Personally, I think I would have continued it from a stage where the empire was almost totally powerless, with the numbers of its supporters significantly reduced, bringing the whole thing full circle, making the old rebels the new empire and the old empire the new rebels, perhaps with the new "empire" being as similarly and insidiously undemocratic as the old, with an apparently benign opportunist similar to the Emperor at the helm. I'd present it from the point of view of the old rebels, who we'd be with at first as we watched them obliterate the last of the Empire, but eventually we'd realise that we were seeing a similar process that saw the Empire take over, and then we'd start rooting for the old Empire, as they'd become the heroes fighting for democracy.
I think that way, it'd be possible to draw parallels with recent(ish) events (for example, the violent removal of Gadaffi in Libya only paved the way for an even more chaotic country) and would carry a pertinent message. I think Star Wars is a great opportunity to teach the public about the basics of politics whilst remaining an entertaining and action-packed spectacle. I hope the new films seize that opportunity.
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A man walks into a zoo. There's nothing there but one dog. It was a shih-tzu.
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