Star Wars Episode VII

[mushu mama]

Ahh yes, but what if it is only Darth's body with Palpatine's consciousness living on in his own apprentice? Could Plaguies not have passed on the way of conquering that skill to his apprentice Palpatine?
Would be a worthy storyline... and even as I left the cinema I was already asking what was up with the Mask, how did Kylo Ren get it?  Why worship a fallen dark lord? unless, he wasn't fallen - in his eyes.    All food for thought.  This fan theory really knitted all the loose ends I had frayed around the story for me... kinda hope this is how it turns out. 

[calisota]

I can't remember...at the end of ROTJ was Darth cremated with or without his helmet?

Greg

[mushu mama]

its implied that Vader is cremated, but you don't actually see the finished product.  It is possible that something happened to his body before he was burned beyond usefulness?  The mask is in pretty bad shape but that doesn't necessarily follow that he was burned with it.  The foreshadowing in the story really does leave it open to the body being used for something/someone else.  

[KeithS]

I think you are being a bit ghoulish there Lisa with the body-snatching! haha.

My take on it is more simple in that Vader's body was burned at the end of Return of the Jedi, with the face mask in place (when Kylo holds it up, it looks pretty damaged from fire as far as I'm concerned).

How did Kylo get it?  Well he is the son of Han and Leia who would have told him the stories of their past - fighting with Luke against the Empire and how Uncle Luke was saved by a redeemed Darth Vader and then of Vader's subsequent cremation.  I think Kylo has gone on a mission at some point to retrieve those ashes as a religious relic, and now looks at Vader and the dark side in almost god-like awe.

[calisota]

I'm not sure that Kylo would have had to go searching for the relics. Luke and Han/Leia would have known that Vaders remains would become powerful relics and a rallying point for the remains of the empire and would have taken them after the cremation and possibly hidden them somewhere. Young Ben Solo would have been exposed to the stories and possibly the remains themselves from early on and this could well have been a powerful pull that eventually drew him to the dark side.

Or not.

Greg

[KeithS]

Luke and Han/Leia would have known that Vaders remains would become powerful relics

Yes - good point.  I wonder if we'll get the back-story from Luke in the next episode?

[ajp]

Wow, some discussion there people. My take on a few things.

I believe Rey is a "nobody" and is the only known survivor of the attack on Luke's academy, aside from Ben Solo of course. I don't think she is related. However I am warming to the theory that Fin could be an offspring of Mace Windu.

I have read recently that Vader will make appearances in Rogue One, so we haven't see the end of that. And depending how far along the time scale they take this story, it might explain how Ben came to have the ashes and helmet.

Harrison Ford is reported to be in the next movie. How that goes I'm not sure, and like you all, am a little concerned, so we need to hurry up and wait for that.

How good is it though? What really impressed me about the movie is how they handled the Tie Fighter/X Wing battles and camera angles etc. To me this is the most significant improvement in the franchise.

[KeithS]

More interesting theories Anthony.

Not sure about Finn and his relationship to Mace Windu - as a senior Jedi council member, I didn't think he'd have any offspring (aren't they banned from relationships - wasn't that why Anakin married in secret?).  How about Finn being related to Lando instead?

I still think Rey is 'someone' - I don't know who, but they put some emphasis on her being left behind by her parents - including showing that moment in flashback (without showing who her parents were - I took that to be deliberate so they could save the ah-ha moment for a later film).

I think Vader will have to be in Rogue One given the time frame of that movie - although I don't think the movie will go much beyond the theft of the Death Star blueprints in its timeline.

I'll be disappointed if Harrison returns in Episode VIII (except in flashback or ghost - I could live with that).

[calisota]

I read an interesting fact. 

Mark Hamill is older in episode 7 than Sir Alec Guinness was in the original Star Wars.

Greg

[KeithS]

Mark Hamill is older in episode 7 than Sir Alec Guinness was in the original Star Wars.

I saw that one too - amazing to think!