Like any long-running franchise, Star Wars movies, TV shows, books, comics, etc. were released, it was inevitable that there would be some contradictions between stories. Several Star Wars writers have added their own retcons to the franchise that attempt to fix or recontextualize plot holes.
The original Star Wars canon hierarchy, prioritizing certain stories over others if there were contradictions. However, the current Disney continuity gives every story equal canon status, making blatant errors harder to rectify. Thankfully, there are ways to look at Star Wars that make plot holes manageable, including an answer from the saga's creator.
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Star Wars Is "From A Certain Point Of View"
A story about something that happened a long time ago
One of Obi-Wan Kenobi's most important lessons to Luke Skywalker was how everything is "from a certain point of view." While Darth Vader being Luke's father is an ingrained part of Star Wars now, it was originally a massive retcon that required an explanation in the following movie. When he wasn't fully moved by Obi-Wan's justification, Obi-Wan told Luke that "many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
As much as we'd like Star Wars to be a perfectly consistent story with no contradictions whatsoever, this is true in-universe and in real life. Our real-world history involves finding as much evidence and first-hand s from the past as possible, putting them together to make the most accurate story. Star Wars is likely the same way, a collection of stories from long ago told from various points of view.
All Canon Star Wars Books In Chronological Order
Star Wars' canon books were effectively relaunched when Disney acquired Lucasfilm. Here's a timeline of all novels in chronological order.
Lucas took this idea further by having the Star Wars saga be written in the "Journal of the Whills," which was written long after the actual story. In canon, every From a Certain Point of View anthology ends with comedic stories about the Whills arguing over how the Star Wars saga should be written and what details should be included. Lucas also gave another answer to go along with this while working on the prequels.
George Lucas Believed R2-D2 Was The True Narrator Of Star Wars
The Journal of the Whills was written after an interview with R2-D2
Although there are many points of view across Star Wars media, Lucas believed one perspective mattered most in the movies... R2-D2. According to How Star Wars Conquered the Universe by Chris Taylor, Lucas shared his ideas about R2-D2 and the Journal of the Whills with animation director Rob Coleman on the set of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith:
“The entire story of Star Wars is actually being recounted to the keeper of the Journal of the Whills— that?—a hundred years after the events of Return of the Jedi by none other than R2-D2.”
Because R2-D2 is a droid, one whose memory was never erased, this explanation makes sense. If the writer of the Journal of the Whills wanted to make the story as accurate as possible, they would be thrilled to talk to someone who had lived during that time and witnessed many monumental events. While this isn't confirmed in canon, the Star Wars Legends timeline revealed that R2-D2 was still around at least 134 years after Return of the Jedi.
READ HOW STAR WARS CONQUERED THE UNIVERSE
Of course, memory erasure is standard for droids, so having that much information to juggle would likely be difficult for R2-D2. Droids may be more objective than humans, but R2-D2 is still a character with his own point of view, so not everything he told the keeper would be fully accurate. This could explain all the Star Wars movies' plot holes and oddities, such as R2-D2 being able to fly in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.
Even The Movies May Not Be Accurate When R2-D2 Is Not Present
He witnessed more than most but wasn't there for everything
R2-D2 being the saga's true narrator would also mean the movies are less reliable s whenever he's offscreen. He was present for most of A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, but he was absent from other subplots in the rest of the original and prequel trilogies. As for the Disney movies, R2-D2 spends all of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in low-power mode, so he wouldn't be any help for that chapter.
There are also countless Star Wars stories outside the movies that don't feature R2-D2.
This isn't to say the Journal of the Whills isn't accurate at all without R2-D2, as there would have been other historical texts and first-hand s they could have researched to fill in the gaps. It just shows that Star Wars is ultimately a story told by fallible authors, both in-universe and in real life. George Lucas' explanation offers an alternate and very fun way to view the Star Wars movies, explaining every plot hole and continuity error.
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- Created by
- George Lucas
- First Film
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
- Cast
- Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
- TV Show(s)
- The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
- Movie(s)
- Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
- Character(s)
- Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand iral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
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- Created By
- George Lucas
- Franchise
- Star Wars
- Race
- Droid
- Movies
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker
- TV Shows
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels
- Cast
- Kenny Baker, Jimmy Vee
Many view R2-D2 as the true hero of Star Wars, because this redoubtable droid has played a key role in many galactic events. Artoo served as Anakin Skywalker's Astromech droid during the Clone Wars, and was taken in by the Organa family on Alderaan after the Empire was established. He proved himself a tremendous ally for the Rebel Alliance, and he was the one who found his way to Luke Skywalker with the Death Star plans. Artoo remains active even in the sequel era.
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- Birthdate
- May 14, 1944
- Birthplace
- Modesto, California, USA
- Height
- 5 feet 6 inches
- Notable Projects
- Star Wars, Return of the Jedi
- Professions
- Film Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Entrepreneur
Discover the latest news and filmography for George Lucas, known for Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
