Rogue One Moments Only True Fans Understood
By now, you've probably watched Rogue One a few times and have been blown away by all of the visuals and the incredible action directed by Gareth Edwards. This side story to the Star Wars saga retcons one of the biggest perceived plot holes in history and explains how a colossal killing machine like the Death Star could feature such an exploitable weakness. While we're introduced to a bevy of new characters to care about, new vehicle names to remember, and new planets with names that we'll never pronounce correctly, we're also met with some unique moments that we can truly enjoy as hardcore Star Wars fans. Read on to see if you got chills at these moments like we did. And we really shouldn't have to say it, but just in case the Force isn't with you right now, there are definitely spoilers ahead.
K-2SO has a feeling
The reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO just might replace HK-47 as our favorite snarky robot. This tall hunk of sarcastic metal is voiced by Alan Tudyk and delivers some of the funniest lines of dialogue in the movie, often helping to break up the tension between blaster battles and dog fights in space. He drops one particular sentence during the infiltration of the Imperial base on Scarif that's a mainstay of the Star Wars series. As K-2SO, Jyn, and Cassian enter the base, he utters. "I have a bad feeling about thβ" before being cut off by Cassian.
The line is a reference to the many times "I have a bad feeling about this" has been said by different characters across all the movies in the saga. You might have chuckled a bit at the infamous line, but considering the odds that were against Rogue One, K-2SO probably just voiced his opinion after having calculated the probability of their success.
One of Rogue Squadron's greatest
While in the Rebel base on Yavin 4, the council can't seem to unite under Jyn's cause. Afterward, as Mon Mothma approaches Bail Organa to talk to him about an old friend, a voice over the loudspeaker pages "Captain Antilles." Longtime fans will recognize that as a reference to Raymus Antilles, the poor, doomed captain of the Tantive IV who Vader chokes out when he shows up at the beginning of A New Hope. However, it's possible that the announcement may have also been a reference to a different Antilles altogether.
Wedge Antilles became one of the members of Rogue Squadron, participating in the attack on the Death Star, the defense of Echo Base on Hoth, and the Battle of Endor. Besides Luke, Wedge is one of the only pilots to survive all three major battles shown in the original trilogy.
The CR90 corvette
Towards the end of the movie, our eyes are treated to one of the greatest space battles in Star Wars history as the Rebel Fleet throws everything they can at the Imperial Star Destroyers and the shield gate. Admiral Raddus, the Mon Calamari character inspired by Winston Churchill, leads the charge in his flagship and actually receives the transmission containing the plans for the Death Star, sent up by Jyn from the ground on Scarif. His ship is eventually disabled by Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer, the Devastator, but not before some troops download the plans onto a disk and try to get it off the ship. They end up being cut down in a Vader fight scene that redeems most of the whiny Anakin moments from the prequels, but one trooper manages to escape and fly off in a CR90 corvette. This is the Tantive IV, the ship used by House Organa and one of the first things we see in A New Hope. Onboard is Princess Leia, ready to send a message off to Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine. Raise your hands if you cheered at the sight of it!
Wordplay on a world
One very minor moment that had us pointing at the screen was the introduction of Imperial-controlled moon of Wobani. This place, which sounds an awful lot like a Greek yogurt brand, is where Jyn Erso is held at an Imperial labor camp and then busted out by some Rebels. We couldn't help but take a look at the name "Wobani," which is an anagram of Obi-Wan, the famed Jedi and Force Ghost extraordinaire. This is the only movie in the entire series that doesn't feature his presence in some shape or form β The Force Awakens included audio of Alec Guinness β so we'd like to think that this is a nod to Old Ben.
Back to the Massassi Temple
A lot of the small cameos that made us cheer were located at the Great Massassi Temple, otherwise known as the Rebel base on Yavin 4. We loved seeing the likes of Mon Mothma, General Jan Dodonna and his amazing beard, a slightly creepy-looking Bail Organa, C-3PO and R2-D2, and even the droid Chopper from Star Wars: Rebels. We mostly loved seeing more of the interior of the famed temple, which is now a far cry from the painting that Ralph McQuarrie painted for the awards ceremony scene at the end of A New Hope. Seeing it full of some of our favorite characters from the saga kind of makes it feel a little bit like home.
Bail Organa's friend in the desert
If you didn't have an annoying friend tapping you on the arm and saying, "She's talking about Obi-Wan! And he's talking about Leia!" when Mon Mothma asked about Bail's friend, the Jedi, then you were probably the one doing the tapping. After the council meeting to decide whether or not to send the fleet to Scarif to steal the plans for the Death Star, Mon Mothma approaches Bail Organa and discusses the fact that war is inevitable and that they need any advantage they can get. That's when Obi-Wan is brought up and Bail says he'll get a message to him. Mon Mothma asks if there's anyone he can trust and he simply says, "I'd trust her with my life." Considering the "her" in that sentence is his adopted daughter, Leia Organa, we're inclined to agree. This nod to these two important characters had us wanting to watch Episode IV all the more after this movie.
Saw Gerrera, the rebel
While there were certain connections to Star Wars: Rebels in the form of Chopper the droid, the VCX-100 Ghost ship, and General Syndulla being paged on the PA system in the Rebel base, Saw Gerrera came to us from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. When he appeared on the video call with Galen Erso, we cheered a bit inside because we were seeing a character from the CG series in the flesh. It was great to see what had happened to the extremist rebel and that he had basically become what Vader was: more machine than man, capable of using any means to further his cause. Forest Whitaker brought him to life on the big screen as a wizened fighter who lived and died for what he believed in, the destruction of the Empire. We look forward to seeing Saw join the cast of Star Wars: Rebels and hope to see more of his character fleshed out.
The female pilots of the Rebellion finally fly
A few years ago, it was reported that there were scenes featuring female Rebel pilots that were cut from Return of the Jedi. Nearly 33 years later, we can see these fine women in action over the planet of Scarif, shooting down TIE fighters, bombing Star Destroyers with Y-wings, and dropping off reinforcements in U-wings. Considering that three female extras were cast and used in footage that was then cut from Return of the Jedi, we're happy to see them take off in these iconic ships. Two of those actresses were Vivienne Chandler and Poppy Hands, both of whom piloted an X-wing and an A-wing respectively. Seeing them join the ranks of frontline female fighters like General Leia Organa, Padme Amidala, Rey, and even fan-favorite Jessika Pava gives us an abundance of feels. May the Force be with them.