George Lucas...in his infinite ablility to weave a trilogy within a trilogy...is an amazing writer...and if you return to the original THREE BOOKS...there is much more in the writing than in the movies that can allude to some of the answers...
Yeah, speaking of "writing":
Circa 1974-1976 The Rough Drafts for what was orginally called "The Star Wars"
Ha.. Thank god we did not end up with Characters named "Deak Starkiller"(a brother of LUKE Starkiller killed by the "early" Vader),
A Chewbacca with ears like Yoda, Stormtroopers that carried lightsabers as well as their blasters and a Vader that carried a blaster as well as his lightsaber... amongst a plethora of other it would seem really weird things.
Quite cool and funny to look at and read. But thank god it evolved to the movie version that it finally did. If people who don't appreciate sci-fi would think SW is dumb or corny, the original ideas are way "farther out there". Than most people could handle.
Interesting enough, the planet Utapau(which does appear in the Episode 3 film finally) was originally the home planet of Owen Lars and Biggs Starkiller..in the drafts. uh yeah..
'Adventures of the Starkiller, Episode I: The Star Wars'
Author(s) George Lucas
Publication information
Release date January 28, 1975
The 2nd draft of what would become later the film SW "A New Hope".
The story went through 4 or 5 drafts before actually becoming the film we know today.
Concept art from draft ideas. My favorite- Deak & Vader fight in the airlock with "breathe masks".