‘Star Wars’ Movie Errors That Eagle-Eyed Fans Caught
Movies are expensive, complicated juggernauts to make, and anything can go wrong over the course of making them. That’s especially true when the movie in question is as big and as loaded with as many moving parts as the Star Wars franchise.
From their scrappy beginnings to their CGI-heavy present, Star Wars movies have always been tough to produce. As such, that means mistakes during filming and editing are inevitable. Still, that doesn’t make it any less wild to see what managed to make it into the final cut. Some are more noticeable than others, but none of them can be unseen.
It Must Be Hard To See Out Of Those Helmets
After stormtroopers breach the control room that Luke Skywalker and Han Solo are occupying in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, one of them can clearly be seen banging his head on the door frame. Although the wobble of the guard’s head afterward was brief, it clearly showed how unexpected that was for the actor.
Funnily enough, this moment ended up becoming so well-known and affectionately referenced among the fanbase that the special edition DVD of the movie added an audible thump when the stormtrooper hits his head. It’s one of the few good changes those special editions made.
This Isn’t What They Mean By “Turncoat”
Before the final battle of Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, Lando Calrissian and Han Solo have a conversation in which Solo allows his friend to use his prized Millennium Falcon during the assault on the Death Star. Calrissian affectionately ends their conversation by telling Solo, “Would you get going, you pirate?”
However, that’s not all that happens during this chat. When Calrissian says that last line, his outfit is suddenly reversed as if it’s a completely different costume from what he wore when they started the conversation. Specifically, both the shoulder strap from his holster and the insignia on his chest are on opposite sides from where they started.
He Was Loyal To His Men To The Very End
After Captain Needa loses the Millennium Falcon after a lengthy pursuit in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, he personally apologizes to Darth Vader for the failure, only to find himself executed. After Vader sarcastically says, “Apology accepted, Captain Needa,” two guards take the fallen captain away.
However, it seems that the actor was just as honorable as his character, as he can clearly be seen using his legs to help them hoist him up. It may not have been realistic for someone who’s supposed to be dead to do, but I’m sure his fellow actors appreciated not having to drag his limp body around.
Unless Padmé Can Use The Force, This Makes No Sense
During the final battle on Geonosis in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones, the heroes pursue Count Dooku in a large transport ship. At one point, Padmé falls out of this ship, prompting a dismayed reaction from Anakin Skywalker that Obi-Wan can’t yield to or Dooku will get away.
Our heroes follow Dooku as he heads for a hangar, after which Padmé dusts herself off and regroups with a clone trooper, who tells that they need to get to the hangar. However, since she fell out before anyone knew Dooku was going there, how did she know that was their destination?
General Grievous Clearly Runs A Tight Ship
Considering the flurry of lightsabers involved in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s duel with General Grievous in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, it’s easy to miss a lot of background details. That said, one of them was large enough to make its sudden absence noticeable.
Before Grievous engages Kenobi himself, he sics four MagnaGuards on him, only to witness the Jedi crushing these guards with a giant metal structure he pulled from the ceiling using the Force. By the time Kenobi and Grievous actually fight, those guards and the giant structure have suddenly vanished. Grievous must have the best clean-up crew in the galaxy.
X-Wings Show Wear And Tear In Remarkably Similar Ways
When Poe Dameron leads an X-Wing squadron in an attack on a thermal oscillator in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, the viewer gets a look inside his cockpit, as well as those of his fellow pilots. Indeed, many of these shots from inside their cockpits are in quick succession.
However, that’s actually a problem for the movie, as these cuts between cockpits make it clear that the windows on either side of the pilots have identical marks and scratches. In other words, the filmmakers made it a little too obvious that they were just reusing the same cockpit over and over again.
Was There A Rest Stop In The Sky?
During the opening sequence of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Jyn Erso spots an Imperial shuttle heading to her father’s farm as a child and runs back home in response. Considering how fast a child can move versus a space shuttle, one would expect that shuttle to have long finished its business on the farm by the time she arrived.
However, not only does Erso somehow beat the shuttle home, but she has enough time to talk to her father and for her mother to hide her in a cave before the shuttle arrives. Did the crew threaten to mutiny if they didn’t stop for food or something?
Even Finn’s Gear Wanted To Leave
At one point during Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, Finn loses his nerve and plans to abandon the Rebel Alliance via an escape pod. After he puts his bag down in front of the escape pod, however, he’s confronted by Rose Tico about his potential cowardice.
Before Tico notices what he’s doing, that pack remains where Finn placed it. However, during her conversation with him, the pack is suddenly inside the escape pod. Finn didn’t put it there and Tico would have had absolutely no reason to do that. Apparently, Finn’s pack was even more eager to leave than he was.
That Stormtrooper Was Serious About His Break Time
Before Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia swing across the gorge within the Death Star in A New Hope, Skywalker gives Leia his blaster so he can set up his grappling hook. Once she takes it, she takes some pot shots at the stormtroopers firing at them from across the gorge.
Right before they swing across, Leia hits a bulkhead behind the guard on the right side of the platform, which leads him to fall forward. If that was supposed to take out the other stormtrooper as well, however, it seems he missed the memo because he remains standing and firing. Yet, he completely vanishes by the time they make it across and doesn’t bother them any further.
That Obviously Wasn’t Their First Take
During one moment in The Empire Strikes Back, Princess Leia loses her balance and is caught by Han Solo. Since their love story was still budding at the time, Leia has a sardonic response, saying, “Captain, being held by you isn’t quite enough to get me excited.”
After watching closely, it’s hard not to wonder how many takes Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford went through before they landed on the one that made it into the movie. Why is that? Well, when Fisher says this line, Ford can be seen subtly mouthing her words.
The Prop Department Fumbled This One
After Anakin Skywalker tests his podracer in The Phantom Menace, he and Qui-Gon Jinn relax at his home, where Jinn explains the maligned concept of midichlorians to him. Jinn pricks him during this conversation, allowing him to surreptitiously send a sample of Skywalker’s blood to Obi-Wan Kenobi via a comlink device.
When he sends this sample, there’s a close-up of the comlink, and it seems the camera operator should have taken a step back. That’s because this close shot makes it very obvious that the “comlink” is actually a Gillette Sensor Excel women’s razor.
He Wasn’t Using The Force That Time, Either
Soon after Luke Skywalker arrives on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back, and R2-D2 deal with the circumstances of their rough landing. Once those are sorted out, Skywalker says, “Now all we’ve got to do is find this Yoda, if he even exists.
However, it seems that nobody told Mark Hamill to say this while they were actually filming, and his voice was dubbed in later. In fact, it’s pretty obvious because while Hamill is looking around with his mouth open during this line, he clearly isn’t saying anything. It’s not like he needs to use the Force to talk to somebody who’s only a few feet away from him.
Her Name’s Leia, Dude
After the climatic final battle that destroys the Death Star in A New Hope, Luke Skywalker lands his X-Wing on Yavin IV. When he gets out of the cockpit, he’s surrounded by joyful comrades elated about his victory. Amidst, the din, Leia can be heard calling his name.
This gets louder once she appears on screen and after she pushes through the crowd, she and Skywalker excitedly embrace. However, it seems Mark Hamill was too lost in the excitement of the moment to remember who he was supposed to be talking to. Instead of exclaiming, “Leia” when he sees her, he shouts “Carrie” instead. It’s surprisingly hard to notice when you aren’t listening for it.
Even The Water Didn’t Like Jar Jar Binks
It didn’t take long after he first appeared in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace for Jar Jar Binks to become the most infamously hated character in the entire Star Wars franchise. Unfortunately for him, that’s no less true in the movie itself than among its fanbase, as the other characters tend to find him annoying.
However, one little movie mistake shown during a dinner at the Skywalker home on Tatooine apparently reveals that even the elements are repulsed by Jar Jar. After Anakin’s mother, Shmi, pours Qui-Gon Jinn some water, she tips the pitcher over Jar Jar’s cup. However, no liquid whatsoever comes out of the pitcher when she pours.
The Makers Of Rise Of Skywalker Really Didn’t Care
Fans criticized Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker for playing fast and loose with the established canon, with even co-star John Boyega pointing out its inconsistencies in interviews. However, one mistake the movie made was even more egregious than infamous lines like “They fly now” and “Somehow, Palpatine returned.”
When Kylo Ren leaves the Endor system to go to Exogol, he does so by finding an old Imperial TIE Fighter from the ruins of the Death Star. Unfortunately, TIE Fighters are short-range fighters that lack the necessary hyperdrive to do this. That’s how the Millennium Falcon was able to evade them for the entire original trilogy. Without this detail, there wouldn’t be a canon for Rise of Skywalker to pull from in the first place.
