The following contains spoilers for the new Star Wars movie. If you haven’t seen it yet and don’t want it utterly wrecked for you, skip this post. And go see it. It’s much better than the first two episodes.
So, at the end of Episode III, all the nails are pretty much in the coffin. Everyone you don’t see in the original trilogy dies over the course of the movie.
Plo Koon, Aayla Secura, Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar and the rest of the Jedi Council: cut down by their own troops in the field after Order 66 is activated.
Mace Windu: partially dismembered by Anakin, then killed by Palpatine by being shocked and thrown out a high window.
Bail Organa: to be killed on Alderaan when the Death Star destroys it.
Qui Gon Jinn: killed in Episode I, finds a way to become immortal through the Force after death, passes this secret on to Yoda, who passes it on to Obi-Wan at the end of Episode III
Nute Gunray, Rune Haako, Wat Tambor and the rest of the Trade Federation cronies: killed by Anakin Skywalker on Mustafar. Notice Tambor clawing at the window in an attempt to escape when the scene begins.
Padme Amidala: force-choked by her husband Anakin, dies in childbirth of a “broken heart.”
As far as Chewbacca, who knows? We see him aid Yoda’s escape, and twenty years later, he’s in Anchorhead with Han Solo when Obi-Wan arrives with Luke. According to the outside literature, his planet was enslaved by the empire. Presumably, he escapes and hooks up with Han. It’s odd that he’s unaware that Yoda is still alive and active as of Empire Strikes Back. It would have made an interesting reunion, especially considering Yoda’s obvious fondness for him.
Yoda and Obi-Wan’s fates are shown at the end, and of course, we know what happens to Anakin and his children. But what about the other Jedi? Surely there were some out in the field who were not in the presence of clones, and who did not follow the false transmission to return to Coruscant. There should be a few out there during the Interregnum.
For that matter, what about Naboo? We see Padme’s funeral (complete with Jar-Jar), and I’m guessing it takes place there. What becomes of Naboo? Surely Palpatine doesn’t want to leave loose ends as far as his past, so is it destroyed at some point? And what happens to Jar-Jar? Please tell me he dies horribly at some point.
One huge and gaping plot-hole that still hasn’t been explained is this: we now know that Anakin was raised on Tatooine. This is where he met the Jedi, and his future master, and where he was liberated. When A New Hope opens, he’s in orbit around the planet he was born on, with his son and old master below, interrogating his own daughter, and he doesn’t notice anything amiss? What gives?
The theory has been raised that maybe he did know, and was acting on cross-purposes from Palpatine. He mentions this in his duel with Luke in Empire, and he also says something similar to Padme on Mustafar. He knows she was pregnant, and I’d imagine he’d use whatever intelligence he could gather to find out whether her children had lived. Is it possible that he knew he had at least one child out there, and he chose to leave it a secret? If so, this changes the dimensions of the original trilogy quite a bit. Still, I’d like to see some mention of it.
Then there are the droids. We now know that Obi-Wan and Anakin were both familiar with C3PO and R2D2, but both men seem not to recognize them when they see them in the original trilogy. Obi-Wan, who even talks to C3P0 and knows his name, denies knowing him. Then again, the original trilogy shows Obi-Wan to be a consummate liar, so that could explain it.
An alternate theory is this: the two droids are meant to guide Luke and the others. We know that 3PO’s memory is wiped at the end of Episode III (very convenient), but R2 knows everything from the very beginning. Think about it: this one little droid is present for every major event in Star Wars history. This can’t be coincidence. He’s even there when Anakin becomes Darth Vader. Could it be that he’s somehow attuned to the Force? We see him survive numerous times when he should have been blown to pieces, but he never is. He’s there for all the key moments. He’s presumably been with Anakin all through the Clone Wars. He just happens to know where to get picked up by the Jawas in A New Hope, ending up with Luke and Obi-Wan (who pretends not to recognize him). He’s with Luke when he flies against the Death Star, when he trains with Yoda, when Han is sent off to Jabba the Hutt, even when Yoda dies.
Just seems odd, is all.