The success of the Star Wars movies resulted in wave after wave of Star Wars books, comics, games, and other media properties, which built and built into the Expanded Universe. However, this process resulted in a huge mess of a setting, both because no creator could keep track of the entire setting and because not all creators shared the same vision, meaning that more and more plot holes opened up as more and more media properties. Although Disney’s buy-out of Lucasfilm in 2012 meant that the previous Expanded Universe was relegated to Legends canon, there are still plot holes in the new canon, which provide plenty of entertaining discussion for Star Wars fans.
What Are 10 of the Biggest Plot Holes in the Star Wars Franchise?
1. Obi Wan’s Master
In Episode V, Obi Wan states that Yoda was the Jedi master who taught him. However, we know from Episode I that Qui-Gon Jinn was his Jedi master when he was a Jedi apprentice, which would make this a false statement. Technically, it is possible that Obi Wan was referring to Yoda having taught him when he was a youngling, but considering the context, that interpretation seems improbable.
2. The Rule of Two
The Rule of Two is simple. There are two and no more than two Sith – a master and an apprentice who will succeed them upon becoming the stronger of the two. However, this is contradicted by the existence of multiple Dark-siders, though to be fair, chances are good that this is less a plot hole and more an excellent example of Darth Sidious interpreting the rules to suit his whims, which is rather unsurprising considering his true nature.
3. Leia’s Mother
Leia stated in Episode VI that her mother was “beautiful,” “kind,” and “sad,” which suggests personal knowledge. From Episode III, we know that this is impossible because Padme died not long after childbirth of a broken heart, which sounds over-dramatic but is indeed a real thing that can happen.
4. Skywalker Family Connection
There seems to be some sort of special connection between the Skywalkers, as shown by how the twins were able to sense one another as well as how Darth Vader was able to communicate with Luke via telepathy. However, this makes it strange that Darth Vader never noticed that he was torturing his own daughter in Episode IV, which must’ve made for a crushing surprise when he found out.
5. Luke’s Family Name
Skywalker does not seem to be a particularly common family name in the Star Wars setting. As a result, it seems strange that Luke would be permitted to hold onto it when Leia was not, particularly when it made for a noticeable contrast with his aunt and uncle, who bore the family name of Lars. Then again, Obi Wan’s plan seems to have been to conceal Luke in open sight, which might not be as ridiculous as it sounds because Darth Vader hated Tatooine because of his experiences with the planet, meaning that he would have never visited the remote planet.
6. No One Fired On the Escape Pod
In the beginning of Episode IV, the Imperials chose not to fire on the escape pod released from the Rebel ship because no life signs were detected. However, they live in a setting in which droids possess sufficient intelligence to act on their own initiative, meaning that they should have expected the possibility of an escape pod containing droids rather than flesh-and-blood beings. If they had decided to fire right then and there, the Death Star plans would not have made their way into the hands of the Rebels, which in turn, means that the Empire would have won with no one capable of resisting them.
7. Obi Wan Doesn’t Recognize R2-D2
Obi Wan knows R2-D2 but for some reason failed to make note of this when he encountered the droid in Episode IV. Then again, it is possible that R2-D2 is a common make and model, meaning that the Jedi master might have thought that it was some other droid that just happened to look the same. Alternatively, it is also possible that Obi Wan did recognize R2-D2 but just failed to make note of the fact because it would have hinted at too much information that he wanted to keep concealed.
8. Droid Torture
For some strange reason, Jabba the Hutt has a torture chamber for droids, which raises all sorts of strange and troubling questions. For example, does this mean that droids can feel pain? Which is not as ridiculous as it sounds because a sense of pain is useful for enabling living beings to stay away from things that can damage them. However, if this is true, that why did C3-PO respond in such a muted manner to being disassembled on Endor, which must have been excruciating if it could feel pain? Does this mean that droids can feel pain but can also turn it off when it becomes detrimental to their purpose? If so, why the droid torture chamber?
9. Using the Force For Menial Tasks
There are a couple of moments when Luke could’ve solved his problems with ease by using the Force. For example, instead of tossing a skull at the button used to kill the rancor, he could have just pressed down on it using the Force. Furthermore, instead of asking Han whether he could reach his lightsaber or not, Luke should’ve been able to grab it by using the Force.
10. Darth Sidious’s Plan Was Terrible
Darth Sidious’s plan to lure in the Rebels by leaking the plans for the second Death Star worked, but it seems probable that it would’ve worked better if he had changed some of the details on the plans to conceal its vulnerabilities before leaking it. With that said, the Emperor is not exactly an exemplar of rational thinking because of his extensive Dark Side use, meaning that it is entirely possible that he decided to do it the way that he did because he wanted the battle to be as dramatic as possible.
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