Someone mentioned this in another thread (and someone also mentioned starting a new thread for it, too; sorry for swiping your idea). The core question is:

In your game, how much do people know about the core movie events?

I'm not talking about people who are actually in the know, rather the individuals just trying to live their lives in the galaxy. What do they know about Alderaan, or Darth Vader, or the struggle between the Alliance and the Empire?

Here are a few of my answers:

• The destruction of an entire planet is pretty hard to keep under wraps, so Alderaan is known far and wide as an act of unimaginable cruelty perpetrated by the Empire. At first, Imperial propagandists spread word of the planet's destruction to incite fear, but when the Death Star was destroyed they backpedaled and tried to suppress that information. When they couldn't, they then tried to pin the blame on the rebels. The damage was done, though, and it inspired many systems to enter into open rebellion against the Empire.
  
• Speaking of, all that's known about the Death Star is its involvement in Alderaan's destruction and how it was blown up shortly afterwards by the Rebel Alliance. In general, people point to that as proof of the Empire's vulnerability. Plus, in my universe, the Death Star project was a significant expense that put a strain on the economy. (However, I also take the stance that about four Death Stars were planned; as a result of the first one's destruction the other three projects were scrapped, with the Emperor saving the only other one that had begun construction.
  
• The Emperor himself is widely regarded as a grandfatherly, paternalistic figure by the people. That's the side of himself that he chooses to show, as it inspires loyalty in the common folk. He still plays his advisers against each other to prevent them from targeting him, and anyone who knows him personally understands he's ruthless. But public opinion is generally in his favor, even if it turns against the rest of the Empire.
  
• Vader's existence is largely unknown. Though he's the Emperor's right hand man, due to the aforementioned public persona, he's never seen by the holo-cams or visiting dignitaries. The military knows about him, as he's essentially the commander-in-chief when the Emperor is absent, but again his existence in the hierarchy isn't publicized. This also helps him be an efficient agent of the Emperor.
  

Whew. I'm sure I'll have more to add later, but that's enough of an infodump right now.

What about the rest of you?

Alderaan just happened in my game, and the Empire is still claiming that the attack was perpetrated by the Rebels. The general populace does not know about the Death Star.

Order 66 has come up a lot at my table - and it's generally dismissed as a tin-foil-hat conspiracy theory.

• The Emperor himself is widely regarded as a grandfatherly, paternalistic figure by the people. That's the side of himself that he chooses to show, as it inspires loyalty in the common folk. He still plays his advisers against each other to prevent them from targeting him, and anyone who knows him personally understands he's ruthless. But public opinion is generally in his favor, even if it turns against the rest of the Empire.

My campaign is still quite new and the party are still on their first planet where the Empire has just taken control in a handover (the planet's government willingly joined the Empire, though there have been protests and riots by some anti-Empire groups). The PCs are currently on a mission within a sort of "Meet the Empire" fete in the capital city. There are stands for the Compforce Youth Brigade where many excited kids between 8 and 14 are signing up and having fun holding an Imperial blaster rifle, there's a Tie-Fighter on prominent display with a friendly pilot sitting there answer questions and telling exciting stories. Generally it's a full-on PR exercise. The players haven't yet encountered the "Emperor Palpatine Exhibit" but if they do they'll find it a seriously fawning propaganda piece. "Though without question the most powerful man in the Galaxy, the Emperor dresses in modest robes and was once a senator from a simple world called Naboo..." and "the Emperor initially refused the position offered to him by the Senate, but eventually accepted the calls for him to do so solemnly declaring that he would accept these powers as long as necessary to restore peace to the galaxy..." And all that jazz. There's a sort of Hitler cult about him. Not quite the same "he can swim 20 miles and has mastered fourteen types of unarmed combat" sort of thing that Mussolini and Putin arrange, because there is the obvious frailty about him (ironic, given that he's almost anything but). But more of a noble martyr thing. Injured defending the heart of democracy (against Mace Windu), inhuman hours shouldering the burdens of office, etc.

Anyway, his true nature is far from public knowledge in my game.

Similarly, Vader is not in the public eye. The Starfleet commanders and the grand moffs know him as the emperor's attack dog, their captains and lieutenants know him as someone their masters fear. He's technically outside the chain of command but he is also a personal envoy of the emperor so it's academic. He might occasionally be seen at a public function in the background or with military forces, but generally he is the hidden face of the Empire.

Order 66 has come up a lot at my table - and it's generally dismissed as a tin-foil-hat conspiracy theory.

That's pretty much unknown in my game. Only a handful of people would even know of it. For most, the Jedi were a religious cult that had gained a lot of power in the Republic's seat of government and eventually launched a coup to perpetuate the war against the Separatists when it looked like they might sue for peace. Jedi were fanatics who fought with laser swords rather than blaster so that they could kill their enemies up close, and it was said they could control people's minds.

In my version of the Outer Rim, a LOT of people know that Alderaan is gone, many of those have heard stories that the Empire blew it up with something called a Death Star and that the rebels blew that up a while later.

Few (besides rebels) believe anyone was responsible for Alderaan's destruction. Blowing up a world? That's not possible, right? And the Death Star being responsible, then conveniently being blown up a while later in some nowhere system by the rebels... that's just not believable. Obviously someone is telling tales.

But Alderaan IS gone, and many people would like to know why/how. So expeditions to the remains are available from astrophysics institutes, planetary geologists, the local surveyors, some interplanetary business that had offices on Alderaan, even Hutts looking to make sure that the "lost shipment at Alderaan" is actually lost.

But out in my Rim, the Rebels are viewed as often worse then the Empire. You can bribe Imperial officials, or avoid them, or if necessary, swap out transponder codes and use a fake name. Rebels always want you to do stuff for free, and may insist if they think it's important. At the very least, they're a magnet for trouble.

Sith Lords? Jedi? The Force? My gran used to scare me with those stories. "I've been around the galaxy and...."

As a note: I'm running a campaign without any Force abilities or powers. As for the rest of it, those big stories don't impact the day-to-day business of most people in the Rim, and my players are only going to maybe touch the edges of one, before or after the fact, to give a feeling of continuity and verisimilitude.

I pretty much stick with the canon on this, with some personal interpretation thrown in in the areas that aren't specifically covered:

The destruction of Alderaan is common knowledge all over the galaxy, although the Imperial propaganda machine has tried to spin it as the Rebellion developing a bioweapon that got out of control, forcing the Empire to vapourize the planet. People in the Core sort of buy this, while those further out (who have felt the Empire's iron fist) are inclined to call bull.

The existence and subsequent destruction of the Death Star is being supressed by the Empire, but the Rebellion propaganda machine is milking the event for all it's worth. The news is spreading slowly but steadily, and by the time of, say, the Empire Strikes Back it's mostly common knowledge.

The Emperor is a distant, cold figure. How much he knows and condones of his armed forces' atrocities is a matter for debate, but he is definitely more feared than loved. He's not really someone who comes up a lot in people's daily lives, though. His affinity for the Force is a complete secret to all but his closest advisors.

Darth Vader is a well-known figure. He has frequently been seen on holonews leading Imperial forces and representing the Emperor on more remote planets, and the sight of a 2-metres tall giant in black armour isn't something one is likely to forget. It's known that he's the Emperor's right-hand man, but his "mysterious powers" are as much folklore and tall tales as empirical fact.

• The Emperor himself is widely regarded as a grandfatherly, paternalistic figure by the people. That's the side of himself that he chooses to show, as it inspires loyalty in the common folk. He still plays his advisers against each other to prevent them from targeting him, and anyone who knows him personally understands he's ruthless. But public opinion is generally in his favor, even if it turns against the rest of the Empire.

My campaign is still quite new and the party are still on their first planet where the Empire has just taken control in a handover (the planet's government willingly joined the Empire, though there have been protests and riots by some anti-Empire groups). The PCs are currently on a mission within a sort of "Meet the Empire" fete in the capital city. There are stands for the Compforce Youth Brigade where many excited kids between 8 and 14 are signing up and having fun holding an Imperial blaster rifle, there's a Tie-Fighter on prominent display with a friendly pilot sitting there answer questions and telling exciting stories. Generally it's a full-on PR exercise. The players haven't yet encountered the "Emperor Palpatine Exhibit" but if they do they'll find it a seriously fawning propaganda piece. "Though without question the most powerful man in the Galaxy, the Emperor dresses in modest robes and was once a senator from a simple world called Naboo..." and "the Emperor initially refused the position offered to him by the Senate, but eventually accepted the calls for him to do so solemnly declaring that he would accept these powers as long as necessary to restore peace to the galaxy..." And all that jazz. There's a sort of Hitler cult about him. Not quite the same "he can swim 20 miles and has mastered fourteen types of unarmed combat" sort of thing that Mussolini and Putin arrange, because there is the obvious frailty about him (ironic, given that he's almost anything but). But more of a noble martyr thing. Injured defending the heart of democracy (against Mace Windu), inhuman hours shouldering the burdens of office, etc.Anyway, his true nature is far from public knowledge in my game.Similarly, Vader is not in the public eye. The Starfleet commanders and the grand moffs know him as the emperor's attack dog, their captains and lieutenants know him as someone their masters fear. He's technically outside the chain of command but he is also a personal envoy of the emperor so it's academic. He might occasionally be seen at a public function in the background or with military forces, but generally he is the hidden face of the Empire.

*sniff* I love my emperor.

Order 66 has come up a lot at my table - and it's generally dismissed as a tin-foil-hat conspiracy theory.

That's pretty much unknown in my game. Only a handful of people would even know of it. For most, the Jedi were a religious cult that had gained a lot of power in the Republic's seat of government and eventually launched a coup to perpetuate the war against the Separatists when it looked like they might sue for peace. Jedi were fanatics who fought with laser swords rather than blaster so that they could kill their enemies up close, and it was said they could control people's minds.

I have been playing it as a term that the 'lunatic fringe' is aware of (and several members of my party count as the lunatic fringe). Think of a galactic Alex Jones type, rambling about clockwork elves - that's Order 66 in my game. Most people have never heard of it, and plenty of those who have think it's hogwash. Most people who are aware of the phrase 'know' that it's supposed to be some big government conspiracy, but the number of theories as to what the Order was are as numerous as versions of how The Joker got his scars, and some of them accidentally contain grains of truth.