The original Star Wars trilogy is one of the greatest accomplishments in film history, but even the best stories have things that make no sense. When George Lucas decided to tell a space fantasy more concerned with movie magic than scientific realism, it became clear that audiences would have to suspend their disbelief to some degree. This is the most wonderful aspect of a fictional universe, being able to convey ideas that would never work in the real world. However, sticking to the established rules of a story can help maintain the illusion of reality and enhance the moviegoing experience.
When Star Wars movies have plot holes, continuity errors, or something that seems odd even by fictional standards, it can temporarily distract the viewer. Despite being a masterclass in good storytelling and exceptional filmmaking overall, the Star Wars original trilogy does suffer from these problems at times. Some are more obvious while watching the film, while others become more apparent when taking a closer look. Even though they don’t ruin the movies as a whole, 15 Star Wars moments in the original trilogy make the least amount of sense.
15 Why Does C-3PO Act Like He Doesn’t Know Leia?
Star Wars (aka A New Hope)
One of the first plot holes in Star Wars is C-3PO’s contradictory comments regarding Princess Leia Organa. In the opening scene, he comments to R2-D2 that “There’ll be no escape for the princess this time”, implying that he knows her and is familiar with her past missions. However, when Luke Skywalker finds a recording of Leia, C-3PO claims to not know who she is and guesses that she is “A person of some importance, I believe.” It’s possible that C-3PO’s programming kept him from revealing her identity, but it doesn’t seem likely since he already told Luke about the Rebellion.
14 How Did R2-D2 Get So Far On Tatooine By Himself?
Star Wars (aka A New Hope)
The Star Wars movies, particularly A New Hope, show that R2-D2 generally doesn’t move fast. He’s old and worn down, sometimes has to hobble around, and travels in a landscape full of sand that would clog his motors. Even so, R2-D2 somehow leaves the Lars Homestead without being noticed and travels far enough to be out of sight in the relatively short amount of time Luke Skywalker is gone. The scene where Luke and C-3PO find R2-D2 even shows him hobbling again, casting serious doubt on his ability to have gone so far on his own that quickly.
13 Why Do Characters In Hiding Not Change Their Last Name?
Star Wars (aka A New Hope)
The first thing a person does when they go into hiding is change their name, but characters in Star Wars only get this half right. Obi-Wan Kenobi changes his name to “Ben Kenobi,” while Luke Skywalker is allowed to keep his father’s last name.
In the
Star Wars
Legends timeline, Obi-Wan just called himself “Ben” when he came to Tatooine, but a villager overheard him say his last name while he was trying to communicate with Qui-Gon Jinn’s spirit.
Living in a place that Darth Vader knows about is already dangerous, so keeping these last names just adds more unnecessary risk. Perhaps these last names are common in the larger galaxy, and the prequels revealed that Vader didn’t know Luke was alive, but it still seems strange for Obi-Wan to only change half his name.
12 A Pivotal Scene Is Edited Out Of Order
Star Wars (aka A New Hope)
An oddity that most people will miss on first viewing is the scene in Ben Kenobi’s hut being edited out of order. This is clear because C-3PO asks Luke Skywalker if he can shut down, remains powered off for a few minutes, and then is suddenly awake again.
If edited in chronological order, the scene would begin with the recording of Leia, transition to Obi-Wan explaining his history and the Force, and then end with Obi-Wan asking Luke to come to Alderaan. While the final edit may improve the flow of the scene, it can be a bit distracting.
11 Did The Other Stormtroopers Not See Or Hear Obi-Wan’s Mind Trick?
Star Wars (aka A New Hope)
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Jedi mind trick is one of the most iconic and quotable lines in all of Star Wars, even though it shouldn’t have gotten his group past the stormtroopers. The movie only shows Obi-Wan influencing the mind of one stormtrooper, but there are three other stormtroopers surrounding the speeder, all of whom should hear Obi-Wan talking. Luke Skywalker also looks visibly confused and turns his head from Obi-Wan to the stormtrooper, which definitely should have raised suspicion. Obi-Wan may have been using the mind trick on all the stormtroopers, but the scene doesn’t make it apparent.
10 Jabba Shouldn’t Have Let Han Go
Star Wars (aka A New Hope) – Special Edition
Jabba the Hutt originally made his debut in Return of the Jedi, but a deleted scene was restored for the Star Wars Special Edition. Unfortunately, this only makes Jabba’s character less intimidating by having him go back and forth about whether he wants to kill Han Solo. Greedo made it clear in the Mos Eisley Cantina that Jabba was through with Han and had already put a bounty on him, only for Jabba to quickly let Han off the hook and threaten to put another bounty on him. The scene adds nothing to the story and makes it unnecessarily confusing.
9 Why Would Leia Knowingly Expose The Rebel Base?
Star Wars (aka A New Hope)
Despite a convincing performance, Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader let the rebels escape from the Death Star to track them with a homing beacon hidden on the Millennium Falcon. However, Princess Leia Organa quickly deduced their plan but still went straight to the rebel base, making Yavin 4 the Death Star’s next target.
If Leia knew the Empire was following them and had seen firsthand what the Death Star could do, then she should have had the
Falcon
meet with another rebel ship that wasn’t being tracked.
If Leia knew the Empire was following them and had seen firsthand what the Death Star could do, then she should have had the Falcon meet with another rebel ship that wasn’t being tracked. It seems like an underground rebellion should have more strict security measures.
8 Did The Rebels Really Have To Maneuver Down The Trench?
Star Wars (aka A New Hope)
While the Death Star’s strange design flaw was eventually explained in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, there’s still a problem with A New Hope‘s trench run. General Jan Dodonna explained that the rebel pilots were “…required to maneuver straight down this trench…” to reach the exhaust port, but he never explained why this was necessary. Flying through the trench meant that the pilots were completely defenseless against the Imperial TIE fighters, so it seems like maneuvering outside the trench would have given them a better chance of reaching the target.
7 Why Did Obi-Wan Wait Three Years To Send Luke To Yoda?
The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back takes place three years after A New Hope, and it’s only then that Obi-Wan’s spirit tells Luke Skywalker about Yoda. Obi-Wan believed Luke was ready to begin his training in A New Hope, and he was able to talk to Luke from beyond the grave, so it’s unclear why he didn’t make Luke’s continued training a priority.
|
Movie |
Years Before/After The Battle of Yavin |
|---|---|
|
Star Wars (aka A New Hope) |
0 BBY/0 ABY |
|
The Empire Strikes Back |
3 ABY |
|
Return of the Jedi |
4 ABY |
The back cover of The Empire Strikes Back‘s novelization originally implied that the movie took place six months after A New Hope, which would have been more understandable. In canon, however, there’s no explanation for Obi-Wan waiting so long.
6 How Did Luke & Some Other Rebels Escape Hoth So Casually?
The Empire Strikes Back
The Battle of Hoth has some of the highest stakes in Star Wars… until the Millennium Falcon takes off. After that, Luke Skywalker and some other rebels casually recover from the fight and seem to leave the planet easily, despite Luke seeing the Falcon not that far away. It’s strange that getting past the Imperial blockade is presented as a significant challenge, only for one ship to be hounded relentlessly while others manage to get away. Darth Vader may have prioritized the Falcon since he knew Luke’s friends were there, but there were plenty of Star Destroyers to go around.
5 Luke’s Rescue Plan Makes Absolutely No Sense
Return of the Jedi
Although Luke Skywalker and his friends successfully rescued Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, their plan was far more complicated than it needed to be. Lando Calrissian disguises himself as a guard, Luke gives the droids to Jabba, Leia frees Han from the carbonite, Luke bargains with Jabba, and then all the heroes blow up Jabba’s sail barge.
Luke’s job becomes harder with each redundant attempt, so it would have been simpler for Lando to let the group in and have them all get captured at once. This would improve the movie’s pacing and make the plan feel more logical.
4 Obi-Wan Should Have Told Luke About Leia Sooner
Return of the Jedi
While it’s understandable that the Jedi split up Luke and Leia to keep them safe, it’s harder to justify Obi-Wan not telling Luke that Leia was his sister sooner. He may have feared the truth putting Leia in greater danger, which did happen in Return of the Jedi when Darth Vader sensed Luke’s thoughts, but she was a target of the Empire regardless. Keeping this secret prevented Leia from learning the ways of the Force, which would have become crucial if anything ever happened to Luke. Knowing they were siblings would also have prevented the more questionable moments between them.
3 The Ewoks Overpowering Stormtroopers (Or Anyone)
Return of the Jedi
The Ewoks joining the fight turns the tide during the Battle of Endor, but the way they overpower the stormtroopers looks incredibly unconvincing. Capturing the rebels made more sense, as it was clear that Luke didn’t want to start a fight and risk hurting them when they did nothing wrong. During the battle, however, the Ewoks somehow beat stormtroopers into submission and penetrate their armor with small arrows. It may be a fun final battle with a good theme of a seemingly primitive people defeating a technologically superior Empire, but its execution can be hard to take seriously at times.
2 Why Did The Ewoks Already Have Traps Capable Of Fighting The Empire?
Return of the Jedi
Another eyebrow-raising moment in the Battle of Endor is the Ewoks having giant traps perfectly suited to take down Imperial AT-STs. There’s no way the Ewoks had enough time to set up those traps or to know they would work for this particular scenario. The film also doesn’t give any indication that these were there for another reason, and they just happened to end up being useful in the battle. Seeing the AT-STs explode makes for some cool visuals but also makes the Ewoks seem a little too prepared with no explanation.
1 “Obi-Wan Once Thought As You Do.”
Return of the Jedi
Finally, Darth Vader’s line about his history with Obi-Wan Kenobi no longer makes sense thanks to the prequel trilogy. When Luke Skywalker begs his father to abandon the dark side and come with him, Vader reflects that Obi-Wan once felt the same way. However, in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Padmé Amidala is the one who begs Anakin Skywalker to come with her and believes there’s good in him, not Obi-Wan. While this contradiction was caused by another movie, it’s one of the most notable things that doesn’t make sense about the original Star Wars trilogy.