Rogue One is placard as a standalone Star Wars movie , but it ’s far more entrenched in the write up of the saga than many of us had thought . That ’s not just in terms of its setting , though — it ’s because it ’s crush - packed with references and hints to the Star Wars story that came before it . Here are all the major 1 we blemish .
Of course , this should go without saying , but …
Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba
Remember the disgruntled cantina patron Luke meet in Mos Eisley in A New Hope ? Well , bend out they do n’t just curtail their surliness to the surface of Tatooine . During Cassian and Jyn ’s arriver on Jedha , Jyn bumps into a Isle of Man make her mode through a crowded mart , who quickly threatens her before his exotic friend calms him down … and it ’s none other than Evazan and Baba .
Basically , they survived the wipeout of Jedha City , fly to Tatooine to drown their sorrows , and then Obi - Wan slice Ponda ’s arm off . scratchy mountain , guys .
Star Wars Rebels Crossovers
Since the start of the Disney XD animated series Star Wars Rebels , fans have wondered if we ’d see these heroes on the big filmdom . If it was ever go to happen , the obvious seat would be Rogue One because it take place in the same clip period , and follow the same general group of masses , namely the Rebel Alliance . Well , Rogue One delivers .
First up , the Ghost , Hera ’s trusty ship , is in the celluloid multiple times . You first see it outside the base on Yavin 4 when Jyn and Cassian get ready to go to Jedah . There ’s a wide shot of the exterior of the fundament and the Ghost is clear visible on the left side of the frame . Later , the Ghost isoneof the ships that jumps into battle over Scarif . It ’s in a fistful of shots , mostly flying in the background . secondly , after Jyn meet with the Rebel Alliance about going to Scarif , you may pick up a Thomas Nelson Page for “ General Syndulla ” clear over the PA on Yavin 4 . This is almost surely Hera , the pilot of the Ghost . Finally , during the struggle on Scarif , a Rebel communicating officer tap a signaling about the battle and go out to tell Mon Mothma ; as he does , on the left side of the frame , the Rebels ’ droid Chopper can be witness wrap along .
lastly , another great one pointed out to us by Lucasfilm ’s Matt Martin : the Hammerhead cruisers , which noticeably get an visual aspect in the conflict over Scarif , where one smashes into a Star Destroyer and then PUSHES IT INTO ANOTHER STAR DESTROYER , first showed up in Rebels too . The Ghost crew stole them for the Rebellion .
So will Star Wars Rebels cover back over with Rogue One and give us the animated version of Yavin 4 as well as the space battle over Scarif ? Could this maybe be the finale this time of year ? The season after ( if we get one ) ? We ’ll see .
The Droids We Were Looking For
C-3PO and R2 - D2 have to seem in a Star Wars picture . They just … have to . It ’d ruin a custom that ’s get by to last throughout the entire saga if they did n’t , so we ’re glad to say they do indeed show up in Rogue One — very concisely , as the Rebel Fleet dash to Scarif to support Jyn ’s crew .
Darth Vader’s Castle
The first clip we come across Darth Vader in the film , when Director Krennic runs off to him to complain about Grand Moff Tarkin occupy credit for the Death Star task , the locus is unlike anything we ’ve seen before in Star Wars before … but not for a want of trying .
Yes , Darth Vader have his own castle is n’t actually a new idea from Rogue One . design were made to make the castle an important location in Empire Strikes Back , but the thought was scrapped . It eventually re - emerged in the Expanded Universe , where Vader ’s castle was on the planet Vjun . In the Modern canon , though , Lucasfilm Story Group administrator Pablo Hidalgo hasconfirmed the castle is on Mustafar … which seems like a harsh joke to play on Anakin Skywalker . Also , if there really is an Episode VIII connection in Rogue One , mayhap this is it . This seems like a place Kylo or Luke may notice useful .
Mon Mothma Asks Bail Organa to Get Obi-Wan
Though Mon Mothma does n’t initially okay Jyn ’s journey to Scarif , she does know something is about to go down . She casually mentions to Bail Organa to perchance get in touch with his Jedi acquaintance — afriend , Bail says , who has been in concealing but serve him during the Clone Wars . They , of path , are refer to Obi - Wan Kenobi . Mothma asks who he could possibly commit with such a sensitive deputation and Bail says he ’d trust “ her ” with his lifespan .
Bail ’s almost sure as shooting verbalise about his girl , Princess Leia Organa . In A New Hope , Leia is obviously mindful of Obi - Wan and send the steal Death Star plans to him when she knows she ’s going to be captured . You have to inquire , though , is the significance here if Vader did n’t attack the ship , would she not have brought the plans straight to Alderaan ? Was she still lead after Kenobi ? We ’ll never lie with .
The Black Saber
When Cassian and Jyn poke through the Scarif archive looking for the architectural plan to the Death Star ’s codename , Jyn mentions one undertaking called the “ Black Saber . ” It might not be anything , but it could be a joining to the Darksaber , a weapon wield by Mandalorians characters in both Clone Wars and Rebels . The Darksaber was an ancient lightsaber , stolen by Clan Vizla and passed down through generations of warriors . Could the Empire be trying to make some of their own as a re - appropriation of lightsabers in the wake of the Jedi purge ?
The Return of Red and Gold Leaders
There are quite a few familiar faces in Rogue One , but one of our favorite callouts was the usance of original footage from A New Hope ’s Battle of Yavin sequence to rise Garven Dreis and Jon Vander , the Red and Gold Leader of their respective X - Wing and Y - Wing squadrons in the Alliance . The two men may have lived to fight another day at Scarif , but would ultimately pass in the Battle of Yavin .
The Fate of Red Five
speak of Rebel pilots , we also get to get wind in Rogue One why there was a void in Red Squadron for Luke to fulfill in — the callsign of Red Five , specifically . Unsurprisingly , the vacancy is because Red Five dies in Rogue One , shot down like a fool after failing to pull up in time during the outer space battle over Scarif . At least Luke did the callsign respectable presently after .
Why There Are No Shoretroopers or Death Troopers in the Original Movies
When the Death Star shove along up the Imperial facilities on Scarif it ’s extremely probable all Shore Troopers and Death Troopers go with it . Maybe TIE Strikers and U - Wings , too . It ’s at least a plausible cover for all these new thing to be missing during the original trilogy .
The Galaxy’s Favorite Beverage
ill-use aside , caf : There ’s only elbow room for one drink in the coltsfoot far , far off . During the photographic film ’s prologue when the Ersos discover that Krennic has found them , while Lyra Erso is in haste pack away supplies in the rush to head for the hills , she heads to the family kitchen , where a heavy container of Blue Milk , first realize in A New Hope , is sitting on the heel counter , smack bang in the midriff of the barb .
spicy Milk : the preferred beverage of choice for shortly - to - be - beat parental figures throughout the Star Wars universe .
Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia Return
We ’re going to leave the more complicated dubiousness about these characters come in back until next week . For now , though , two critical characters from A New Hope are back , which make sense for a few reasons . First , Tarkin definitely experience like he ’s in boot of the Death Star when we meet him in A New Hope , so to show him basically steal it from Krennic is critical for the story . It also gives Krennic his own villain , which is a squeamish whirl .
As for Leia , obviously , we screw she ’s on the Tantive IV with the Death Star plans when A New Hope begins . And after the flick has just go through such a terribly dark termination , to see a intimate face helps still the infliction as you leave the theater .
Return of the Rebel Leaders
While we ’re on returning characters , two more authoritative Rebels from the original trilogy are in the movie — but unlike Tarkin and Leia , they ’re portrayed by fresh role player rather than CGI similitude . Well , we say “ new , ” although Genevieve O’Reilly has already played Rebel leader Mon Mothma before , in scenes ultimately cut from Revenge of the Sith , make her everlasting for a take in Rogue One . She ’s join by Ian McElhinney — Game of Thrones ’ Barristan Selmy!—who step in as General Jan Dodonna .
The Whills
Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus are offhandedly referred as part of a forcefulness - believing spiritual group called the Guardian of the Whills . It might sound like a meaningless reference ( like “ nerf herder ” in Empire ) but the Whills have a long history in Star Wars , just mainly outside of the taradiddle of the saga .
Originally , when draft the first movie in the early ‘ LXX , George Lucas planned to frame the events as a retelling from an ancient book call “ The Journal of the Whills , Part I. ” Whoever the Whills are , we never really knew — they were dropped from the scheme and pretty quickly forget , lay aside for some adjuvant stuff in the inflate Universe picking up the name again as a mysterious organization with connections to Force use ( in the Revenge of the Sith novelization and early versions of its script , it ’s bring up that Qui - Gon Jinn learned how to become a Force Ghost from the pedagogy of a “ Shaman of the Whills ” ) . Rogue One score the first time they ’ve been mentioned on screen .
Galen’s Flaw in the Death Star Design
For almost 40 eld , we watched A New Hope and just call up the people who made the Death Star were imbecile and leave this crucial flaw in the design as a mistake — a defect that Luke Skywalker and his proton torpedos would work . However , now , we have to watch that panorama in a entirely dissimilar way . We now know that it was Galen Erso who purposefully left that exhaust port there for the Rebels to discover — his ultimate revenge for the Empire killing his married woman and drive his daughter into exile .
Even More Familiar Droids
While R2 and Threepio are the braggart cameos , there ’s the return of a few classic desktop droids in Rogue One as well . A Gonk droid idle by in the background as Jyn is escorted through the Rebels ’ base on Yavin 4 after being rescued , while Mouse Droids oink their manner around the legions of Stormtroopers on Scarif . Keep your eye peeled on Jedha before Saw ’s insurgent attack the Imperial convoy , too — there ’s a investigation droid from Empire Strikes Back floating around amongst the busybodied crowd .
Update : After it was first put out , we added the fourth Rebels connection when it waspointed out on Twitter , along with a few other tweaks .
MoviesRogue OneStar WarsStar Wars Rebels
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