Most Star Wars fan theories end up being as wrong as Anakin Skywalker killing younglings. Rey isn’t Obi-Wan Kenobi’s granddaughter or the reincarnation of the Chosen One. Star Wars: The Last Jedi reveals that she’s no one before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker walks that back and explains that she’s the daughter of a Palpatine clone. It’s not worth spending too much time thinking about that can of worms, though, as Rey’s lineage is far from the only aspect of Star Wars that opens the door to speculation. In fact, a detail as minute as an empty chair in a meeting can cause serious debates.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It’s a gamble whenever Star Wars attempts to recontextualize a moment from the original trilogy. After all, those movies are sacred ground. That doesn’t stop Lucasfilm from pushing the envelope though, even going as far as to have Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi meet up one more time after their battle on Mustafar. How the powers that be connect Star Wars: Andor and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to Star Wars: A New Hope using a supporting character isn’t as brazen, but it’s noteworthy nonetheless.
The Latest Projects About the Empire’s Reign Introduce an Important Imperial Figure
Star Wars loves the era between Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Star Wars Rebels and the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor games are just a couple of the projects that fall in that 19-year window. However, they’re chopped liver compared to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Andor, which follow the events leading up to the destruction of the Death Star. It comes to light that the one pushing the super weapon hardest is Director Orson Krennic, who recruits Galen Erso for the project and forces the scientist out of retirement when work stalls. All of Krennic’s hard work, including the destabilization of Ghorman, is an effort to get a real seat at the Imperial table alongside the likes of Grand Moff Tarkin.
What Krennic doesn’t account for is the Rebellion growing right under the Empire’s nose. His subordinates, including Dedra Meero, fail to keep the details of the Death Star in-house, providing Cassian Andor and everyone else on Yavin 4 an opening. Andor and Co. are able to infiltrate the Imperial stronghold on Scarif and transmit the Death Star plans to the Rebel fleet. Krennic is present on the planet, and in a poetic form of justice, the very weapon he worked so hard to get operational kills him. With Krennic being an important part of Imperial history, many fans thought it was strange that A New Hope makes no mention of him. They had to create their own theory to find a place for him in the story. Unlike Director Krennic, though, Star Wars fans can enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Director Krennic’s Star Wars Legacy Is a Tragic One
A New Hope is, of course, the first Star Wars project to have ever been released, so fans have had nearly fifty years to comb through all its details. One thing that has always stood out is the empty chair in the meeting room on the Death Star. As the Imperials discuss the threat the Rebellion poses with the Death Star plans, Darth Vader and Tarkin walk into the room and assure everyone that there’s nothing to worry about. However, Vader doesn’t sit down, seemingly confirming that the empty chair in the room doesn’t belong to him. A New Hope doesn’t mention a missing Imperial, so fans have taken that to mean Krennic’s death is the reason for the meeting feeling incomplete.
The idea remained nothing but a fan theory until the release of the canon-ish 2017 anthology novel From a Certain Point of View. In the short story “Fully Operational” by Beth Revis, General Cassio Tagge discusses his arrival on the Death Star shortly after the Battle of Scairf and his feelings about Krennic. He remembers the last meeting in the room, when Krennic had discussed using the weapon on something bigger than Jedha City. Of course, that line of thinking got Krennic killed, and while Tagge remembers his colleague’s childish attitude, he also can’t help but think about how passionate he was about acquiring power.
Did you believe the theory that Director Krennic was the Imperial missing from the meeting in Star Wars: A New Hope? How do you feel that it turned out to be true? Let us know in the comments below!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Marvel Studios.
