What moments in Star Wars did you totally see coming?
The biggest one for me was Rey nobody, but I also had the idea of her taking on the Skywalker anyway adoptively. As much as I wanted Palpatine in the ST, I never thought they’d actually do it.
Ditto on calling Rey being a nobody-whose-parents-literally-just-abandoned-her after TFA. Also kinda called Reylo after TLJ, but in retrospect it’s a not-so-good Disney trope which is unfortunate. Luke’s story… kinda. After the TLJ teaser it was clear where they were going with it, but already in TFA he had a telling face if that makes sense.
reylo?
While I didn’t catch it on first viewing, after hearing about it so much, Reylo subtext in TLJ was very obvious on rewatch.
That’s right, the idea is heavily teased, but they do sort of have a (definitive?) falling out at the end, or at least it could be taken that way (wasn’t, of course).
I remembered another one. People were saying that they sure hope that it gets explained where Luke’s blue lightsaber came from in TFA. I knew right away that they weren’t going to do that (in a movie), because it doesn’t matter. Another another one, the snoke theories were crazy after TFA. Plagueis was one of the most popular ones, and I thought there was basically no way that would end up being the case.
reylo?
I remember having predicted Starkiller Base to be a Death Star ripoff and that the general story outline of TFA would closely follow A New Hope’s plot, based on the trailers.
Also Rogue One ending with the Tantive IV, Kylo getting redeemed in part thanks to Leia’s death, Rey ending up single and becoming a ‘honorary’ Skywalker.
Not that it was hard to predict, but I remember saying that TROS would be a dumpster fire the moment JJ was announced as the director.
You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)
Another another one, the snoke theories were crazy after TFA. Plagueis was one of the most popular ones, and I thought there was basically no way that would end up being the case.
It was blatantly obvious to me Snoke was a new character. Besides the fact that “omg it’s Darth Plagueis” means nothing to 90% of moviegoers and ruins the mystique of Palpatine’s tale, they literally said they considered making him female before the film came out, and his design was finalized at the last minute.
Not that it was hard to predict, but I remember saying that TROS would be a dumpster fire the moment JJ was announced as the director.
It had certainly sunk in by the time the film came out.
In TLJ, there’s a scene where they reuse an OT soundtrack for a little bit. Not a motif, not a phrase, an entire track. I bet that this was a test run, and that we’d be seeing a lot more of that in the future.
In Solo, there’s an entire scene whose entire purpose seems to just be reusing OT soundtracks. Then in TRoS, the entire movie reuses OT and PT soundtracks the whole time.
Reading R + L ≠ J theories
What PT soundtracks were in TRoS?
What PT soundtracks were in TRoS?
Barely any.
It’s kind of sad, but I predicted Admiral Ackbar dying off-screen in TLJ because his voice actor had died the year before. While a lot of people got upset that he wasn’t in the movie more (including the actor who actually wore the suit) I was just pleasantly surprised that they included him in the movie at all.
You’ve got to ask yourself one question: “Am I making Carrie Fisher’s ghost proud?”
Well, are ya, punk?
It’s not like they didn’t replace his voice actor anyway. Tom Kane is credited for the role.
What PT soundtracks were in TRoS?
Barely any.
- There’s a sample of Yoda facing Palpatine in ROTS when Rey is training with the remote.
- “Return to Tatooine” from AOTC plays when Poe and Zorii talk.
- The theme for Palpatine’s instructions to Anakin makes a comeback when the Emperor prompts Rey to kill him.
Talk of Podracing was also used when Finn and Jannah spoke about rebelling from the First Order.
Use the Force, Joh Yowza.
Immediately after I saw Force Awakens, I told my friend Episode 9 would have Kylo Ren turn good and sacrifice himself to save Rey; although I expected him to die by fiery explosion after sending her off in an escape pod.
I don’t know if these other two count because who was really surprised?
Boba Fett being resurrected as a grizzled anti-hero. Called that pretty much when the Madalorian was announced.
Senator Palpatine alter ego being Darth Sidious. 9 year old me deciphered this when I saw his name and picture on a pog when Episode 1 was released.
Senator Palpatine alter ego being Darth Sidious. 9 year old me deciphered this when I saw his name and picture on a pog when Episode 1 was released.
That was never really a secret though. They literally put it on the VHS back cover description, and there was no attempt to hide that both characters were played by Ian McDiarmid. Just another thing that proves the prequels were meant to be seen after the OT.
My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX
People still argued about it at the time though. Not sure what the expected, as if Palpatine was going to be his brother or something.
Immediately after I saw Force Awakens, I told my friend Episode 9 would have Kylo Ren turn good and sacrifice himself to save Rey
Not exactly a radical theory.
I said leading up to TRoS that during the climax Anakin’s voice was probably gonna say something to Rey along the lines of “you’re the new chosen one now.” Everyone yelled at me and called me an idiot, but then that actually happened (“bring back the balance, Rey, as I once did”). That was probably my biggest “called it” moment.
I’ve had other accurate predictions over the years though. I had been saying since 2002 that Episode III would be called RotS. I had said that the new Disney films would only divide the fandom more than even the PT did. I said that TFA would be too predictable and then TLJ would be too different and then TRoS would be too fan servicey… Those are the biggest ones that come to mind.
http://henrynsilva.blogspot.com/2023/10/full-circle-order-new-way-to-watch-star.html?m=1
People still argued about it at the time though. Not sure what the expected, as if Palpatine was going to be his brother or something.
They probably couldn’t believe a magnificent worldbuilder such as Lucas would be so lazy. Sidious & Palpatine being one & the same was just too obvious; there must’ve been misdirection in play, a clever plot twist waiting in the wings.
But Lazy Lucas, is Lazy.
I should probably put more context into the Sidious reveal.
I don’t believe the Emperor was ever referred to as “Palpatine” in ROTJ and back in 1999, only my parents were using the internet.
The only clues for 9 year old me was seeing the name “Palpatine” in a Star Wars coloring book and then on a tie-in product.
Sidious looked like the Emperor in hologram. Of course he would be the same as Palpatine.
It was so obvious he was manipulating the trade federation and Naboo into a conflict, and he was behind the creation of the clone army and both sides of the war in the Clone Wars.
He fooled everybody including the entire senate and Jedi council. Even Yoda did not notice the duplicity of the supreme chancellor. He tricked Padme into putting him into the office in the first place. He tricked Jar Jar into giving him the powers of a dictator.
The story only works in the prequels because good is dumb.
As for predictions go. I kind of figured Rey would be a Skywalker, just not adopted. I also figured Finn was force sensitive since early in force awakens. I never guessed Rey was a Palpatine since they just made it up near the end of filming the movie, how could i have seen it the writers did not plan it.
The mystery of Rey’s parents as noted by Hermes in Futurama.
Who are Rey’s parents? - “That’s very a good question.”
Palpatine had a son and Rey’s his granddaughter. - “That just raises further questions!”
How the anthropomorphic citrus acquired Anakin’s lightsaber was never revealed in TLJ or TROS, was it? Called that one.
People still argued about it at the time though. Not sure what the expected, as if Palpatine was going to be his brother or something.
A lot of people at the time expected the man who brought us Vader being Luke’s father to have something up his sleeve. Maybe Palpatine was a puppet controlled by some higher evil? Clones?
But it was played absolutely straight.
Reading R + L ≠ J theories
I don’t see why people are so disappointed that the prequels didn’t include some mind-blowing revelations that would change the way we looked at the OT. Adding needless complications to a prequel of an already existing franchise tends to feel contrived (case in point: Star Trek Discovery). Even then, they already introduced some ideas people weren’t expecting, most importantly the clones being the good guys and the Republic falling from within.
My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX