186
votes
Accepted
Since when has Darth Vader had a sense of humor?
Vader has quite a dry sense of humour and can often be found quipping at mildly inappropriate moments, especially when choking people, which he really seems to enjoy.
One assumes this is a habit he's ...
- 718k
139
votes
Accepted
How did no other engineer see the design flaw of the Death Star?
They did, but Galen misdirected them
There's a supplemental document included in the Rogue One novelization, comprised of several messages sent between Galen and one of the engineering managers, ...
- 165k
139
votes
Accepted
Why does the Star Wars universe use such a primitive technology as data-tapes?
Because it's the backup and backups are better on tape.
The fewer moving parts an object has, the more robust it is. Additionally, the long term degradation of electronic memory cells is a problem. So ...
- 32.7k
111
votes
Accepted
What are those "sticks" on Jyn Erso's back?
The Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide factbook describes them as
ILLUMINATED TRAFFIC WANDS
They were part of the outfit that Jyn stole from Imperial "Deck Technician" Kent Deezling. You ...
- 718k
76
votes
Why did the rebels need the Death Star plans?
There were two parts to the Rebels destruction of the Death Star. The first was the knowledge that the reactor was unstable, that any explosion there could cause a chain reaction. That was the easy ...
- 16k
75
votes
Accepted
Is there a reason given in-universe for Orson Krennic's outfit beyond pure ostentation?
In-universe the cape belies his lowly (middle-class) upbringing. The Rogue One: Ultimate Visual Guide highlights that he's...
not of the principled Coruscanti classes, able to verbally parry and ...
- 718k
72
votes
Accepted
Why were there no Bothans in Rogue One?
"Many Bothans died" line was not from Episode IV ("Star Wars: A New Hope") which Rogue One is a prequel of, referring to Death Star 1.
The only thing we know about how Rebels got the plans from ANH ...
- 344k
71
votes
Accepted
Why does one AT-AT have a hole in it in "Rogue One"?
Because it was not an AT-AT but an AT-ACT.
AT-ACT stands for All Terrain Armored Cargo Transport.
The hole is where the cargo would go, but the armored part of the description explains why it still ...
68
votes
What are those "sticks" on Jyn Erso's back?
It looks like the wands used by the air marshaller to direct the cargo shuttles when they were landing. You can see the red sections at the tips of the rods that light up and help indicate to the ...
- 20k
68
votes
Accepted
How did the Rebels find the design flaw to the first Death Star?
The Rebels had a slight advantage: they already knew what they were looking for; Galen's message, relayed by Jyn, explained both what to do, and what the result would be:
"What kind of trap?&...
- 165k
66
votes
Accepted
Why did Vader board the disabled Rebel flagship at the end of Rogue One?
According to the film's official novelisation, some murmur in the Force warned Vader not to simply order its destruction. The implication is that he unconsciously shied away from murdering his ...
- 718k
63
votes
Accepted
Was George Lucas involved with Rogue One?
He spent a day on set...
Rogue One director Gareth Edwards mentioned this on a Celebration Europe panel, which CinemaBlend reports on:
During Star Wars Celebration in London, our own Sean O'Connell ...
- 165k
62
votes
Accepted
What were those lines in the opening shot of Rogue One?
Those were the rings of Lah'mu, the planet on which Galen Erso was hiding.
Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
This image from the film gives you a better view. As you can see, the rings ...
- 718k
59
votes
Accepted
Why are there no Imperial KX-series Security Droids in the original trilogy?
Most of the answers here so far have not focused much specifically on the class of droid that K-2SO belongs to, the KX-series Security Droid (also known as "Imperial enforcer droids"), which is what ...
- 3,932
58
votes
Is there a reason given in-universe for Orson Krennic's outfit beyond pure ostentation?
The white uniform wore by Krennic symbolises his membership in the Imperial Security Bureau.
From the canon novel Lost Stars we read that the ISB generally has white uniforms. As for the cape, this ...
- 77.8k
58
votes
Why does the Star Wars universe use such a primitive technology as data-tapes?
The out-of-universe answer is that the original films were written in the 70's, and SF&F usually has some basis in truth. The idea of flash drive equivalents probably didn't even occur to Lucas ...
- 718
53
votes
Accepted
Who was the mentioned jedi in the Rogue One movie?
I think two parts of dialogue are being confused here.
I'm going to paraphrase here because I can't remember exact quotes. But I'm fairly certain the conversation goes as follows:
From this and ...
- 1,012
52
votes
Accepted
Why did the Death Star not target this location at the end of “Rogue One?”
I think it was because they didn't want to wait to get into ideal position.
The Death star was rising from the horizon and positioning itself to attack. Turning huge battle station like that even ...
- 1,599
51
votes
How did no other engineer see the design flaw of the Death Star?
Have you ever worked on or seen a FMECA? Even for a simple system, they are a truly stupendous amount of work. A few years ago, I reviewed one performed by someone else on a relatively complex system (...
- 1,334
47
votes
Why are there no Imperial KX-series Security Droids in the original trilogy?
According to the story, why are there no Imperial Droids like the K-2SO's in the original trilogy? Why did they all disappear all of a sudden after Rogue 1?
Because they weren't necessary for the ...
- 6,641
46
votes
Accepted
Why didn't the Alliance send for Yoda instead of Obi-Wan?
Bail Organa has a close relationship with Obi-Wan.
She was on the same wavelength as him. Obi-Wan Kenobi had been a
faithful friend long before he’d become one of the galaxy’s most
hunted fugitives. ...
- 718k
46
votes
In the space battle above Scarif, why didn't the Rebels fly around the shield gate and enter planetary surface?
They can't go 'around' the shield because the shield encompasses the entire planet.
“What am I looking at?” she asked, squinting at the ring. She made out the specks of starships descending through ...
- 718k
45
votes
Did Leia know what it was she was carrying?
Leia knew what she had.
From the script of Episode IV, after our heroes find Leia and escape the Death Star:
LEIA - At least the information in Artoo is still intact.
HAN - What's so important? What'...
- 4,407
43
votes
Accepted
Is Admiral Raddus Related to Admiral Ackbar?
We don’t know, but probably not
While we have no explicit confirmation that they are not related, the odds of two random Rebellion Mon Calamari being related aren’t particularly high. We are dealing ...
- 119k
43
votes
Accepted
Why is there a difference in the speed of explosions caused by the Death Star?
It wasn’t at full power
The Death Star was not being used at full power. It only blew up a portion of the moon’s surface, not the entire moon.
“Target Jedha City,” he snapped. “Prepare single reactor ...
- 119k
42
votes
Since when has Darth Vader had a sense of humor?
Since his days as annoying, whining, but deadpan-snarking Padawan (and he learned the snark from Obi-Wan, if nothing else).
ROTS
General Grievous, You're Shorter Than I Expected.
Anakin: ...
- 344k
41
votes
What's the relationship among the many uses of the name "Galen" in sci-fi?
Galen is the modern form of the Greek name Γαληνος (Galenos), meaning "calm" from Greek γαληνη (galene). It was borne by a 2nd-century BC Greco-Roman physician who contributed to anatomy and ...
- 4,998
40
votes
Was it implied by the dialogue in A New Hope that the Death Star had never been used before?
A New Hope does specifically state that Alderaan was the first planet destroyed by the Death Star, as mentioned by Valorum.
Tarkin: Not after we demonstrate the power
of ...
- 67.2k
39
votes
Accepted
Why do the Rebels probe the section of the shield within the gate?
The section inside the ring is a particularly weak point in an otherwise nearly-impenetrable shield.
“Do it!” Krennic roared, and Ramda and his men scurried to act. When
the orders had been given, ...
- 718k
38
votes
Why was Vader talking about "Rebel transmissions" in Episode IV when he saw the data tape being passed in Rogue One?
There certainly were transmissions from Rebel spies on the planet's surface to a Rebel ship in orbit.
It is true that the transmission was to the rebel flagship, and from there it was brought on a ...
- 37.1k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible