Putting the “Wars” in “Star Wars:” Five epic battles that should influence Episode IX

Credit: Lucasfilm

Now that Star Wars Episode IX will be out THIS YEAR, how will the third act of the third act end? We look at battles that might inspire the Star Wars: Episode IX.

Though Star Wars has always been about more than the fighting, the epic Sykwalker Saga conclusion is bound to have an epic battle to end the saga. Here are five times Star Wars took us to war, and how they could influence the last Skywalker chapter.

The Battle of Hoth

No one would argue that The Empire Strikes Back can’t show modern Star Wars a thing or two; most certainly ESB demonstrates how to expand the world left by its predecessor. This is most apparent in the Battle of Hoth. The Rebels are sequestered on a lonely ice world, already dangerous due to conditions and angry fauna.  Their hiding place is discovered though by a nefarious Imperial probe droid, and so begins a daring fight to hold the line until personnel and equipment can be evacuated past the Imperial blockade surrounding the planet.

The fear that mounts while while the Rebels occupy their trenches, peering into the snow to try and see the Empire coming, is palpable. Then at once, there they are: The mammoth All Terrain-Armored Transports, lumbering like stygian beasts out of the white! Worse than simple tanks, these monsters move forward relentlessly, Rebel speeders circling them, their blasters useless.

Then, that daring pilot who destroyed the Death Star (more on THAT later) has an idea. Sadly, his own gunner is killed and his speeder forced down before he can act, leaving the rest of Rogue Squadron to do what they can to bring down the walkers.

The battle rages, culminating with Darth Vader himself stalking the escaping Rebels through their collapsing base, flanked by Snow Troopers.  The narrow escape we are left with was something we weren’t expecting back in 1980…did the good guys just lose?

It is doubtful Star Wars: Episode IX would end with our heroes losing, but if something of this scale happens early in the movie to establish the tension, the climax later in the film could stretch back not only to this great battle, back back through all the previous Saga films.