Coruscant uprising

News of the Rebel Alliance's victory on Endor, coupled with the deaths of both Emperor Palpatine and his apprentice Darth Vader, triggered widespread celebrations, revolts, and riots across numerous worlds controlled by the Imperial forces, as the information disseminated throughout the galaxy. Although the Empire attempted to suppress the details of the Battle of Endor until they could control the narrative, various Rebel factions began broadcasting the unedited truth within hours of the Death Star's destruction. Even though the inhabitants of Coruscant were supposedly loyal to Palpatine, joyful celebrations occurred, notably in Monument Plaza.

On Coruscant, several Rebel groups of insurgents, one of which included future Wraith Squadron pilot Castin Donn, re-broadcasted footage of the second Death Star's explosion from a New Republic HoloNet transmission. This re-transmission bypassed standard channels, broadcasting on a wide frequency to ensure the footage appeared on every personal comlink and holoprojector.

Subsequently, a large number of citizens started celebrating the Empire's downfall, and an armed revolt broke out in several areas. In Monument Plaza, Imperial patrols were attacked, statues of Palpatine were destroyed using explosives and skimmers, and other Imperial symbols were defaced by Rebels and sympathetic civilians. The people began chanting celebratory phrases like "Down with the Emperor!", "Long live the Republic!", "Freedom!", and even the Huttese phrase "Gi Shatta Gasha!". However, amidst the celebrations and riots, Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard launched a major crackdown on the rebellious elements within the city-planet's population, granting the local military force complete authority to suppress the revolt and restore order. Military retaliation eventually brought the populace back under control, resulting in significant casualties among the insurgents. Donn himself witnessed the death of a young mother and rescued her infant son from being trampled by the fleeing crowd.

Upon learning that the uprising had been suppressed, Grand Vizier Sate Pestage was pleased with the outcome, although displeased that Isard had acted without his authorization. The lack of response from the remaining leaders to the revolts also convinced Isard that none of them were suitable to lead the New Order, leading her to orchestrate the downfall of Pestage, along with general Paltr Carvin and Grand Moff Bertroff Hissa, thereby securing her position as the de facto ruler of the Empire by 5 ABY. Despite this victory and show of force, it marked the beginning of the Galactic Empire's decline, as infighting warlords and a steadily growing New Republic guaranteed its eventual fragmentation into the Imperial Remnant. Two years after the initial uprising was quelled, the New Republic liberated the system from Imperial rule. Luke later reflected on the uprising's events as broadcast on the HoloNet, noting how the Coruscanti populace celebrated with greater intensity than others, proving that Palpatine's reign of fear was fundamentally flawed.

The Coruscant Uprising serves as a retcon, resolving inconsistencies between the celebratory scenes added to the 1997 special edition of Return of the Jedi and the idea that the Empire maintained control of Coruscant for several years following the Battle of Endor. Nevertheless, the event was technically contradicted by Vader's monologue during Palpatine's torture of Luke in the novelization and the sourcebook Coruscant and the Core Worlds, which suggested genuine loyalty to Palpatine among Coruscant's citizens.

Contrary to common misconception, the crowd was not chanting "The Son of Suns" during the celebrations. Pablo Hidalgo confirmed with Matthew Wood that the chant was actually the Huttese phrase "Gi Shatta Gasha!"