The Obi-Wan Kenobi series has just premiered exclusively on Disney Plus and as expected, it’s been quite debated. And the thing that has been debated the most is how much this series “retcons” certain things from the franchise and doesn’t in-line with the so-called Star Wars canon. Things such as Kenobi actually leaving Tatooine during his exile phase or facing off against Vader has been claimed that it doesn’t match with the continuity between Episodes 3 and 4. While some of those statements might be true, this should not aggravate fans as much as it does. Why is that? Because Star Wars retcons stuff ALL THE TIME!
It’s quite mindboggling how many people out there like to pretend that Star Wars is a series that HASN’T consisted of patching itself up with glue and duct tape constantly. Many folks like to pretend that George Lucas had every single thing planned five or so years ahead of time before each installment in the prequel and original trilogy came out and there was clearly no improvising. Many folks like to pretend that the people behind making Star Wars content actually put that much heavy thought into the supposed “canon”.
The big truth about Star Wars is that it’s not as popular because it’s perfect. Star Wars is popular because it’s imperfect. It’s that imperfection that makes this series as special and at times, shocking as it is. Does it all hold up to scrutiny? Not even close, but that’s a big part of the appeal and it should be acknowledged as such.
As of result, with the amount of discourse surrounding the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and how it retcons established lore and continuity, I’ve decided to take the time to write down ten of the biggest retcons in the while Star Wars franchise. After all, if we are all gonna critique this new series for having retcons, then it’s only fair to shine the light on other entries in the same franchise that have done it as well.
Disclaimer: I’m not gonna add Obi-Wan Kenobi to this list because that’s still brand new and plenty of people out there have poke fun at it’s retcons and continuity errors. I’m only focusing on the movies themselves and the animated series that are confirmed to be canon (mostly The Clone Wars).
First off, some honorable mentions:
“I hope a weakness can be found” “Umm…yes there is! You should know about that because Felicity Jones already said there was one!”
In Rogue One, Jyn Erso leads an army of Rebel soldiers to secure the death star plans and is suppose to carefully lead itself into A New Hope. It’s then once Luke, Han, Leia, and the whole gang come together and is able to secure the Death Star plans back to base, they can then analyze the plans in the hopes that they can find a weakness.
Just one problem! They should already know there’s a weakness because in Rogue One, Jyn herself told the Rebel Alliance that a weakness does in fact, exist! How is it that they are able to forgot the one important detail that a fallen soldier just recently implied? Did the Rebels just not believe Jyn? Do they just have short-term memory? No wonder why no one wants to join the Rebel Alliance!
“Diplomatic mission to Alderaan? Sure?!”
Rogue One had one of the best moments with Darth Vader ever. Just those 30 seconds of him hacking and slashing his way through the Rebel soldiers to try to gain the Death Star plans felt like it was ripped straight out of a good horror movie. It’s a brutally intense scene that shows why Darth Vader is the most feared ruler in the galaxy.
However, it seems way too confident that Leia is just willingly to apply that she is just on some mercy mission when that is complete BS! Yes, Leia was clearly lying to Vader but come on, that is way too on the nose there to claim that’s how George Lucas imagined that exact sequence that took place right before the opening of the original. Not to mention, Vader uses his power and strength in ways that he did not do throughout the entire original trilogy. And he uses his lightsaber to block gunshots despite Empire Strikes Back establishing he can do it with his bare hands now just because.
Nik Sant is actually Captain Rex!
In recent years, it’s been confirmed that a rebel soldier named Nik Sant, whose older and has a big white beard, was actually Captain Rex, the clone trooper from The Clone Wars series all along. In case you don’t know, Nik Sant is that one Rebel that was with Han Solo in Return of the Jedi and you can see his appearance the moment that Han tapped a stormtrooper’s soldier to lead him into a trap. As it turns out, there was in fact, a clone trooper that stood proud alongside the protagonists of the series all along. However, shouldn’t he be like 65 years old or something at this point? I wouldn’t think someone would have the strength to keep fighting after all of those years. This was clearly done as a nod to fans of The Clone Wars series and nothing more.
All right, onto the big ones! The top 10 most WTF retcon moments in Star Wars!
10.) “I’ve been trained in your Jedi arts by Count Dooku” “Uh, yeah I already know that! We’ve fought like seven times before!”
In Revenge of the Sith, General Grievous tells Obi-Wan that he had lightsaber training from Count Dooku which had allowed Grievous to become the bloodthirsty killer that he is just before the two duel!
That’s very odd for Grievous to bring that up when Obi-Wan is already well aware of this since they fought each other like five or so times in The Clone Wars series. While it’s never officially stated that this is the very first time that the two got into a lightsaber brawl, the scene plays out like it does, especially since Obi-Wan is suppose to look rather surprised with how much lightsabers Grievous is able to wield at the same time. It’s also strange how in The Clone Wars series, Grievous always states Obi-Wan’s name as just “Kenobi”, where in Revenge of the Sith, he mostly goes by “General Kenobi”!
At least, it’s established tho that Grievous started the “Hello, there!” meme before Obi-Wan made it cool.
9.) “My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count!” “You mean when we met like a couple months ago?”
Another retcon from Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin and Obi-Wan encounter Count Dooku while attempting to rescue the Chancellor, Anakin implies that he has gotten even stronger since the last time those two fight. With the way the fights plays off, Anakin is suppose to be referencing when the two squared off during the battle of Geonosis in Attack of the Clones. However, it’s actually referring to whatever their last confrontation was in The Clone Wars, which btw they fought like five or so times as well.
If you don’t believe me, Obi-Wan even says to Anakin before the fight, “This time we will do it together!” And Anakin replies, “I was about to say that!” Um, didn’t you two fight Dooku together in the sixth season of The Clone Wars? And for what I remember about that fight, you two seemed to work together just fine. What are you exactly talking about that just now, you two will take him together!
Unfortunately, unlike the last one, a glorious meme didn’t come for this so welp!
8.) Leia’s “real” mother
I’m just gonna let the lovely Megan Cruz take this one!
7.) Ahsoka
Despite Ahsoka being one of the most loved and beloved characters in the entire Star Wars canon, her mere existence is basically a retcon of the prequels themselves. Throughout the entire prequel trilogy, Ahsoka is never stated or even hinted at throughout any of the movies. It’s never confirmed that Anakin had a Padawan or an apprentice of some kind. Heck, from what the films suggest, you had to be ranked as a Jedi Master to be able to have a Padawan but Anakin clearly doesn’t have it yet.
Granted, when I did my prequel era retrospective, I did state that Ahsoka was still arguably the most important character in the story of Anakin Skywalker and I stand by that. However, I meant that in a more thematic and symbolic way rather than from a storytelling perspective. There was clearly no original intent on Anakin having an apprentice of his own and The Clone Wars era was clearly only meant to be through the perspective between Anakin and Obi-Wan respectfully.
Am I glad that Ahsoka exists? Of course, I do! But that doesn’t make it any less of a retcon.
6.) Palpatine Survived
At the climax of Return of the Jedi, we see the fall of Darth Vader and rise of what is left of Anakin Skywalker as he used the last of his strength to hold the Emperor and throw him down to his doom. It was that moment where Anakin proved that he was indeed the Chosen One by saving his own son Luke from death by his former master. Too bad that sacrifice meant little to nothing as it turns out.
In The Rise of Skywalker, we get confirmation that Palpatine had survived from that fall and had been secretly planning his revenge on the galaxy for the past 30+ years. How did he survive you may ask? Because….because…..okay there was no reason. This was only done because J.J. Abrams couldn’t think of another big baddie for the final movie in the Skywalker Saga that would allow Kylo Ren to turn good after Rian Johnson killed off Snoke in the last movie.
There are still so many questions involving Palpatine I still have yet to cover on this list.
5.) Obi-Wan Kenobi is a liar
This is one that fans have complained about for so many years but this had to be addressed. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a lying a-hole! By that, I mean that he lied to Luke about the truth of his real father and even his sibling. Obi-Wan claims that it was Darth Vader that killed Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s own father. However, what he didn’t say was that Vader and Anakin were the same person and Vader was the name that Anakin took after he turned to the dark side. I get that Obi-Wan might not have wanted Luke to look on his father so downly but come on, you gotta be truthful!
Not only that but Obi-Wan didn’t even mention the fact that Luke had a sister who just happened to be the one woman he made out with in the last film. I’ll talk about that more in the next one. But yeah, Kenobi is a lying piece of s*it! It’s no wonder that Luke sounded so bitter when he was talking about him in The Last Jedi!
4.) Luke and Leia being siblings
Yet another one fans like to rip apart! First off, No, this was clearly not the idea that George Lucas had in mind from the beginning. It’s clear that the other “Skywalker” was suppose to carry over until the next series of Star Wars films where Luke would have went out and search for that other “Skywalker”. But by the time Return of the Jedi came out, Lucas decided to scrap that plan for a sequel trilogy and focus on the prequels surrounding Anakin Skywalker. I’m sure George is not a supporter of incest in any way, shape, or form. It just an overall clumsy way to tie up a loose end that the last movie left hanging and poorly trying to top the “I am your father!” reveal.
The one thing that has always bogged my mind was how was it that Darth Vader couldn’t sense Leia was his own daughter when he captured her in the first one. Couldn’t he sense that the force was strong with Leia or something? It’s only during the final confrontation with his son that he realized that he also had a daughter.
What bothers me the most is that it doesn’t play much of a role in Return of the Jedi. Aside from that one scene where Luke goes batshit crazy at Vader after he suggested that Leia could turn, it doesn’t really amount much to anything other than providing an answer to a question from the last movie. If only the original trilogy was planned from the get-go, am I right?
3.) Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter (or not)
I still can’t believe this one is legit. I still can’t believe that J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio even flirted with the idea that the Emperor may have got busy with someone in the Star Wars universe. Such a bizarre journey of Rey going from someone who must be important because of how powerful she is to being a nobody to suddenly being related to the most evil man in the galaxy. It’s hard to justify this creative choice other than to give a half-ass explanation as to why Rey has as much power as she does.
What’s even more baffling is that she might not actually be the granddaughter of Palaptine but his clone? That’s right! In some recent novelization that came out after Rise of Skywalker stated that the Palaptine in the movie was not actually the real Palpatine but a clone of him and that the real one did in fact die at the end of Return of the Jedi. So, that makes Rey not a Palpatine but the daughter of the clone of a Palpatine? I…just…I….got nothing else.
Here’s a link if you want to read more about it.
https://screenrant.com/star-wars-palpatine-clone-rise-skywalker-confirm-novel/
2.) Luke and Leia are liars
Lying sure seems to be a tradition in Star Wars. First, Obi-Wan lies to Luke about his lineage. Now, Luke and his sister Leia lied to Rey about hers. *in George Lucas’s voice* It’s like poetry, it rhymes!
In Rise of Skywalker, Luke states that he and Leia knew that Rey was a Palpatine the whole time but never told her. Yes, you heard me! Luke and Leia knew that Rey just had to be someone special and gifted and they knew that someone who was special and gifted was also related to the most evil man in the galaxy. How did they know this? How long have they’ve known this? What was the exact moment that they figured it out? None of that is even remotely explained in the movie.
I just don’t get why this change was made. It makes both Luke and Leia look even worse than Obi-Wan. The movie tries to claim that they didn’t tell her because both saw Rey for her “spirit” and not for where she came from but that’s no where near enough. If you sense someone as incredibly powerful as Rey is and she is in the middle of discovering it, you must figure out where that power came from and tell her immediately.
1.) Midi-chlorians
The one moment that changed the way Star Wars portray the force forever. In a scene in The Phantom Menace, Anakin asks Qui-Gon what midi-chlorians are suppose to be. It’s then that Qui-Gon implies that midi-chlorians are microorganisms that originated from the foundation of life in the center of the galaxy.
Despite the original trilogy implying that the force should always be known as a living thing that is inside any living being, this moment suggests that the force actually is something that is measurable and can easily be explained in a microorganism. Only those that have the highest midi-chlorian can contain the true power of the force now it seems. While this was clearly done as a means of making the force something readable and easy to detect, this completely changes the entire concept of the force entirely. In a way, it practically robs the true meaning of it and makes it seems as though only the ones that are “special” can actually contain it.
I chose this as the biggest WTF retcon in Star Wars because it’s one that I believe can actively make you change your perspective on every single Star Wars thing ever. And it will be hard to ever find one that does!
Also, Han shot first!
Other comments:
- This was actually planned for that final piece for Star Wars month in May but things got in the way and I didn’t have much energy to get it done by the 31st! Sorry for anyone that was waiting what that big surprise was going to be!
- I still do plan to write something about Top Gun: Maverick! Hoping to get it out sometime this weekend!
- Also, to anyone that is harassing Moses Ingram or sending her racists comments? Burn in hell! Just f*cking burn in hell! That’s all I got to say on that.
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