Might be going out on a limb, but maybe Lucas was making some connections between a real-life fascist regime and his fictional planet-obliterating one.

In science fiction, as in real life, racism generally develops in the service of utility. SW isn’t super overt about this, but I think it’s not too crazy to make those connections.

I think that the empire can still be bigoted despite a diversity of enslaved or oppressed races. It’s not just who suffers, but who prospers that defines a prejudiced system.

I think the original notion in the EU about prejudice in the Empire was kind of on point with what the original trilogy conveyed. It seems pretty plausible that an interstellar political regime hell bent on hate, military efficiency, and full-planet destruction would institutionalize racism/speciesism. As far as…

No one’s cracking a “Hail Xizor” joke here? Even after the Thrawn reveal?

Is there any indication about how much time passed before Rey left to look for Luke, or how long it took to get there? The cuts and Rey’s outfit make it seem pretty instantaneous, but I thought part of the point of needing the whole map was that the star systems were uncharted/really far. I could imagine that more…