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This is basically all Revenge of the Sith spoilers, so read on at your own peril.

The second to last scene of Revenge of the Sith features Darth Vader and the Emperor overseeing the construction of the first Death Star. Several things imply this takes place some time after the film's main narrative.

  1. The Star Destroyers have been remodeled.

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  1. The Republic Navy has transitioned into the Imperial Navy and the officers have received new uniforms.

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  1. Vader has gotten used to his armor and the Imperial officers have gotten used to Vader.

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How much time has passed?

Edit: Some people are claiming my question is a duplicate of this one. However, all the linked question's answers state is that the Death Star was in construction during the Clone Wars. They do not mention any of the clues that this scene takes place at a later date, nor do they state when the scene actually takes place.

Rogue Jedi
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    http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/114438/was-sidious-already-making-the-death-star-by-the-end-of-episode-iii? – Jason Baker Apr 07 '16 at 22:40
  • Looks like a duplicate to me. – DCShannon Apr 07 '16 at 22:45
  • @JasonBaker That answer states that the Death Star was in construction during the Clone Wars. I'll remove my fourth points, but the others should still stand, as linked question doesn't actually state when this scene takes place. – Rogue Jedi Apr 07 '16 at 22:45
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    Long enough has passed for Tarkin to become fully CGI – Valorum Apr 07 '16 at 22:52
  • All the other question's answers state is that the Death Star was in construction during the Clone Wars. None of the answers state when this particular scene takes place. – Rogue Jedi Apr 08 '16 at 10:24
  • My answer to the other question gives evidence that this scene in particular took place around the same time as the other final scenes of RotS, like Obi-Wan dropping off Luke on Tatooine. – Hypnosifl Apr 08 '16 at 17:33
  • Also, according to the Legends article about the Venator class Star Destroyer, both of the two images you post in point #1 belong to this same class, it appears the only difference is the paint job (the red stripe was apparently associated with the Republic). As for #2, what difference are you seeing in the uniforms between the two shots? – Hypnosifl Apr 08 '16 at 17:54
  • @Hypnosifl Removing, and possibly adding new paint to at least several gigantic ships would logically take a while. Also, the Republic Navy uniforms are green, while the Imperial ones are grey. – Rogue Jedi Apr 08 '16 at 18:01
  • You think a paint job would take more than say a week or two, especially when they seem to have droids doing most routine physical labor in the Star Wars universe? Likewise, manufacturing a slightly different color uniform in exactly the same style as before doesn't seem like it would be all that time-intensive. – Hypnosifl Apr 08 '16 at 18:12

1 Answers1

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According to the film's junior novelisation, it appears to have been within a few days of Padmé's funeral on Naboo. The book describes it as "shortly after"

Obi-Wan and Yoda watched the funeral from Bail Organa’s starcruiser. It was as close as they dared come. The Emperor’s attention would surely be fixed on the funeral, and they would not take the risk of being found.

Shortly after, the Emperor took his new apprentice off to a remote area of the galaxy where construction of a new superweapon was just beginning — a gigantic space station with the power to destroy whole planets with a single laser blast.

Valorum
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    Hmm. Given that we know that the end of Revenge of the Sith is a good three years after Attack of the Clones, “just beginning” seems an odd choice of words, even for such a grand and long-lasting project. The skeleton seen in the movie also seems rather more than “just begun” to me. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Apr 08 '16 at 16:40
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    @JanusBahsJacquet - Well, it's not completed for another two decades and even then only just. You could argue that the superstructure is the beginning of the project in the same way that a building's foundations are the beginning of a skyscraper. – Valorum Apr 08 '16 at 17:58
  • Considering the fastest that we can build a 57-storey skyscraper today is about 5 months, from fabrication to assembly, 18-20 years to build a mobile space station with nearly an entire galaxy's worth of resources available to it makes it sound like the Emperor wasn't as effective at motivating people as Vader would have had us believe in ANH. – Xantec Apr 08 '16 at 20:20
  • @Xantec - When Vader turns up on the Death Star II, it turns out that the crew is only working double shifts and snoozing half the night away. – Valorum Apr 08 '16 at 20:25
  • Sounds like a roadway construction crew. One person to control traffic, one person to actually work, and three people to stand around talking. – Xantec Apr 08 '16 at 20:27