Guest Blog by Robert Mills, Destrus76's Mind Debris
Despite the differences from the rest of the saga there is a lot that ties this film into the overall universe. Rogue One uses some interesting Hidden Gems and Easter Eggs to build this continuity. Not only does this move tie in, it also expands the lore of the Star Wars Universe. Are you ready for some Easter Eggs? Let’s take a look.
Follow @SUPERflixMoviesThe Guardian Of The Whills
As a "hardcore" Star Wars nerd, this was a moment that made me jump out of my seat in the theater the first time through. There is a line, almost a throwaway line of dialogue, in which the 'blind Jedi' Chirrut Imwe is referred to as "The Guardian Of The Whills". This is a reference to George Lucas’ original script for Star Wars. In the earliest versions of the script, there was no Force and there were no Jedi. Over time developing the script, the Whills became The Force and the Guardians Of The Whills became the Jedi. With this one throwaway line of dialogue, Disney has opened a door to a whole new section of Star Wars lore.
In the screenplay for Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, Yoda actually mentions the Whills as being the order that Qui-Gon Jinn was studying prior to his death. This was ultimately cut from the final version. But, in the final cut Yoda still mentions that Qui-Gon had transcended death. Are the Whills going to make an appearance as an ancient hidden order of Jedi in future movies? Chirrut Imwe’s dying words were, “Look for the Force and you will find me.” Are the Whills the secret to how Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin become ‘Force ghosts’?
Jedha and Kyber Crystals
We have never had a definitive description for what powers lightsabers in cinematic canon. Now, we know that they are powered by kyber crystals, and the same kyber crystals that power lightsabers is what powers the Death Star’s main weapon. We have known that Jedi built their own lightsabers as part of the transition from Padawan to Jedi Knight. Now we know the origin of these crystals and they have finally given them a name.
Tying back in with the Whills and the Guardians of the Whills, we know that kyber crystals were found on the planet Jedha. Doesn’t Jedha sound suspiciously like Jedi? Is the origin of the name Jedi a reference to someone from Jedha? The temple on Jedha is one of the earliest, if not the earliest Jedi temple. Was Luke looking for Jedha and the ruins of the original Jedi temple? If you think back to The Force Awakens, Luke had left to go find the original Jedi temple after the disaster with Ben Solo and the Knights Of Ren. In Rogue One you can see a giant statue of a Jedi that has fallen and is almost buried in the sand. The temple at Jedha City has been destroyed, but are there older temples and ruins on this planet that Luke and Rey will return to in Episode VIII?
Star Wars Rebels
Since the purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney a few years ago, most of the novels and side projects were thrown out as not being ‘canon’. This means that Disney has said that the novels, the comics, and the video games never really happened. They were reduced to glorified ‘fan fiction’. The only two exceptions to that were the animated Clone Wars TV show and the animated Star Wars Rebels TV show.
In Rogue One, we finally have a connection to Star Wars Rebels (SWR). While on Scariff, there is a reference to the Darksaber, which is a fairly significant plot point in SWR. Although it isn’t seen, it is mentioned by Cassian and Jyn Erso while they are looking through different files in the archives and trying to find the Death Star schematics.
The Rebel Fleet including The Ghost (pictured in the bottom left) from the Disney animated show, Star Wars REBELS.
Also, on Yavin IV at the Rebel base, you hear someone on the loudspeaker calling for General Syndulla. Is this referring to Hera Syndulla from Star Wars Rebels? Maybe it might be referring to her father, Cham Syndulla, who was in The Clone Wars and an episode of Rebels. Either way, this is a definite connection to the animated TV shows because the Syndulla name is only used with those two characters to this point. It’s almost certain that they are actually reference Hera Syndulla because...the Ghost joins the Rebel fleet directly above Scariff.
The ship from Star Wars Rebels, the Ghost, can actually be seen with the Rebel fleet above the planet Scariff during the final battle. This directly implies that the members of the team in Star Wars Rebels are participating in the battle in Rogue One.
Follow @SUPERflixMoviesObi-Wan And Bail Organa
Jimmy Smits reprises his role as Bail Organa. While on Yavin IV, he mentions that he knows someone who might be able to help and specifically says ‘he’ and mentions that it is a Jedi. This appears to be a direct reference to Obi-wan still being in contact with members of the Rebellion while he is in hiding on Tatooine and keeping an eye on Luke Skywalker. It seems likely that Bail Organa specifically told Leia to head for Tatooine in order to get the plans to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Because of this connection in Rogue One, we now know specifically that Bail knew Obi-Wan was still in hiding on Tatooine and had been in recent contact with him. Is this just intended to be a stronger tie in for Episode IV or something more? Ewan McGregor has said that he would be open to coming back to do an Obi-Wan movie for Disney. Is this Disney’s way of saying that Obi-Wan has been actively doing things other than watching Luke for the last 18 years? Are we going to get an announcement of the Obi-Wan standalone movie at Celebration 2017?.
Blue Milk
This is a small tie in, but in the Erso farmhouse at the beginning of Rogue One, you can see a container of blue milk on the table. This is the same blue milk that appears in A New Hope and Attack of The Clones. Both previous times it appeared, it was at the Lars homestead on Tatooine. This is the first time we have seen the blue milk other than on Tatooine. While this is a small thing, it serves as a connector to the rest of the Star Wars Universe.
Cameos
Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, Ponda Baba and Doctor Evazan (the thugs in the Mos Eisley cantina in A New Hope), Mon Mothma, General Dodonna, C-3P0, R2D2, Bail Organa, and Princess Leia all make appearances here. Given that this movie takes place immediately before A New Hope, it was expected that some of these characters would appear in Rogue One. However, the fact that Tarkin plays such a major role in the film was unexpected and really serves to tie this film firmly to Episode IV.
What other tie-ins did you see in Rogue One? Is there something that we missed? Please let us know in the comments below.
