plan” to fruition, destroying the Jedi and imposing a new order on the galaxy.

However, Palpatine had much bigger plans for the Empire that were never realized thanks to the Rebel Alliance. This can be glimpsed through Palpatine’s various contingency plans in canon, and some non-canon “What If” stories like Star Wars Infinities have shown the rebels winning at a later time. Let’s explore an alternate Star Wars timeline where the Empire was victorious, forever reshaping the galaxy.

The Empire Crushes The Rebellion At The Battle Of Endor

The galaxy’s last chance for freedom fails

The Battle of Endor was a turning point in galactic history, where the Empire fractured and the Rebellion soon transitioned into the New Republic. In this timeline, however, Palpatine finally crushes the Rebel Alliance once and for all when the ground team fails to knock out the shield generator. With the Death Star protected by an energy shield, the station cannot be destroyed, and the Rebel fleet is annihilated.

As the Emperor watches from his throne aboard the Death Star, seeing his friends’ final stand causes Luke Skywalker to give in to despair. Blinded by anguish, Luke kills Darth Vader rather than simply cutting off his hand, and with nowhere else to turn, he is converted into Palpatine’s new apprentice. Once the Imperial forces have evacuated Endor, the Death Star destroys the forest moon to ensure no rebel survivors.

Over the next few years, the Empire solidifies its reign, and seeing the Rebellion lose after coming so close to victory crushes any further hope of resistance. The second Death Star destroys several worlds that defied the Empire, including Mon Mothma’s homeworld of Chandrila and Admiral Ackbar’s homeworld of Mon Cala. This is only the beginning of Palpatine’s plan to remake the galaxy in his image.

Palpatine Successfully Completes His “Century Plan”

A long-term strategy to reshape society

Near the end of Star Wars: Reign of the Empire – The Mask of Fear by Alexander Freed, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda revealed the full scope of Palpatine’s strategy to Mon Mothma. He explained that Palpatine only cared about the “Century Plan,” which would gradually reshape Imperial society over several decades. This included seizing corporate ᴀssets, re-education centers, rewriting galactic history, reshaping the family structure, and more.

READ STAR WARS: REIGN OF THE EMPIRE – THE MASK OF FEAR

This plan was disrupted when Luke destroyed the first Death Star, but without the Rebellion, Palpatine would get the Century Plan back on track. With each pᴀssing decade, new generations would be indoctrinated into the Imperial way of thinking, and anyone who disagreed would now think rebelling was pointless. Palpatine would have the Death Star and eventually the Final Order fleet to ensure people kept thinking this way.

This New “Eternal Empire” Lasts For A Thousand Generations

The dark side reigns as long as the light did

The Old Republic and the Jedi Order lasted for a thousand generations, approximately 25,000 years, so what if the Empire endured that long? Many rebels feared this possibility, with Jyn Erso telling the Alliance that giving way to an enemy as evil and powerful as the Empire would “condemn the galaxy to an eternity of submission.” On the flip side, Imperials like Inspector Thanoth stated their belief in the “Eternal Empire” that would endure long after they were gone.

Because the old Sith always schemed against each other, and because the Jedi and the Republic stood against them, all the previous Sith Empires eventually collapsed. Thanks to Darth Bane’s Rule of Two, Palpatine wouldn’t have to worry about Sith rivals teaming up against him, and unlocking the secrets of immortality would let him rule forever. He could even implement a Rule of One philosophy, as he did in the Legends continuity.

With the dark side in power for this long, there’s no telling how terrible the galaxy would become. Freedom would be a long-forgotten concept, rebellion would seem like a fantasy, and those suffering most would have no one to turn to. Even the most enduring empires eventually collapse or evolve into something else, but the galaxy would be subject to millennia of torment before then.

The Jedi & The Republic Would Return… But Not For Long

Bringing back the light is harder when the dark has ruled for millennia

Because the Jedi and the Republic reigned for 25,000 years, the dark side could never triumph for long. Palpatine’s Empire lasted for 25 years before it collapsed, and the Jedi and Republic would always rebuild after any major setback. However, if the Sith and the Empire ruled the galaxy for a thousand generations, it would be the light that never returned for too long.

Every few thousand years, perhaps a Sith acolyte would discover an ancient Jedi holocron and realize that this is not how the galaxy is supposed to be. They would rebuild the Jedi Order, working with those who sought to bring democracy back to the galaxy, but these efforts would inevitably fail. We’ve seen in canon how hard rebuilding the Jedi and Republic was after the Empire’s defeat, and it would be infinitely more difficult after thousands of years.

However, just as the Jedi and the Republic finally fell after a thousand generations, the Empire would fall eventually. Even the Rakatan Infinite Empire, which ruled the galaxy before the Republic, could not last forever, and its fall led to the creation of something better. Darkness can never triumph forever, but it’s still fascinating to consider how different Star Wars would look if the Empire had won.

Star Wars

Created by

George Lucas

First Film

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

Cast

Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal

TV Show(s)

The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions

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