Several fan theories about Star Wars. Embarrassing questions about Star Wars: everything you need to know about Lucas' universe on the eve of the premiere Darth Vader is the main villain

5. The past of the heroes of “Rogue One”

A cunning plan with “white spots” in the past of the main characters only looks “cunning” from a distance; in fact, it is a trap into which Lucas himself, and now his followers, have always fallen. Remember how much mystery there was in the personality of Darth Vader. Who is he? Where? What's wrong with his face and voice? Thousands of questions left unanswered by the classic trilogy. Are you satisfied with the prequels' answers? To some extent, these answers also killed a healthy share of the special “Star Wars” magic - precisely because the answers to these questions were adjusted to certain conditions. But even with these answers the topic is not fully revealed - who is the father of “Father Luke” himself remains unknown. Descendants will figure it out! So the descendants sort it out, but in exactly the same way as Lucas. Edwards, along with a large team of screenwriters, introduces several characters at once, who, just like their predecessors, appear out of nowhere with empty “personal affairs”. But for understanding their characters and motives for acting, the past is very important. What caused the discord between Galen Erso and Director Krennic, so much so that the latter easily deals with the family of his old acquaintance? In what battle did Saw Gerrera receive such terrible wounds and after what events did he part ways with the Alliance? What skeletons are hidden in Kasian Andor's closets and under what circumstances did K-2S0 fall into his hands? The easiest way is to brush aside all these questions, citing the fact that everyone died, what is the demand for the dead? But then the meaning of the entire film dissolves in the very line that was known to fans of the saga back in 1977: “A group of rebels stole the plans for the Death Star and handed them over to the Alliance.” Or do the authors of the saga want to return to the characters of “Rogue One” in the future and make a prequel to the prequel? Isn't it a bit complicated? I can’t help but point out another important mystery that “Rogue One” creates, but also buries—the Jean crystal. Edwards makes a clear emphasis on Lyra Erso's gift at least three times; the audience understands that this is a concentration of the Force, this is the stone that should become the “heart” of the Jedi sword, but... But the film says nothing about the origin of the precious artifact, nor about its authenticity significance in Jean's life, nor how in the future it could become part of the saga - and there are hints that the crystal will go to Rey. Be that as it may, many holes have again crept into the plot of the general chronology.

4. Death Star

Today we can absolutely say that, by and large, “Rogue One” was filmed in order to cover up one huge logical hole, which viewers of the very first films of the saga could not help but notice - what the hell is in the most grandiose galactic construction, in the ruthless The Death Star has such a simple way to destroy it. The creation of the best imperial forces is destroyed literally with one shot - well, what good is that. OK, the answer suited most fans of the universe. The Death Star was designed by a man who worked against his will, did not share the views of the Empire, and deliberately left a “back door” so that his great weapon could be neutralized in the simplest way. To some extent, this is still the same simplification, which is aimed only at filling the void, but let’s assume that it is logical and suits everyone. But this is not the only problem with the existence of the Death Star in the saga; moreover, Rogue One only added unresolved questions related to this design. For example, how did it happen that the Alliance knew nothing about the Star until the very end of its construction? How did a massive construction project that required not only recruiting the global masses as labor, but also the collection of vast supplies of materials, remain beyond the interests of the Rebels? And this despite the extensive network of dissatisfied people, with active collaboration with pirates, traders, and scammers of all stripes. The Death Star took twenty years to build, but it was noticed only at the time of testing - unforgivable carelessness. Further more - it turns out that the Death Star was not tested for the first time on Alderaan, as we previously thought, it fired two shots much earlier. Doesn't it seem strange to you that the destruction of two more than significant points on the map of the Galaxy was previously left out of brackets? And the answer, again, is simple: one solution brings with it a dozen unanswered questions that eat away at Ssaga from the inside.

3. Empire

Still from the film "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"

By the way, what we learned and what still remained hidden in the internal life of the empire is worth talking about separately. I have already noted that Rogue One hides from us an important aspect of the relationship between Orson Krennic and Galen Erso, but this is just the tip of the iceberg - Krennic already looks like an extremely controversial but interesting figure. Ben Mendelsohn's hero is not an outstanding commander, and, to put it mildly, he also does not shine as a construction site manager. However, Krennic aims to join Lord Vader's inner circle and hopes for the Emperor's leniency! What does this mean? Are we being shown again that the Empire is rotten from the inside? That the structure built by Palpatine is not capable of generating ideas and promoting the best from its ranks? Why this deliberate demonstration of the stupidity of the entire chain of command of the Empire, from Grand Moff Tarkin to the most shabby stormtrooper and droid? Should the Alliance fight such an enemy? It seems that Gareth Edwards was simply not allowed to show the Empire as it should be - terrible, threatening, inevitably bringing death. This, by the way, is evidenced by the extensive reshoots and additional filming of “Outcast.” Compare the trailers with the final result - we lost at least the scenes with stormtroopers patrolling the foggy shore, with the duel between Jean and the imperial fighter at the top of the transmitter tower. It's a shame, but by denying the Rebels a worthy opponent, the authors of the saga inevitably belittle the dignity of the Resistance itself - it doesn't take much courage to defeat fools. But the Empire are far from fools, so why bother?

Still from the film "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"

2. Rebels

If you think that the Alliance has fewer questions than the Empire, then I hasten to disappoint you - everything is even sadder here. No, there are, of course, bright sides. “Outcast” showed us a slightly different Resistance: treacherous, not above betrayal and meanness, openly cowardly in the face of a mortal threat and unable to come to an agreement at a crucial moment. Finally, the confusion and vacillation among the pilots and warriors of the Alliance, their disregard for the orders and lives of their comrades, are fully demonstrated. Surprisingly, these splashes of black and gray make the rebels look brighter and more vibrant. But a few new touches, as expected, entail additional questions and problems. One of the most important is the presence of Leia Organa on the Alliance flagship at the very epicenter of the battle over Scarif. It is only in cartoons and myths that fearless army leaders, kings and princesses go on the attack at the head of their army. In fact, the head of the army is always in a safe place. Leia is not the head of the Alliance, but she is at least an important, unifying and significant person for the continuation of the resistance, and suddenly she finds herself in a place where the outcome of the battle in favor of the rebels is not at all certain. What is the point of her being on the Alliance flagship? Is she the best at overcoming force fields? Does she have access to means of receiving and transmitting drawings that are unknown to others? Is she the indispensable X-Wing pilot? No, no and NO. Leia’s role in the battle over Scarif is purely decorative; she was “pulled by the ears” to be shown in the final frame and to provide a bridge to “A New Hope”. This is how the next “patch” turned out to be even more holey than the previous hole. Moreover, this patch was optional, but entailed many questions. Just like the question of where C3PO and R2 came from on Tantive IV with Leia, because Edwards clearly shows that they were not taken to Scarif. He made a nod towards the classics, but was immediately caught in his ignorance of them. It’s these little things that usually catch criminals - small lies give rise to big ones, and over time it all just comes out.

Still from the film "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"

1. Darth Vader

However, the biggest wave of questions and problems was caused by the most anticipated appearance of Lord Vader by fans. It would seem that the Sith Lord does not do anything particularly significant in “Rogue One,” well, with the exception of energetically “hanging cradles” to the staff of the rebel flagship at the very end. But even a few shots with his participation leave so many questions that it’s time to wonder whether it was worth involving him at all - he only confused everyone. Let's return to the ending: Vader clearly sees how, right before his very nose, the plans for the Death Star change hands, first go to the Alliance flagship, then end up with Leia and eventually escape on Tantive IV. And how does “A New Hope” begin, remember? The capture of Tantive and a nice conversation, from which it is not at all obvious that the Sith is aware of what is on the ship. An extremely awkward connection between Rogue One and the classic trilogy, very bad, clumsy. But let's look a little deeper, into the middle of the new film - there are even more questions there. Where is Krennic flying to meet Lord Vader? To Mustafar, a modest planetoid, the site of the death of Anakin Skywalker and the emergence of Darth Vader. Why does the Dark Lord choose to live in the place where part of his soul died, where he was left to die by the man he considered his best friend, where Padmé was strangled? What a strange choice - living in your own cemetery? However, let’s leave these questions to the desire to denigrate the already gloomy Vader, but why does the Sith take healing baths in the bacta chamber? Is he nursing his burns from his duel with Obi-Wan? But then why did we never see any more hints at the procedures in the 4th-6th parts of the saga? Or is Vader recovering from some unseen battle that took place on the eve of Krennic's visit? But then what kind of fight was it, with whom, who could injure the most powerful warrior in the Galaxy? Again questions, questions, questions... Moreover, optional ones, arising only from the inattention of the authors, their desire to pander to the fan base, to demonstrate their knowledge of the canons, however, very weak, as we see.

Rogue One is certainly an important building block in the saga. It is different from everything done before, it has its own atmosphere and a special mood, associated primarily with the fact that its heroes did not survive the decisive battle. But we cannot turn a blind eye to the sea of ​​plot holes, unsuccessful appeals to canons and legends, and the absurd use of well-known situations and characters. "Cast Away" leaves more questions than before. Is this what the saga's supporting films should be like? Is this how the audience wants to see them? No, but the Force doesn’t seem to be on our side...

On December 14, the release of the eighth episode of Star Wars starts, where we will find out what fate the writers have prepared for Luke Skywalker.

In the meantime, we went through old films and collected some interesting details and Easter eggs that not everyone can notice when watching.

They are among the senators who listen to Amidala's call for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Velorum. Undoubtedly, you immediately recognized them as relatives of the touching alien from the Spielberg film “ Alien", released 17 years before this part of Star Wars

Despite the fact that this phrase is played out perfectly in various comics and memes, in fact the Dark Lord said: “No, I am your father.”

This is a tribute to an old blooper from episode IV " New Hope", where the attack aircraft hit his head on the doorway, and during installation no one noticed this.

The role was tiny, but with words and in two films - “ Attack of the Clones" And " Revenge of the Sith».

The grumpy robot K-2SO also tried to say it in the movie “ Rogue One”, but he was impolitely shut up.

The blue milk produced by the banthas is drunk by Luke Skywalker at his uncle's house, it is part of Padmé Amidala's diet, and we see it in Jyn Erso's house at the beginning of the film. Rogue One».

A ship, which in the future will be called the Millennium Falcon, lands on the planet. At this point it was called the Star Envoy and was piloted by Tobb Jadak. Just as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Chancellor Palpatine crash-land on the same building, the Envoy arrives on its mission to the Senate government site. But Han Solo, who would later own the ship, had just been born that year.

Star Wars is known for some of the most epic storytelling stunts of all time. We're talking, of course, about the scene from The Empire Strikes Back in which Darth Vader tells Luke that he is his father. To imagine the effect this had on contemporary viewers, you can look at. This script was on The Simpsons and has secured its place in pop culture. A month and a half before the premiere of the seventh episode, a fan theory appeared that could blow your mind no less: it convincingly proves that the useless character Jar Jar Binks is actually the most important in the first trilogy. George Lucas may not be a great master of dialogue like Quentin Tarantino (and his heroine will say, “Anakin, I’m pregnant” without much fiction at the crucial moment), but the careful tying of all the knots is not questioned even by critics. Many people, including writer Sergei Lukyanenko, are critical of the flaws in Lucas's plots, but given the fact that Lucas's universe is carefully constructed, has a huge budget, and nothing happens by accident, there are many things that need to be examined with particular care. Here are 10 of the most compelling fan theories.

Jar Jar Binks - Sith Supreme

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Jar Jar Binks is probably the most hated character among Star Wars fans. There are many memes and jokes dedicated to him, and they all emphasize his insignificance. Any true Star Wars fan is bound to hate the clown, who they feel was introduced into the Star Wars script as a bad joke and bait for pre-teen audiences. Too stupid, too pointless, too Disney-esque. An awkward idiot who always gets comically lucky in any battle or mess. It's amazing how readily fans have relegated this Gungan to the category of plot absurdities that should simply be tolerated.

First of all, let's look at his abilities, the first one he has since appearing on screen. What about ? If anyone else had performed this, we would have immediately listed him as a Jedi - but not Jar Jar Binks, because he cannot be taken seriously. Now, in which Jar Jar, along with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn, attacks the droids who have captured Princess Amidala. The Gungan again shows himself to be a fool, clinging to the balcony at the decisive moment of the attack. Curiously, when it lands in a completely different place, the droid is still shooting where it should have been hanging. Luke used it in episode six when Jabba decided to execute him. But this is a clever Jedi, and here it’s stupid Jar Jar - and the viewer again doesn’t pay attention. Okay, then here you go. Jar Jar kills two droids with a blaster held in his hand by a third droid attached to his leg. Yes, you read that line correctly. But he’s kind of a dunce, which means it’s an accident, right? By the way, why was such an incompetent made a general (!) before the battle? You will laugh, but it was enough in the direction of General Bombad. In exactly the same way, Jar Jar convinced the Galactic Senate to end democracy and transfer all power to the emperor. Only Jedi or Sith can carry out such manipulations of consciousness.

In the third episode, when the Jedi have already irrevocably quarreled with the Empire, Jar Jar is still there, but he is such a worthless character that no one is surprised that he is the right hand of the main villain (or the main villain is his right hand). Jar Jar serves Palpatine's interests in every possible way, but no one cares. Rewatch the first three episodes, pay attention to the behavior of Jar Jar, who humiliates the Jedi in every possible way only behind their backs, and to moments like when he, and you will have to look at his figure in a new way. Apparently, Jar Jar has the Force and knows how to use it perfectly, and his appearance in the script cannot be attributed to Lucas’s miscalculation. For the first time such a suspicion arose from Seth Green, who playfully played with the theory. This cannot be assumed at first glance, but all the facts are convincing: Jar Jar is the Supreme Sith, an analogue of Yoda on the dark side, evidence of which we will see, if not in the seventh, then in one of the subsequent episodes.

Qui-Gon Jinn is actually a Sith

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Initially, Qui-Gon Jinn (played by Liam Neeson) appears as a kind of version of Obi-Wan Kenobi for the first three episodes: a wise, kind, adult mentor, who at a certain moment courageously dies in a fight with a tough villain, so that the youth can then get out on their own. He is so flawless that Star Wars fans simply had to find his dark side, which they did, using quite convincing arguments from the script. For starters, it is known that Qui-Gon Jinn is Count Dooku's student (but most viewers don't even wonder how this happened or what it means). It is he who, bypassing the Jedi Council and the Republic, makes a decisive contribution to the creation of the clone army, which subsequently - surprise! - defeats the Jedi and becomes the power base of the Galactic Empire. But his main mistake (or achievement?) is Anakin Skywalker: Qui-Gon Jinn knew better than anyone else how much fear and hatred there was in the soul of the future Darth Vader, but he still managed to make him a Jedi (who is completely expectedly goes to the dark side). There are other examples that even if Qui-Gon Jinn was a Jedi, he was somehow too short-sighted. His path of the Living Force also seems strange, which no Jedi had followed before (but which, at his suggestion, Yoda, Obi-Wan and Anakin). So either he is a bad strategist or a Sith, which is easier to believe. At a minimum, this is a so-called gray Jedi, that is, a Jedi who has not officially turned to the dark side, but rushes between the two forces in his own interests (just like Count Dooku was a gray Sith) and certainly does not act in the interests of the Jedi Council.

Han Solo has the Force

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Han Solo is by default presented as an ordinary man, a cunning adventurer who is skeptical of all sorts of Jedi things. He does not have a lightsaber, and he does not get involved in showdowns between the Jedi and the Sith, but in other conflicts he demonstrates superhuman agility and... In the art of piloting a starship, Han is so strong that he could easily go into the ventilation shaft of the Death Star instead of Luke Skywalker: the robot translator C-3P0 warns that the mathematical chance of flying through an asteroid field is 3720 to 1, but Han Solo just shrugs it off from him and calmly guides the Millennium Falcon through the deadly zone (bonus tricks seem to be included).

One might assume that Harrison Ford's hero is just a damn lucky son of a bitch, but Obi-Wan Kenobi has a program phrase prepared for this: “My experience says that.” At the same time, it is known that Han Solo does not believe in any “Force” and looks like a kind of atheist compared to the believing (and in fact knowledgeable) Jedi. He gives his opinion on this matter in the episode “A New Hope”, in response to which he receives a condescendingly ironic look from Obi-Wan Kenobi, who clearly knows more than we do. Most likely, Khan, one of the most wanted characters in the universe, has been using the Force his entire life without even thinking about it. He has midi-chlorians, but he is not trained. Star Wars fans agree that he is “force-sensitive,” which is not the same as a Jedi, but does at least explain his amazing luck.

Tatooine is the perfect hideout for Luke Skywalker

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Any viewer should have a logical question: what is the point of hiding Anakin Skywalker's son under the same last name on the same sand planet where his father was born? This seems like a crazy idea, which can be easily attributed to a problem in the script, but at the very beginning of the fourth episode this illogicality manifests itself once again: the most important droids in the Galaxy, one of which contains the secret plans of the rebels, are catapulted by Princess Leia to Tatooine. But, instead of pursuing them and digging up a nearby planet, Vader sends his stormtroopers there and prefers to calmly extort data from his daughter (he, however, does not yet know about the latter).

It's obvious that he avoids the planet Tatooine at all costs, and the clue to his phobia lies in the dialogue from the second episode in which Anakin tells Padmé that he hates sand. On Tatooine, he grew up in slavery, where his mother died at the hands of sand people, and Anakin himself took the first step towards the dark side, recklessly slaughtering the entire tribe along with their children in revenge. Darth Vader's most traumatic childhood experiences are associated with Tatooine, and turning to the dark side means the path of least resistance. It's no wonder he doesn't want to face his fears and return to this planet. Obi-Wan knows about this, so he first sends newborn Luke’s new family there, and then he himself settles there as a hermit.

The action actually takes place in our Galaxy

At the beginning of each episode we see a disclaimer: “A long time ago in a galaxy far away.” It seems that few people take this line seriously, and why should they? The proposed visual images (especially in the modern trilogy) are completely futuristic in nature, and half of the characters look and behave like the most ordinary homo sapiens - a species that originated on Earth. But the first is subjective, but the location of the Star Wars universe in the Milky Way is also confirmed by references from other science fiction works. For example, the action of “Star Trek” takes place in our Galaxy, and in two episodes the planet Alderaan, home to Princess Leia, is mentioned there, in the film “Star Trek: First Contact” Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon accidentally flies past, and in “Star Trek: Into Darkness” " R2-D2 can be seen. The Encyclopedia Galaxy, which contains the basic knowledge about our Galaxy, links together the cycle of Isaac Asimov, who invented it, Foundation, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and the Star Wars universe (albeit at the level of official spin-offs).

There are also hints of the galaxy's kinship in video games and comics, but the most compelling evidence comes from Spielberg's E.T. In the 1982 film, he sees a man in a Yoda costume on the street of a Los Angeles suburb: “Home! House!" 17 years later, in the episode "The Phantom Menace", Lucas sends a return greeting: to the Galactic Senate. In the Star Wars universe, this species is called grebleips, and you only have to read the English word backwards to understand why. Either Greblips have become the only species that has learned to travel between different galaxies, or in all cases this happens in ours.

It wasn't clone army stormtroopers who killed Luke's adoptive parents.

We all remember this one: Luke returns home and discovers that the enemies have burned down his home hut and incinerated the bodies of his adoptive parents... Stop. There are a lot of cruel things going on in the Star Wars universe, but in general, the clone army stormtroopers (who, as it were, did this in the process of finding the droids they needed) are not sophisticated sadists. These are just simple soldiers who kill with blaster shots. Obi-Wan himself rejects the version of the sand people's involvement. Here we can see the professional work of a ruthless killer with a powerful weapon, and you don’t have to look far for an example: in the 1997 remaster of the fourth episode, the mercenary Boba Fett is also on Tatooine at that time. Finally, all the i’s are dotted by the scene in which Darth Vader looks intently at Fett and formulates the following order: take only alive, . The situation is so obvious that there can be no doubt about the identity of the killer of Luke's parents. The only question is why we should not know that mercenaries are becoming an important tool of the Empire.

Ewoks - a tribe of evil cannibals

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It's impossible not to love the cute bears from the forested moon of Endor. Even when they, without understanding, try to fry Han, Luke and Chewbacca, we chalk it up to the infantile stupidity of the furry creatures who revered C-3PO as a deity. And when one of them begins to mourn his dead brother during the battle, the viewer’s heart completely melts. The Ewoks bravely fight alongside the rebels and celebrate their victory together. During the feast, one of them, in the most amusing way, taps the drum roll on the helmets of the stormtroopers. In the euphoria of the happy ending, we don’t even think about what actually happened to the previous owners of these helmets and what exactly are the Ewoks celebrating? Their level of development hardly suggests that their goal was to cooperate with the rebels to destroy the Death Star (how can they even understand what kind of object it is if the robot is mistaken for a god?). But the victory brought the bears an unprecedented amount of human meat. We can only hope that Luke and company ate something else at this banquet.

R2-D2 has the Force

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By default, it is generally accepted that the Force comes from midi-chlorians in a biological organism, which means that only living beings can possess it. However, the example of Living Force is enough to understand: Force is not at all tied to biology. Now let's look at R2-D2. Definitely, the royal engineers of Naboo managed to make the most powerful droid in the Universe. He is the only one who takes part in all the battles of all six episodes and, I must say, is very well preserved.

Often it is his actions that become the key contribution to victory. Young Anakin wins his first race in a car built with the participation of R2-D2. Repair a ship in outer space at high speed? Hack any system? Fly up and set your opponents on fire, after all? It's hard to say what R2-D2 can't do. He always finds himself in the thick of it, in a fighter carrying out a key mission, next to the most powerful Jedi. He participates in Luke's Jedi training. It stores the most important information that cannot be trusted to anyone else. Mentally remove him from the film, and you'll find that without R2-D2 nothing sticks together at all. The fact that he made it through all six episodes unscathed is another example of incredible luck. But there is no such thing as luck, which is why the hottest heads of Star Wars fans believe that Luke's father's Power is stored in him. This, however, is a very complicated theory, so we will simply assume that the main droid of the saga is also Force sensitive.

Chewbacca - Rebel Agent

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We first meet a representative of the Wookiee race, who cannot put two words together, in the episode “A New Hope” as a kind of skilled pet for Han Solo. Together with his owner, he begins to play on the side of the rebels and, despite his emphasized absurdity, makes a huge contribution to their victory. But if Han Solo himself appeared in the plot of episode IV out of nowhere, then Chewbacca has a background: in the prequels, he is actively friends with Master Yoda and helps him evade the clones. In the company of Han, Luke and Leia, he is actually the most knowledgeable being and the only participant in past battles, but he behaves as if he was born yesterday. It is likely that in fact, in the Han Solo-Chewbacca pair, the former is the wingman, and Chewbacca leads him to the goal, fulfilling Yoda’s will. We think Chewbacca joined the rebels in episode four, but he was always one of them. This is the real agent who pushed Han to become friends with Luke Skywalker and save Princess Leia, and therefore to destroy the Death Star.

The Jedi are not the main enemies of the Empire.

There are many theories explaining that the true evil in Star Wars is not the Sith at all, but the Jedi, but it is obvious that this is a perversion of the ideas of George Lucas. We must start from the original premise: the dark side is evil. However, this is not necessarily the main evil. It is naive to think that Palpatine built a megalomaniacal superweapon like the Death Star to destroy the Jedi - he almost coped with this task without a planet-sized cannon. Critics and fans of the "strong hand" rightly point out that the Jedi at least did not improve the situation in the Republic; their inaction led to corruption, bureaucracy, social inequality and the complete decline of defense. Palpatine did not seize power for the pleasure of pacing alone in front of a window overlooking space. He did not receive any bonuses that one could fantasize about in such a situation, although it would seem that he can afford anything. But he professes complete asceticism. Russian officials certainly would not have understood him. The Emperor had a higher goal: to protect the Empire from external attack, which was incredibly easy to accomplish under the Jedi. The main contender for the role of an external enemy is the powerful Yuuzhan Vong tribe, which appears in spin-offs and positions itself as a chosen race from another galaxy.